The Ohio Artist Registry (OAR) is an exciting opportunity for artists to share their work, connect with the creative community, and establish an online presence—all on a free, virtual platform! The OAR encourages artists working in all art forms, throughout Ohio and beyond, to create a profile, which allows them to better promote themselves and their work. Being listed in the OAR provides artists with new opportunities to share their work with clients, galleries, patrons, and audiences. A listing in the OAR does not confer an endorsement, approval, or verification by the Ohio Arts Council.
For more information, contact Kathy Signorino, artist programs director, at kathy.signorino@oac.ohio.gov or 614-728-6140.
Abigail Zaleski
ArtistNewark Ohio 43055 United States Home Phone: 7406056776 Website: Abigail Zaleski || Fine Art
Bio
Abigail is an artist from southern Ohio, raised in a rural, working-class community within a blended family. Her early life experiences continue to inform her perspective, shaping a practice rooted in observation, adaptation, and resilience.
Before pursuing fine art, Abigail built a career in the United States Air Force, where she served six years on active duty and two years in the reserves as a Cryptologic Language Analyst. Her work as a translator took her both across the United States and overseas, reinforcing a deep engagement with language, communication, and cultural interpretation. During her service, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Language, and an Associate of Science in Intelligence Studies. She also studied abroad at Korea University in Seoul, South Korea.
Following her voluntary separation from military service, Abigail shifted her focus to the visual arts. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Columbus College of Art & Design in 2026, where she was introduced to printmaking and sculpture—disciplines that now play a central role in her practice.
Her work is informed by her background in language and analysis, often exploring themes of translation, perception, and the tension between structure and ambiguity. Through material processes and layered imagery, she investigates how meaning is constructed, altered, and understood across contexts.
Abigail is currently a Master of Fine Arts candidate in Printmaking at Ohio University in Athens, where she continues to expand her interdisciplinary approach.
Artist Statement
The work is an exploration of how institutions shape identity and limit autonomy,
especially for women in uniform under a patriarchal system. As a collection, it considers the tension between duty and freedom, and emphasizes inequities like lack of recognition, dismissal, and violence that women disproportionately face. While acknowledging the altering effects of service, these issues are partnered with a focus on resilience, sisterhood, and the importance of women continuing to challenge spaces and roles where they have been historically excluded from.
American symbols and personal military materials are deconstructed and transformed to question the systemic protection of power, nationalism, and gendered bias. The psychological and emotional effects of service become points of entry, reinforcing the importance of connection and support gained from the bonds formed in shared grief. Creating a tension between pride and protest, belonging and exclusion, while validating women’s capabilities and belonging in spaces where they are often underrepresented.
Uniforms, flags, and photographs are taken apart, altered, and layered through sculpture,
printmaking, drawing, and embroidery. Breaking down and reassembling these materials
questions patriotic imagery while revealing the silence, exclusion, labor, and lived experiences
behind them.