It’s not a typo – the title of Jordan Buschur’s solo show in the Regier Art Gallery really is “Decororator.”
“Decororator” is in the gallery in Luyken Fine Arts Center through Sept. 25. On that day, there will be a closing reception for the exhibit and the artist, 6-7 p.m. at the gallery.
Gallery hours are Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sun. 2-4 p.m. There is no admission charge.
Buschur, an artist, educator and curator based in Toledo, Ohio, had specific reasons for coining her exhibit title.
“My paintings imply a human presence through depictions of accumulated collections. These objects, whether packed away or out on display, are united by systems of value shaped by mystery, sentimentality and a matrilineal connection,” her artist statement says.
“The images are deeply tied to interiors: domestic, contents of drawers or boxes, closed books, inner thoughts and personal memories.
“We decorate our homes for ourselves and visitors, we share our stories and heirlooms with family. It is a form of kin-keeping. It is also a material weight and obligation to fill the space and hold this role. Decor plus decorator plus horror vacui [Latin for “fear of empty space”] equals ‘Decororator.’”
Buschur’s paintings “meditate on the details – both mundane and magical – of the accumulated stuff of friends and family.”
At the same time, the collections pictured in the paintings “point towards the anxiety of consumption and the endgame of anonymous personal effects.
“Accumulations of sentimental objects can link to ancestors, while also becoming a burden of junk. A well-loved thing, so deeply felt by one, shapeshifts in meaning when passed to a new owner and generation.”
Buschur has a B.A. in studio art from Goshen (Ind.) College and an M.F.A. in painting from Brooklyn College at the City University of New York.
Her work has been shown in numerous locations, including exhibitions with the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, Mich., River House Arts in Toledo, the Center for Book Arts in New York City, and Field Projects, also in New York.
She was the 2024 community digital artist-in-residence at the Toledo Museum of Art and has participated in residencies at the Wassaic (N.Y.) Project; Chashama North in New York’s Hudson Valley; the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, Neb.; and the Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vt.; as well as teaching residencies through the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, and the Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln.
Awards include the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, the Kimmel Foundation Artist Award and the Charles Shaw Painting Award.
Buschur’s work has been featured in print in New American Paintings and UPPERCASE magazine, and online on The Jealous Curator, Young Space and BOOOOOOOM, among others. Podcast interviews include I Like Your Work and Studio Break.
She is a co-founder of Co-Worker Gallery and has curated exhibitions at Cuchifritos Gallery and Spring/Break Art Show, both in New York, and the Neon Heater in Findlay, Ohio.
Buschur has taught art to all ages and is currently an artist-in-residence through the Teach Arts Ohio program with the Ohio Arts Council. She teaches drawing at the University of Toledo.
Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Bethel was the only Kansas college or university selected for the American Association of College & Universities’ 2021 Institute on Truth, Community Healing and Transformation, and has been named a TCHT Campus Center. For more information, see www.bethelks.edu
