Paul Aho: A Retrospective
November 21, 2026–January 9, 2027, Multi-Galleries
What changes when an artist moves from a painted surface to a camera or a printing plate? Artspace Southern Illinois invites you to follow that question through decades of Paul Aho’s work in two Carbondale galleries. At the 304 Cultural Arts Center, the retrospective traces how Aho uses color, layered surfaces, and shifting forms to give his abstract paintings depth and movement. At On the Strip Gallery, a companion exhibition of photography and prints shows how framing and printmaking processes open up other ways of seeing. Visit both galleries to discover which ideas carry across media and which come into focus only when the medium changes. Both exhibitions are free and open to the public.
304 Cultural Arts Center | Paintings
A burst of color catches the eye. Look longer, and a pattern emerges beneath the paint, a shape interrupts the rhythm, or a passage that seemed flat begins to suggest depth. In this retrospective, curated by Dr. Chuck Benya, paintings from across Paul Aho’s career show how he uses abstraction to evoke the sensations of looking at the world. Move from an early canvas to one made decades later, and watch a familiar form change character. A shift in scale can make it feel more assertive, while a change in color can send it receding into the composition. Like a phrase in jazz, a form can return with a different emphasis and change how we experience the whole painting.
On the Strip Gallery | Photography and Prints
The companion exhibition invites visitors to see how Aho works with the possibilities of other media. A photograph directs attention through what it brings into the frame. A print draws attention to how an image is built and transferred. After seeing the paintings at 304, look for echoes of their rhythms and forms in these works.
About Paul Aho
Paul Aho’s career spans studio practice, teaching, curating, and arts leadership. He earned a BFA from Florida State University and an MFA from the University of South Florida. He served as dean and director of the Paducah School of Art and Design at West Kentucky Community and Technical College and twice received the South Florida Cultural Consortium’s Visual and Media Artists Fellowship. Paul has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon, Illinois.
Artist receptions
Saturday, December 12, noon–2 p.m. at both galleries
304 Cultural Arts Center · Paintings · 304 W. Walnut Street, Carbondale
On the Strip Gallery · Photography and prints · 607 S. Illinois Avenue, Carbondale