For the seventh year, Canvas profiles a selection of emerging Northeast Ohio visual artists.
By Amanda Koehn
James Negron
DIY, memory and the color pink are some of the themes James Negron leans into when he’s creating artwork.
The 2024 Cleveland Institute of Art graduate lives and works by the idea that creating art should be accessible to everyone, and as such, dives into mediums and designs that can inspire others to create for themselves.
“I really advocate for its accessibility and having anybody be able to do art because it’s really cathartic, and I think everybody could benefit from those therapeutic qualities that art has to offer,” he says. “For me, fiber is the easiest way to do that.”
Janoi Daley
Using enticing, bright colors, Janoi Daley’s paintings consider the in-between space of living within multiple identities and cultures. As a Jamaican-American woman, her artwork reflects on her experiences and those who came before her.
“I’d say that my work is unraveling simultaneously to my existence,” she says. “I’m usually painting something that I’m thinking about or something that’s happened.”
Diana Rice
Diana Rice draws on a dream-like sense of nostalgia to investigate moments from her childhood, creating connections to the past, present and future at the same time.
Her paintings and drawings are often built into earthy, ruminative quilts, incorporating materials like wood and rope.
“I want to bring back the nostalgic feelings from memories that I have, but also still communicate some kind of story,” she says during an interview in her studio at Summit Artspace in Akron.
Keenan O’Toole
Keenan O’Toole uses color and form to create beauty in ceramics reminiscent of things that might be considered industrial, deteriorating or even gross.
The Toronto native is working toward her Master of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in ceramics from Kent State University. Expected to graduate in spring 2025, the artist pushes what is considered beautiful to include “things that are traditionally seen as not nice and kind of grotesque and even things that are ‘disgusting,’” she says.
Lacy Talley
Over the last few years, Lacy Talley has turned her multidisciplinary artistic skills into partnerships with brands, organizations and causes drawn to highlighting her bright and bold creations.
She’s also used inspiration from her personal mindfulness practice to create exhibits and murals around Northeast Ohio.
A graduate of Glenville High School, the Cleveland native grew up drawing with her artist father. They had a shared book in which they took turns responding to each others’ drawings with new sketches.
