Ronald Jason Van Hoose, Time, The Earth and The Dream: A Retrospective

A landscape artist currently based in Youngstown, Ronald Jason Van Hoose’s artistic vision is rooted in the rural landscapes of the small, western Pennsylvania steel town of his childhood. A graduate of Youngstown State University's Fine Arts program, Van Hoose received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Ceramics in 1993. Influenced by the Regionalist School, the Hudson River School, and 19th- and 20th-century popular imagery and science fiction illustration, respectively,Van Hoose’s paintings are found in corporate and private collections throughout the United States. 
 

Jeffrey S. Piper, col·lo·cate

Jeffrey S. Piper is a multi-disciplinary artist with a passion for both teaching and creating. He earned his B.F.A. from Kent State University in 2002, with a minor in Education. He currently teaches art at Lakeview High School. In 2010, Piper became the first graduate student to earn a Master of Art Education degree from YSU, specializing in studio painting. Though his primary focus is painting, he works in multiple mediums, including ceramics, often employing a mixed-media approach in his artwork. Piper’s work has been featured in numerous prestigious local and national exhibitions. 
 

Mike Egan, Built By Death

Mike Egan was born outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and studied Fine Art at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, focusing on Printmaking. After finishing school and without the supplies to continue creating prints, he turned to painting as his medium. His style of bold lines and dark imagery is influenced by his past printmaking as well as an appreciation of traditional tattooing. He uses his love of religious imagery, his experiences dealing with life and death, and his love for skeletons and devils to create his unique vision. 
 

Inspiring Minds Exhibition

Inspiring Minds is a nonprofit organization that engages and empowers youth with after-school and summer programs that focus on five areas of impact: education, college and career readiness, exposure to new experiences, health and wellness, and personal development. This partnership allows the McDonough to encourage creativity and enhance the participants' arts education as well as inspiring these youths to help foster a new generation of art enthusiasts.  

Arron Foster, In_A_Sense

Arron Foster's exhibit takes on an intuitive, research-based approach to observing, studying, and documenting specific locations. Through this work, he hopes to create a dialogue between himself and the viewer that provides an opportunity for the shared exploration and interpretation of places. Foster's prints and installations have been included in notable exhibitions at respected national and international galleries, museums, and art centers. He is an Assistant Professor of Art at Kent State University at Stark in North Canton, Ohio. 
 

Aislinn Janek, Landscape as a Form of Knowledge

2025 Emerging Artist
 

Aislinn Janek is a New York City-based artist whose interdisciplinary practice explores the material language of painting, sewing, and memory. Rooted in an intuitive yet methodical process, her work often involves layering acrylic paint and hand-stitching through canvas, transforming the surface into a meditative space that traces time, labor, and the fragility of presence. She has exhibited internationally, with recent solo exhibitions in Ashiya, Japan, at Akira Art Room. She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies with minors in Fine Art and Psychology from Youngstown State University. 
 

Michael Boyd Roman, Negus Weighting on a Miracle

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Michael Boyd Roman comes to Northeast Ohio to serve as an Assistant Professor of Design and Black Visual Cultures at Oberlin College and Conservatory. His mixed media and charcoal drawings seek to portray the ordinary grace of the contemporary Black experience informed by religious iconography juxtaposed against hip hop and pop cultural references. His extensive experience as an art educator includes teaching K-12, with his work in higher education beginning as the Visual Arts Program Director at Morehouse College in 2013. 
 

Justin Sorensen, June 13th

Justin Sorensen is an Ohio-based artist whose work explore time, religion, technology, and literature. Working across multiple mediums and visual traditions, Sorensen’s work ranges from durationally driven drawing projects to intuitive investigations that are grounded in sculpture, performance, and installation. In 2018, he received a fellowship from the Nagel Institute at Calvin University, allowing him to study art and religion in Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai. In 2025, he was awarded an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. Originally from the Pennsylvania Rust Belt, Sorensen has lived in Rhode Island, Iowa, and North Dakota, before moving to Ohio in 2016. When he’s not in the studio, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters.