Corrie A. Slawson

Corrie Slawson’s work engages with a matrix of social, political, and cultural concerns that are often difficult to resolve. Centering on such issues as justice and human rights, land-use, climate change, environmental degradation, and the current-day impacts of European Colonialism, Corrie approaches the notions of place, home, and community as if they were constructed, physical bodies—sometimes inflamed and falling apart, other times resilient and growing.   

Born, raised, and currently living in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Corrie’s work consists primarily of painting, printmaking, drawing, and collaged elements that coalesce into detailed, panoramic landscapes or extreme close-up shots of swirling, amalgamated forms.   Sometimes naturalistic, other times channeling a baroque surrealism, Corrie’s imagery evolved from a photo-journalistic practice rooted in the visuals of her daily commute towards a broader concern with global inequities that often stem from Colonization and unbalanced wealth accumulation. Continually sourcing recognizable elements—from national and international architectural landmarks and historical icons to the local gas station on the corner—Corrie’s deepest concerns as an artist and as an individual focus on those most vulnerable: endangered species, for example, those who dwell near abandoned lots, or populations most affected yet least responsible for devastating climate changes.  

Following her B.F.A. in painting at Parsons School of Design in New York City, Corrie earned her M.F.A. in painting at Kent State University. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States at numerous northeast Ohio institutions, including MOCA Cleveland, The Toledo Museum of Art, Akron Art Museum, The Massillon Museum, SPACES, The Sculpture Center, The Morgan Paper Conservancy, Heights Arts, Gallery W and Shaheen Modern and Contemporary. Nationally Corrie’s work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions at such venues as Soltesz Fine Art (Portland, OR), Opalka Galley (Albany, NY), Long Beach Island Foundation (Long Beach Island, NJ), Rhombus Space (Brooklyn, NY), Rockford Art Museum (Rockford, IL), and the Arnold and Shiela Aronson Galleries at the Parsons School of Design (NY). Internationally, Corrie’s work has been exhibited at NIDO International Center for the Arts (Montecastello di Vibio, Italy); Galerie Module Drei (Dresden, Germany); Texture Printmaking Studio (Taipei, Tawian); Fondazione Estetica & Progresso (Sardinia, Italy); and Centro Cultural (Tijuana, Mexico).  

In addition to earning two Individual Artist Awards from the Ohio Arts Council (2012, 2019), in 2021 Corrie was honored with the  Cleveland Arts Prize Mid-Career Artist Award. Most recently, with support from SPACES Satellite Fund, The Andy Warhol Foundation and Akron Soul Train, Corrie and a team of northeast Ohio-based artists produced Feast: a ballet, which premiered at Cuyahoga Community College in March of 2022.  The film adaptation Feast: a ballet has circulated widely in film festivals internationally and earned the Gold Laurel at the Virgin Spring Cinefest in Kolkata, India. 

Corrie’s work is in public and private collections across the United States, including Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ); Case Western Reserve University Putnam Collection (Cleveland, OH), University of Illinois (Champaign, IL), Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Progressive Insurance Art Collection, among numerous other institutions. She is represented by Shaheen Modern and Contemporary in Cleveland, OH.