January 19 – April 23, 2021
Reception: Thursday, March 25, 2021; 4 – 6p
Updates and reception sign-up here or contact 614.823.1792
Need to attend the reception virtually? Click here.

The exhibition Kiguilou Pinah (Year of Sorrow) features the Columbus-based artist Bamazi Talle’s large-scale oil painting series that visually chronicles the arc of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) as it unfolded in 2020. Uniquely, Talle’s storytelling expresses itself through a blending of West African nature-based spirituality, iconography, color symbolism, and scientific visualization. The show’s title, Kiguilou Pinah, comes from the Kabiye language of northern Togo, West Africa, Talle’s birth country. Although it translates as “Year of Sorrow,” the artist’s interpretive proclivity is rooted in a practical, deep listening to nature, rather than morality. As such, his paintings acknowledge our world’s suffering and grief in this time, while simultaneously placing personal experiences into a broader, metaphysical context that allows for healing, transformation, and hope.