EX NIHILO : Manifest Gallery, OH USA

Shadow Sculpture 38, oil on aluminium, 40cm x 40cm, 2025

Clay is moulded to make a vessel, but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing. Thus, taking advantage of what is, we recognize the utility of what is not.
— Lao Tzu

EX NIHILO is an exhibition of work about the power of negative space, margins and gutters, chasms, quietude, emptiness, stillness, and all things in the unnamable in-between.

Artists: Lesley Bunch, Emily Fussner, Jordan Kornreich, Kelly McKaig, Bob Moskowitz, Mike Ryczek, Naijun Zhang

Manifest Gallery, 2727 Woodburn Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45206, USA

Manifest is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit founded on Woodburn Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2004 by professors and students from area universities seeking to make a positive community impact. Manifest continues to be operated by professors, students, and working artists to this day. Manifest’s programming is divided into four balanced quadrants: Gallery (exhibitions), Press (publications), Artist Residency (support), and Drawing Center (education). The first three programs are housed on Woodburn Avenue. The Drawing Center Studio, located about four miles away on Central Parkway houses the fourth in what will ultimately become The Manifest Center for the Visual Arts after a planned major renovation. Manifest’s operations are funded by a mix of artist-supported revenue, state funding from the Ohio Arts Council, grants from local and national foundations, a growing supporting annual membership, and donations from individuals. Furthermore, sales of their annual publications help fund Manifest’s educational work.

Manifest’s mission is to stand for quality in the visual arts, as well as the importance of creative research, meaningful and accessible art-based experiences for the public, deep learning outside academia, the rigorous documentation of exceptional art, and the promotion of visual literacy, critical thinking, and skill development as important personal and social catalysts.

The organization seeks to engage students, professionals, and the public from around the world through accessible world-class exhibits, studio programs, and publications centred on the broader visual arts.