Money Palace

The Blue House presented its last show of 2019 with the opening of MONEY PALACE featuring four artists exploring the idea of the Dollar Store as a medium to itself. The ideas behind each artists’ work search through the humor and oddities of this strange American institution in the city of Dayton, Ohio; home of more than 70 dollar stores. 

About the artists:

Amy Deal is a Dayton based artist. She initially began her career as a creative director working with public relation firms on annual reports, as well as, advertising & design firms establishing corporate identities to advertising campaigns. After an interruption of parenthood, Amy has returned to her original appreciation of fine arts.

Frank Travers is an artist and educator living in Lebanon, Ohio.  Travers received his BFA from Wright State University in 2008, and his MFA from The University of Connecticut in 2010.   Travers currently teaches Printmaking at Stivers School for the Arts in Dayton Ohio; and is also an instructor of humanities and fine art at Edison State College in Piqua Ohio. 

John O’Donnell is a printmaker and new media artist who uses a variety of mediums to convey a variety of messages. His practice as a performance artist teeters between art and entertainment while pointing out contradiction, failure and identity in contemporary culture.  In his installation and sculptural work, he uses toys and items from the dollar store to comment on representations of humor, class and gender that exist in the form of products consumed by Americans. Ultimately, he is a studio artist compelled to create images that locate an ambiguous degree of resolution through applied awareness of content and form.

Teri  Schoch is an activist, artist and writer working in the areas of poverty and social justice. Her work with found materials has referenced the beauty of cast-off or re-purposed materials. As they degrade, often reverting to their base metals, polished glass and plastics, paper, paint, etc. The elements of the materials selected become the mediums of sculptures and assemblages. Old books and two-dimensional works retain their original function of information only recycled do their work as visual art.

Exhibition ran November 9th-December 5th, 2019.