Ian Marshall is a Kent, Ohio-based oil painter and photographer. His works and style are architecturally driven - structural elements and geometric aspects are the foundations for his compositions. Photographs of architectural elements and structures are documented extensively and then transformed into works of art. Ian has received numerous awards throughout Northeast Ohio such as acceptance into the GAR Foundation in Akron along with Best of Show at Art in the Park in Kent. Ian has also shown work at 78th Street Studios in Cleveland. Throughout the year, he runs and manages a personal artistic business that focuses on the display and sale of a variety of his artwork across a vast array of local art shows and events. Ian graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art within a concentration of Painting from Kent State University in 2017.
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"My photography explores areas composing of industrial, rustic, natural, and architecturally complex
qualities. The industrial nature of my photos reflects a once heavily trafficked area now at a quiet standstill of overgrowth, overabundance of erosion, and withering materials. I am drawn to these forgotten pockets of a life once utilized. I am inspired by these degraded and uninhabited areas and how they can provide a pleasing homeostasis of form, color, light, and various captivating elements combined into a singular composition. I rely heavily on dramatic lighting to infuse my photography with an aesthetically pleasing radiance. I am capturing the elegance of these areas in their dormant stage which depicts a lack of human interaction. The once purposeful areas I capture have exhausted their usable potential throughout the years and now exist for a new artistic purpose."
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"The natural side of my photography focuses on overgrowth, rich sunsets, powerful lightning strikes, and celestial phenomenon. My landscape compositions explore fantastic lighting alongside rich colors which are activated through dramatic sunrises and sunsets. I find a pleasing amount of beautiful color found in smooth gradients in the sky extending from horizon to beyond."
"I view my oil paintings as abstracted blueprints for architectural elements. My compositions are derived from heavy photographic observations of industrial and contemporary structural aspects including interesting lineage segments, fantastic gradients found in the reflective quality of metal, translucent features of windows, and hard-edged shapes to weigh down compositions in a balancing manner. I utilize imposed color to augment the basic and generic nature of industrial surfaces and textures. I piece together my compositions similarly to a puzzle; each work is composed of multiple photographs that have been fragmented into various layers which coalesce within one another. My goal throughout these paintings is to create beauty from generic aspects of architecture and structures – my personal form of architectural abstraction."​
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Professional Work
• Art Vendor at local fairs and events in Northeast Ohio, 2018-present
• Volunteer Photographer, Portage Park District, Kent, Ohio 2020-present
• Gallery Artist
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Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting
Kent State University 2017
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Awards/Recognition
• Art in the Park 2023 Best of Show, Kent, Ohio
• Hometown Bank Yearly Calendar Photo Contest Winner 2021-2024, Kent, Ohio
• Artrepreneur Competition Winner: Geometric Abstraction, 2022
• Art in the Park 2022 Honorable Mention, Kent, Ohio
• Featured Artist for Art in the Park, August 2022, Kent, Ohio
• Northeast Ohio Photo Club Guest Photographer Speaker, July 2022, Kent, Ohio
• Artist of the Month June 2020, Standing Rock Gallery, Kent, Ohio
• Artrepreneur Competition Winner: Crossing the Line, 1st Place, 2020
• Art in the Park 2018 Best of Show, Kent, Ohio
• GAR Foundation Student Annual prize, Akron, Ohio 2015 & 2016
Exhibitions
• Group Exhibition: Celebrating 225 Years of Ravenna, Popped! Art Space, Ravenna, Ohio 2024
• Group Exhibition: Summer Bliss, FJ Kluth Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2024
• Group Exhibition: Earth Energy, FJ Kluth Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2024
• Group Exhibition: Let Love Flow, FJ Kluth Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2024
• Group Exhibition: A Glimpse into the Lens, Popped! Art Space, Ravenna, Ohio 2024
• Group Exhibition: A.I. Into a Painting, Jividen Studio, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Group Exhibition: Popped! Art Space Inaugural Show, Ravenna, Ohio 2023
• Group Exhibition: Transform and Fly, FJ Kluth Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Group Exhibition: Celestial Phenomenon, FJ Kluth Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Solo Exhibition: Ascension, North Water Brewing Co, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Group Exhibition: Interiors of the Mind, Dream Spaces, FJ Kluth Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Guest Speaker: Ian Marshall - Giving Artistic Purpose to the Forgotten, Jividen Studio, Kent, Ohio 2022
• Solo Exhibition: Enigmatic Interiors, Gallery 202, 78th Street Studios, Cleveland, Ohio 2021
• Solo Exhibition: Art in Transit, Robert K. Pfaff Transit Center, Akron, Ohio 2021
• Group Exhibition: Third Friday Art Walk 2021, Gallery 202, 78th Street Studios, Cleveland, Ohio
• Solo Exhibition: Glide, Standing Rock Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2020
• Group Exhibition: Third Friday Art Walk 2019 & 2020, Ramp Arts, 78th Street Studios, Cleveland, Ohio
• Virtual Exhibition: Inter/net/ Connections, Project Three Gallery, Akron, Ohio 2019
• Group Exhibition: Standing Rock Gallery Show, Kent, Ohio 2018
• Group Exhibition: Portage Park District, KSU School of Art Downtown Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2017
• Group Exhibition: Painting IV Show, Kent, Ohio 2017
• Solo Exhibition: Senior Thesis: Virtua Physica, KSU School of Art Peyto Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2017
• Group Exhibition: GAR Foundation Student Annual Show, Akron, Ohio 2016
• Group Exhibition: Blossom 2016 Show, Kent, Ohio
• Group Exhibition: Painting IV Show, Gallery 425, Kent, Ohio 2016
• Group Exhibition: #ArtCollege, Kent, Ohio 2016
• Solo Exhibition: No Man’s Land, Marshall Arts Studios, College Towers, Kent, Ohio 2016
• Group Exhibition: Hostelity III, Chelsea International Hostel, Manhattan, New York City 2016
• Two-Person Exhibition: Hostelity II, Chelsea International Hostel, Manhattan, New York City 2016
• Two-Person Exhibition: Hostelity, Chelsea International Hostel, Manhattan, New York City 2015
• Group Exhibition: GAR Foundation Student Annual Show, Akron, Ohio 2015
• Group Exhibition: Invented Spaces, RO3 Gallery, Akron, Ohio 2015
• Group Exhibition: Foundations Exhibition, KSU School of Art Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2015
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Art Fairs/Events
• Holiday Art Market, FJ Kluth Gallery, Kent, Ohio 2024
• Ravenna Balloon-A-Fair, Ravenna, Ohio 2024
• Art in the Park, Kent, Ohio 2024
• Kent Heritage Festival, Kent, Ohio 2024
• Art on Main, Ravenna, Ohio 2024
• Art & Wine Fest, Kent, Ohio 2024
• Craft Crawl, Downtown Kent, Ohio 2024
• Earth Day Market, Downtown Kent, Ohio 2024
• Maker's Market, Acorn Alley, Kent, Ohio 2024
• Skater Creator Holiday Art Mart, North Water Brewing, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Multicultural Holiday Festival, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Ravenna Balloon-A-Fair, Ravenna, Ohio 2023
• Art in the Park, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Kent Fest, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Art on Main, Ravenna, Ohio 2023
• Art & Wine Fest, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Zephyr Pub Art Mart, Kent, Ohio 2023
• Zephyr Pub Holiday Art Mart, Kent, Ohio 2022
• Skater Creator Holiday Art Mart, North Water Brewing, Kent, Ohio 2022
• American Legion Holiday Festival, Kent, Ohio 2022
• Sunbeau Valley Craft Show, Ravenna, Ohio 2022
• Art in the Park, Kent, Ohio 2022
• Art on Main, Ravenna, Ohio 2022
• Zephyr Pub Holiday Art Mart, Kent, Ohio 2021
• Art in the Park, Kent, Ohio 2021
• Art in the Park, Kent, Ohio 2019
• Art & Wine Fest, Kent, Ohio 2019
• Art in the Park, Kent, Ohio 2018

Ian Marshall
From Kent, Ohio
Lives & works in Kent, Ohio