In the current exhibition, Casey Monda Art Advisory is pleased to present First Bloom, a tightly curated group of young and emerging artists shaping the next chapter of the Midwest art landscape. Though early in their career stages, these artists are not tentative. They are materially rigorous, conceptually grounded, and increasingly visible within regional and national conversations.

Bringing together Sarah Esposito (Cleveland), Emily Bartolone (Cleveland), Ross DiPenti (Athens), Andrea Myers (Columbus), and Megan Koons (Cleveland), the exhibition centers on nature not as a decorative motif but as structural force. For some, the natural world appears directly in floral forms, atmospheric fields, and organic silhouettes. For others, it operates as process through hand-dyed fibers, charred wood, found natural materials, and surfaces built through accumulation, erosion, and transformation.

Across painting, sculpture, and textile-based practices, material intelligence is central. These artists work deliberately. Their surfaces retain evidence of labor including stitching, pouring, staining, building, burning, and unraveling. These gestures echo cycles of growth and decay embedded in the landscapes that inform them.

Situated in the Midwest, First Bloom resists outdated assumptions about regional production. The work is not provincial. It is rooted and reflects a generation attentive to ecology, tactility, and place while actively participating in broader contemporary discourse. What unites these artists is not aesthetic similarity but a sustained commitment to process and an understanding that emergence is not a singular moment but ongoing cultivation.

For more information on the work in this exhibition and how to purchase, please email casey@caseymondaartadvisory.com