Introducing the Carl Solway Gallery Archive
For over six decades, the Carl Solway Gallery stood as a cornerstone of Cincinnati’s modern and contemporary art scene. Throughout its history, the gallery promoted and maintained relationships with groundbreaking artists such as John Cage, Buckminster Fuller, Yoko Ono, Harry Bertoia, Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Gilliam, Ann Hamilton, Richard Hamilton, Charlotte Moorman, Claes Oldenburg, Nam June Paik, George Rickey, Mark Rothko, Saul Steinberg and Andy Warhol.
Now, the gallery’s legacy is preserved in the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) Library and will soon be available for viewing and research. The archive includes artists’ letters, handwritten exhibition plans and checklists, gallery announcements and other ephemera dating back to the 1960s. In addition, there are over 30 pieces of artwork that once were on display in the gallery. The artworks will be catalogued and cared for by the UC Art Collection.
Elizabeth Meyer, head of the DAAP Library, shares her experience:
“When I visited the Solway Gallery, I was struck by the impact Carl Solway had on the contemporary art world. He played a key role in orchestrating the Cincinnati Art Museum’s commission of Andy Warhol to paint Pete Rose. He also facilitated the Contemporary Arts Center’s commission of Nam June Paik for the 27’ Metrobot sculpture. Additionally, the striking murals that adorned downtown Cincinnati in the 1970s and 1980s—many of which I grew up admiring—were the result of Solway’s collaboration with Jack Boulton on the Urban Walls Project.”
The Carl Solway Gallery will serve as a valuable resource for students and researchers in art history, fine arts, museum studies and local history, providing unique insight into Cincinnati’s role in the national and international art world.
The DAAP Library will hire an archivist to organize the collection and create an online finding aid. Once fully processed, the Carl Solway Gallery Archive will be available for study and research in the DAAP Library. Future exhibits of materials from the archive and the artwork are forthcoming.
