Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Allison Bogard Hall. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Allison, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The painting “& When We Meet Again I’ll Bring You the Whole Sky (For Heather)” is a massive piece. It’s 55×80 inches, and it stretches from floor to ceiling. This piece was incredibly hard to paint, not just due to scale. I started it in my studio in 2022, just a big piece of gessoed cadmium red canvas stretched on a wall. I told my friend Elena way back when I first started that I (selfishly, perhaps)wanted it to be as “big as all the pain I felt” when I found out my best friend and college roommate had suddenly passed on. From that starting point, it stayed red for some time. I wasn’t ready to work on it. As I finally started to paint, I slowly worked in other colors- pinks and whites and blues, softening the red. I’ve heard that grief doesn’t shrink, but that we continue to grow around it while it continues to burst out when we least expect it. I let this painting develop slowly, not planning ahead as I usually do, but rather relying on instinct, letting things come to me as I worked on other pieces. Instinctually, my shadow hit the painting one day in the studio, so I painted it in. Then I added Heather’s shadow, walking ahead on the beach. It struck me then that in this painted world I’d created, we both existed on the same plane of existence at the same time. Heather’s mom was able to fly in for the opening of the show, and it wasn’t so much my pain thrust upon her that she experienced, thankfully. Rather, I think she was able to dwell in that invented world with us for a while. It was the best gift I could have asked for, to see her and to have her experience that painting. That’s everything for me as an artist- both the experience of creating, and then putting those creations out into the world and having them mean something to someone outside of myself. The day after the opening my son and I were on a hike in the woods and we came face to face with a doe, and it didn’t run or even look scared. It stared right at us, and we all stood there for a while, until we decided to continue on with our hike. It felt like a sign that whatever Heather’s mom and I had experienced together had been the right thing. I think Heather would like the painting. If she were here, I’d give it to her. I’d Bring Her the Whole Sky, all 55×80 inches of it.
Allison, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a multi-disciplinary artist who focuses mainly on oil painting and printmaking. I make artwork out of my studio at the Screw Factory in Lakewood, Ohio. Although I dabble in many different mediums and ways of making, I have recently been focusing on large-scale oil paintings. I earned my BFA in Painting at MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) in 2014, and have since been living in the Cleveland area. I make work that speaks to the magic of everyday life: snapshot moments worth cementing in paint. Images that speak to the viewer on a deeper level, landscapes they glimpsed once but couldn’t quite capture. A large part of my practice involves painting and drawing places I remember, but didn’t photograph- either intentionally or because a picture couldn’t do the moment or scene justice.
My second solo exhibition, Alchemy Dreams, just closed at the Fuller House Gallery at BAYarts in Bay Village, Ohio. This exhibition consisted of oil paintings of various sizes revolving around themes of memory, motherhood, and loss. The opportunity to exhibit at BAYarts was awarded to me through the 2022 CAN Triennial by CAN Journal and BAYarts, and the show can now be viewed in its entirety on my website. We regularly have Open Studio Events at the Screw Factory, and my studio is part of Get Together Studio in studio 303D on the 3rd floor. I share this space with 6 other incredible artists. Come and visit us! You can see what we’ve been making, and I have paintings, prints, and originals available at all price points. Art is for everyone!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
As an artist you hear “no” often. I have been turned down from grants, shows- more opportunities than I can count. All artists have. When I first graduated from school in 2014, I saw this as a sign of defeat. How can I show my work if no one will say yes? I have since learned how powerful it is to work hard for the right opportunity, to be ready when you do get the “yes”. When my best friend Heather from MICA passed away in 2021, I didn’t know how I was going to make paintings again. How could I move forward making these works that were supposed to convey emotion, when I was in such turmoil? I couldn’t even get off the couch. I entered the CAN Triennial to give me something to work towards, and was accepted. It was the first piece of art that I finished after Heather passed. From that piece, I was awarded the CAN Triennial Exhibition Prize by BAYarts, which led to my show Alchemy Dreams. I dedicated the show to Heather, 29 pieces. So many of those pieces were made for her, about her. The swans in this body of work are strong and resilient- they represent women and mothers, the sisters and friends and she/they femmes in our lives. They confront the viewers, they ask for equality and to be taken seriously in our current political and social landscape. Swans are elegant and beautiful, but they can also break a grown man’s arm when threatened. They’re great parents, they’re loyal friends and companions, and they mate for life. Pretty cool, swans. Heather’s memory and the belief that she always had in me gives me strength. I think she would’ve been proud of what I was able to accomplish- I think she would get the swans.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
That women couldn’t be married and have children and also be successful artists. This is something I’m still actively unlearning. I had several male professors in college tell me (and entire classrooms full of young women)that they couldn’t be successful in the art world if they got married and had kids. I think it depends on what your idea of being a successful artist is. For me, being a “successful artist” means that I’m actively making and showing my work, and that I continue to push myself. As long as I’m able to do that, I’m happy. As women, I believe we do have phases that we go through in life where we have to give more of our energy and attention- truly, more of ourselves- to other people. We become caregivers. I’ve learned that while I’m in a phase of my life where I’m actively a caregiver and raising a child, I still need to be making art and experiencing it as an active part of my life. Therefore, I try to incorporate my child into my work, and bring him into the art world with me. We make it a part of our daily life as a family. Maybe he’ll become the kind of kid who loved making art with mom growing up! I can only hope. Of course, the most important thing for him is to still be a kid and do things kids love to do. If we go to the studio or to an opening with Mom, there definitely needs to be a pool day and ice cream to follow. We’re finding balance!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://allisonbogardhall.com
- Instagram: @allison.bogard.hall
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonchall/
Image Credits
All credits to the artist