See ‘Clare Rojas: Returning‘ in Columbus

The towering, deep-green painting greets exhibition visitors with hidden hummingbirds, delicate spiderwebs and a lone female figure. Artist Clare Rojas’ captivating “The Glowing Nightshade,” is among over 70 works that are part of the artist’s first major hometown exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art. 

Opening Sept. 18 and running through Feb. 7, “Clare Rojas: Returning” features painting, sculpture, works on paper and performance from the last 15 years. Rojas was born and raised in Columbus and spent much of her life in northern California before recently returning to her hometown. 

“There’s so much variety in her work,” says Columbus Museum of Art deputy director for curatorial affairs Anna Katherine Brodbeck. “Some of her works are almost completely abstract … and then there are other works that are completely figurative … works that deal a lot with reality and then works that deal with a lot of fantasy.”

Rather than presenting the pieces in the exhibition chronologically, Brodbeck organized them thematically, allowing visitors to discover recurring ideas of home, memory, nature and personal transformation. As Brodbeck revisited Rojas’ works, she uncovered connections between themes in the art that shaped her curatorial approach.  

“I wanted to think of it very expansively,” Brodbeck says, “she returns to themes and formal motifs over time that maybe is subconscious for her.” 

The show opens with abstract imagery in which the artist draws from both nature and her own culture, with pieces reflecting Rojas’ Peruvian heritage. More narrative works convey portraiture and landscape, with figures and animals in the compositions. Birds emerge as symbols of migration, freedom and homecoming, while subtle details, such as an almost invisible spiderweb, invite viewers to linger and wonder. 

“It’s really an exhibition that is meant to meet people where they’re at,” Brodbeck says, “and take them on an emotional journey.”

480 E. Broad St., Columbus 43215, 614/221-6801, columbusmuseum.org

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