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.
2024 Ohio Artist Registry Juried Exhibition
Bio
Forge Garrabrant is an artist and craftsman that lives and works in Columbus, Ohio. He was born in Columbus and grew up on a farm in Galena, Ohio. He started his career working with glass at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington state and continued his education at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio where he got his associates degree. He transferred to the Columbus College of Art and Design and received his BFA in 2019. Forge works as a gallery assistant and art handler at Hawk Galleries and as a glass blowing instructor at the Franklin Park Conservatory. His conceptual artwork is usually about memory, the senses and emotions attached to those memories, and often references the microscopic structures they form.
Artist Statement
I am an artist that is interested in the memories the brain holds onto, whether they be significant or insignificant, the senses attached to them, and how that information is stored and structured. I primarily create glass sculptures referencing the microscopic structures that memories form. I also use a lot of found objects, many from my childhood, which often represent different aspects of memory. My work allows me to disentangle my memories and emotions by translating them through a craft that requires a great deal of focus and attention. Growing up on a farm, Saturday morning cartoons, the smell of lilac and honeysuckle, family members passing, and heartbreak are memories that have stayed with me. These memories may feel random and confusing, but for me, they are all connected. Using physical and emotional aspects of my memories, I’m able to create abstract sculptures referencing the structures of neurons and synapses. These sculptures vary in size and color and take shape as many different biomorphic forms.