Nearly four years ago, artist and curator, Ian Breidenbach returned to his hometown of Findlay from Dayton, to move beyond the arts collective that he founded— BrokenDayton Art Machine. Tired of the commercial gallery system, Briedenbach took a brief hiatus from his installation work, to focus on writing a novel and turning his Findlay studio space into a small gallery. He baptized the white-walled room with a lime-green space heater as The Neon Heater Art Gallery, and opened with a rotating schedule of two-week exhibitions.
That was in 2012. Since then, the Heater has hosted 45 shows, with over 100 artists— many traveling cross-country to Findlay. Booked through June 2016, the innovative art space take to the road, traveling to Miami in December, for the internationally-known Art Miami.
As the Heater celebrates its 4th birthday, we caught up with the eternally-busy Ian to find out how he juggles an impressive art career with the responsibilities of running Findlay’s coolest DIY space.
How does the process of curating a show relate to the process of making your own work?
My personal work has always been narrative in nature, and [uses] a conceptual/visual language that I've been working on for years. It's a very ambiguous language meant to hide a lot about myself as an artist. My curatorial work is almost the complete opposite and is very personal. Curating is a way to figure out what I like and why I like it, how I view art and how I interact with it. This has affected me as an artist [because] I think about how pieces play with each other based on space and order, how they are displayed, how they are similar, their connections [and] their differences.
A piece from Luke Ahern's Excavation, Identification (August 6-20)
How do you choose the artists you feature in shows?
The artists I look for are usually, but not always, working outside of more traditional modes. I don't show a lot of painting, but if I do it's abstract, exploring different materials or moving towards a different goal than just representation. Findlay is not really an "art" town, so I curate the space hoping to rock the apple cart a bit, shake up the view of what art is.
Do you similarly value those aesthetic and conceptual qualities when making your own work?
Most definitely. There's always room for improvement in my work, I'm always looking for ways to say more with less. I have a tendency to think in quantity, so it's a constant battle between what I think I should be doing and what I really want to do.
Girl and a Glacier, by Ian Breidenbach
If you could give a message to an artist struggling to project their voice, what would it be?
Don't be afraid to talk to people you don't know. Every time I curate something I seek out people I don't know whose work I admire. Be curious. Keep making work. Watch Tarkovsky films. Read books. Start a gallery, just pretend to know what you're doing, eventually you'll get it. None of us know what we're doing, we're all trying to figure things out. Be professional, but also be kind, and never worry about the money… because in the end who cares, experiences pay for themselves.
Breidenbach’s personal work will be on display with a site-specific installation called "A Belief in Ghosts is a Belief That the Past Can Still Affect the Present" at The University of Findlay’s Lea Gallery, through November 6.
Neon Heater’s upcoming exhibition, The Silva Field Guide to Birds of a Parallel Future, featuring video, sculpture and prints by Brazilian-based artist, Rick Sivla (November 6-20)
The Neon Heater Art Gallery is open by appointment or during receptions | 400 ½ S. Main St., Room 22. Findlay | 419-957-2731 | facebook.com/neon.heater