Hilary Gent: Waters of Motherhood

MassMusings

Hilary Gent, a Cleveland artist who works with oil and latex mediums, is inspired by the urban and natural landscape. She earned her BFA from Kent State University in 2003.

Gent’s paintings are included in public collections such as The Cleveland Clinic, Summa Hospitals, Sherwin Williams, cARTa, Hilton Hotels Corporation, and numerous private collections.

Gent has spent the last fourteen years staging public art exhibits, launching art walks, and planning elaborate receptions for individuals and organizations, all of which have transformed the way residents and visitors view the Northeast Ohio Region. She was one of the first visionaries to plant roots at 78th Street Studios, where she curates art events through her HEDGE Gallery, which now represents 20 regional artists.

Gent has served on the board of SPACES Gallery and volunteered with the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Association and ARTneo. She currently serves on the board of The Print Club of Cleveland.

Gent’s paintings begin with inspiration from the extensive color palette she sees in reflections of light, landscape, and other objects in and on the water. Touch, sound, and sight conjure a personal connection with the water’s surface. Layers take shape through pouring Sherwin Williams latex paint onto the canvas while it’s flat.

The artist says water's movement and energy is ever-changing, similar to the cycles and patterns of motherhood. She translates these unpredictable, turbulent, joyous, and blissful moments with imagery inspired by the temperament of Lake Erie.

“Becoming a mother is an emotionally charged experience, like waves on the water, both wild and wonderful, Gent says. “In this specific series I have imitated some of the extremes felt in motherhood such as exhaustion, euphoria, anxiety, and tranquility by experimenting with a variety of different pours and colors. Sinuous strands represent blissful and sleepy movement, while thicker layers of and darker color hues represent heaviness and strain. Water ebbs and flows. It carves paths, can be peaceful or violent, and is a symbol of resilience.”