Pop Goes the Easel: Whimsical Portraits and Lighthearted Animals Inspired by Picasso, Warhol & Animation
August 4 - September 13, 2025
Rosewood Arts Center is proud to continue its commitment to celebrating local artists with two compelling exhibitions on view in August and September at the Kettering Health Art Gallery. A special solo exhibition will feature the vibrant paintings of Kettering native Nancy Cartwright, whose expressive work reflects a deep connection to her hometown and creative roots.
Presented alongside Cartwright’s exhibition is a group show highlighting the remarkable talents of fifteen artists from the Dayton African American Visual Artists Guild (AAVAG). This powerful showcase offers a dynamic range of perspectives and artistic approaches from established and emerging Black artists in the region.
Pop Goes the Easel: Whimsical Portraits and Lighthearted Animals Inspired by Picasso, Warhol & Animation, features work on Lucite by Emmy Award winning actor and artist Nancy Cartwright. These reverse style paintings are created using animation techniques and bright, joyful color. Much of Cartwright’s artwork is animated in nature and inspired by Picasso and Warhol. Her use of vibrant color in creating colorful pop art spans a variety of collections ranging from spotlighting societal issues to her love of animated characters.
Image Caption: Nancy Cartwright, Kitty Whiskers, 2022, Archival print from an original painting mounted on Acrylic panel, limited edition
The African American Visual Artists Guild
What's New?
August 4 - September 13, 2025
Artist's reception: September 6, 2025 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
The AAVAG’s traveling exhibition, What’s New?, will close out it’s 2025 Dayton-area run with its final showing at Rosewood. The AAVAG was born out of the need to express visually the African American experience through a wide range of styles and subject matter using many diverse approaches and materials with a focus on communicating the artist's own spirituality. Artists in the exhibition include: Nathan Conner, Andrea Walker Cummings, Yvette Walker Dalton, Horace Dozier, Al Harden, Morris Howard, Debora Hurst, Bennie Kelley, Cedric McGhee, Clarice Moore, David Redmon, Debra Richardson Wood, Craig Screven and Beverley Whiteside.
Image Caption: Morris Howard, Love Our Women, Oil on Canvas