Sylvia Sykes' "The Equinox" exhibit
Sylvia Sykes’ first memory is of the drawing of Angelica Pickles from “Rugrats” that she did on the wall when she was 3.
“I used to get in trouble a lot for drawing on the walls. My mom was always upset, and one day she wasn’t. She stopped one day to admire this drawing,” the Akron native recalls. “It was like, Wow, I want to make art forever.”
Now, her primary medium is painting, typically portraits, in acrylic or oil paint. Making art gives her time to be contemplative, processing her thoughts and the world around her.
“I use art as a meditation on things that I think the universe or higher power is trying to give me signs about,” she says.
For her upcoming solo exhibit, “The Equinox,” which is on display at White Rabbit Galleries in Barberton Sept. 16 to Oct. 22, she is inspired by the Sept. 22 fall equinox, known for having an equal amount of day and night within 24 hours. It also occurs during the time frame of her zodiac sign, libra, that’s represented by balance scales.
“I’ve always been all about balance,” says the artist who co-owns Sylvia Paints Gallery in Barberton that features her work and will offer classes. “Even if I don’t necessarily accomplish that balance, I’m still trying to get there.”
The exhibit features 24 new paintings that represent balance visually or metaphorically.
A figurative example is balance found through self-care, featured in a painting depicting a quiet morning moment. “Something that’s very sacred to me is my morning breakfast time. It’s almost ritualistic,” she says.
Sykes paired it with another painting set to be displayed alongside it — a scene illustrating productivity. “About half of the pieces are going to be like that,” she says, “in contrast to each other.” For those paired paintings, Sykes worked on them at the same time.
Two of Sykes’ favorites in the exhibit are “Monday in Ohio” and “Tuesday in Ohio,” which portray a person sweating and a person bundled in warm clothes, respectively. Most of the pieces feature a person — not anyone in particular — so they’re unlike her usual portraits. Yet these works are similar to her typical paintings in that they feature women and minorities.
“Our community really needs to see minorities represented in a colorful palette with a message,” she says, adding it also helps her personally. As a biracial woman, she often experienced isolation within her identity. “Painting these groups of people, it kind of heals it. … It gives me a space to meditate on that.”
Overall, Sykes hopes the exhibit inspires viewers to contemplate how they can achieve more balance.
“I want people to reflect on the importance of balance in their life,” she says.
571 W. Tuscarawas Ave., Barberton, whiterabbitgalleries.org