Ohio State Faculty Club to host opening reception for new exhibit “Cody Heichel: Watercolors” Friday

Haig Aghjayan
Mon, 18 Mar 2024 23:13:36 +0000
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One of Heichel’s paintings on display at the Ohio State Faculty Club’s “Cody Heichel: Watercolors” exhibit, which depicts a casino scene with patrons surrounding a dealer’s table. The watercolor painting is sized at 26.25 by 33.75 inches framed and was made in 2024. Credit: Cody Heichel

On Monday, the Ohio State Faculty Club opened its doors to an array of watercolor paintings by self-taught and award-winning artist Cody Heichel.

In collaboration with Columbus’ Brandt-Roberts Galleries, the Faculty Club — located on the south part of The Oval — is hosting the “Cody Heichel: Watercolors” opening reception Friday from 6-8 p.m., according to a Faculty Club press release. The exhibit itself will be available to view until May 3 during the club’s regular hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the press release states.

Cody Heichel, a Brandt-Roberts Galleries professional artist and the sole contributor to this exhibit, said he was excited to collaborate with the Faculty Club after Robie Benve, the club’s art coordinator, approached him on Instagram.

A look into Heichel’s own home via a depiction of his set of drawers, decorated with a vase on top and filled with a flower bouquet. The painting is sized at 31.25 by 23.75 inches framed and was made in 2023. Credit: Cody Heichel.

“This will be my first solo show at the Faculty Club,” Heichel said. “I’ve been at Brandt-Roberts Galleries for about eight or nine years now, but this was an opportunity that I was approached to do an exhibition outside of that space.”

Heichel said the exhibit will consist of 20 paintings he has crafted over the past two years, none of which have been publicly displayed until now. Generally, Heichel said he has always had an unwavering passion for the arts, though this exhibit’s specific watercolor focus is relatively new to him.

“Art in general, I’ve always been attracted to. I would load up my schedule with all the art classes I could,” Heichel said. “The medium that drew me in was watercolors. I just started getting a lot of books out of the library and finding artists whose works resonated with me.”

Heichel said his artistic inspiration can arise from anywhere; nevertheless, he said most creative concepts blossom from his personal life, as is true of this exhibit.

“The work is all inspired by my surroundings and just living my life,” Heichel said. “They’re all personal in that sense in that it can be anywhere from a painting of my bed to a painting that my children are in or it could be a beach or countryside.”

Benve said this personalized style sets Heichel apart from many artists, and she looks forward to seeing all his works herself.

“He sees the normal, everyday things that you might take for granted and he turns them into something special,” Benve said. “He has a way of sophistication and abstraction and there is a lot of feeling in his work. I’m looking forward to it and I’m really excited about this show.”

Taking inspiration from his everyday life, Heichel depicts his kitchen cupboard. The painting is sized at 27.25 by 19.75 inches framed and was made in 2023. Credit: Cody Heichel.

According to the Brandt-Roberts Galleries’ website, Heichel has won awards like The Past Presidents Award at the 100th Annual National Watercolor Society International Juried Exhibition in 2020, Best of Show in the Central Ohio Watercolor Society 2019 Spring Exhibition and Best of Show in both the 2020 and 2019 Ohio Plein Air Society Annual Competition.

“He has always been an award winner,” Benve said. “He had amazing work earlier and he has amazing work now.”

Each of the 20 pieces on display is also for sale, with 80% of the profits going to Heichel and 20% going to the Faculty Club to help cover the exhibit’s costs, Benve said.

Heichel said Friday’s opening reception has an added layer of excitement for him, as he will be celebrating his birthday — which actually takes place Wednesday — during the event.

“This would be a really excellent way to celebrate is to have an exhibition and really feel entitled to invite everyone I know and love,” Heichel said. “I’ve been looking forward to it.”

Notably, Benve said the club building’s heavy front door often makes potential attendees think the space is locked. She hopes this doesn’t deter possible eventgoers, she said.

“It’s open to anyone at OSU or from the community, Columbus, Ohio, the world, anybody’s welcome,” Benve said. “People think the door is locked, but it’s not, it’s open.”

More information about the free exhibit can be found on the Art Makes Columbus event page.