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Local artist featured in ‘Cincinnati Steel’ exhibit

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By James Sprague, Contributing Writer 10:22 AM Saturday, January 28, 2012

CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati art studio is featuring an exhibit of some of the region’s notable steel artists, including one from Liberty Twp.

Brazee Street Studios Gallery One is hosting the art exhibit “Cincinnati Steel,” which runs through March 2, features steel artwork from 11 area artists — one of those artists is Pattie Byron of Liberty Twp.

A steel sculptor for 11 years, Byron’s work focuses on communicating and addressing social issues regarding subjects such as gender, body image, poverty, AIDS and abuse.

Byron concentrates on such issues because art should be more than just art, she said.

“I really believe being an artist is beyond a job,” Byron said. “It is imperative that my art has a larger purpose than just being something pretty in the room.”

Her current work on display at Brazee Street Studios is part of a new series of hers, titled “Flight or Flight,” which focuses the flight or flight response.

“In the series I’m examining the response and how it pertains to women,” Byron said. “You don’t always get that out of the art because it’s abstract, but that’s the big thesis behind it.”

So far the response to her new creations has been positive, she said.

“It has been great,” Byron said. “The response was really wonderful. I prepared some new work that hasn’t been seen, so it was important for me because it was the first time I received any feedback on it.”

Byron takes an abstract angle on her artwork and for good reason, she said.

“When something is realistic, you’re dealing with something specific (such as a specific person, gender, etc.),” Byron said. “With abstract, you’re able to include more demographics, so it becomes more all inclusive. It’s not like I have a set opinion. I want to start conversations about some sort of issue.”

Byron’s work may also be familiar with Butler County residents who’ve frequented Union Center Square. The “Community Chain” piece, which sits in the center of the complex, is an artistic piece she was commissioned to do by West Chester Twp.

She also displays her work at her studio at the Pendleton Arts Center in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine during the city’s Final Friday studio walks, and has participated in exhibitions as far away as Illinois and as close as Miami University’s Voice of America campus.

“I would love to get closer to home (regarding a studio in Liberty Twp, but I’m a city girl at heart and rather enjoy my space down in the city,” Byron said.

Byron comes across the material for her artwork not from AK Steel, as some may think, but rather a more conventional method.

“A lot of times I will buy (the steel) from a supply house,” Byron said. “I’m lucky enough to run across some scrap metal I can use, but most of the time I’ll start with a clean piece of metal.”

Byron isn’t pigeonholed by her use of steel, however. Many of her compositions also include painting and multimedia features.

“Nothing is off limits,” Byron said. “But right now my focus is on metal, wood and ceramic.”