Sunday Series Artist Talks: Ron Copeland

Throughout 2024 we’ll be hosting conversations between artist & curator. Judy Barie, Director of Galleries at The Chautauqua Institution, and a member from Pittsburgh’s creative community to discuss their work & practice.

This April, we’re excited to welcome painter, Ron Copeland to the conversation!

Judy Barie is a curator and painter with a long career supporting artists. She divides her time between Pittsburgh, PA and Chautauqua, NY, where she serves as the Susan and John Turben Director of the Chautauqua Visual Arts Galleries. At Chautauqua, she curates and directs a variety of contemporary exhibitions while inspiring collectors and supporting artists. Judy was also the curator of PCA&M’s 2023 Member and Student Exhibition. 

Ron is a multidisciplinary artist. Originally from Canton, Ohio, his post-industrial aesthetic and mantra of reclaim and recycle derives from growing up in the Rust Belt region. His early work focused on photographing blighted buildings, factories and defunct signage, which also became content for screen prints and paintings. Ron then began collecting found and salvaged materials, creating work in sculpture, painting, assemblage and lighting. By salvaging pieces of the past, his work celebrates our collective history.

Can’t make the talk? Ron is hosting a workshop with us on May 10th called Hand-Drawn Type Design From Vintage Advertisement.