Lineage

Anthony Schepis & John R. Nativio

September 18th - December 19th, 2026

Anthony Schepis | Expectation III | Oil on Canvas | 30 x 22 inches

John R. Nativio | Encompassed Transmission III | Oil on Canvas | 35 x 35 inches 

Lineage is a two person exhibition featuring the artwork of Anthony Schepis and John R. Nativio. This exhibition focuses on the succession of aesthetic and philosophical principles and practices that have been passed on from student to teacher, stretching back to the roots of Cleveland's Modernist movement, and beyond.

Schepis counts Elmer Brown, Paul Travis, Rolf Stoll, John Teyral, and Peter Paul Dubaniewicz among his teachers at the Cooper School of Art and the Cleveland Institute of Art-a distinguished group of artists, who were in turn influenced by teachers and contemporaries from an equally prestigious group that included Henry Keller, William Sommer, and August Biehle, among others.

Schepis and Nativio first met while Schepis was teaching at Cooper School of Art. This fortunate meeting which began as teacher and student, forged a lifelong friendship and artistic exchange that has lasted over 50 years, with both artists sharing a love of Italian Renaissance Art, Surrealism, and Magic Realism.

Anthony Schepis taught at Cooper School of Art (1957-1977) and Cleveland Institute of Art (1979-1997, Professor Emeritus, 1999). His work has been widely exhibited throughout the country, in solo, group, invitational and juried exhibitions, garnering numerous awards, including First Prize in Painting at the Cleveland Museum of Art, May Show, 1988. Highlights of works in permanent collections include Akron Museum of Art; Butler Institute of American Art; Canton Museum of Art; Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts, New Castle, PA; Massillon Museum, Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL; Richmond Art Museum, Richmond IN; Washington Jefferson College, Washington, PA; and The Zanesville Museum of Art.

John R. Nativio is a multi-disciplinary artist proficient in sculpture, painting, and drawing. After earning a Fine Arts degree from Cooper School of Art, Nativio traveled and studied in Europe, where he was granted access to old master drawings in the archives of the Uffizi Gallery. Nativio has exhibited work in regional, national, and international venues, with his most recent commissions of copper sculptures being Panther Across the Ohio Sky (The Great Council State Park, Xenia, OH) and American Wood Bison (William Henry Harrison's Grouseland, Vincennes, IN)-both on permanent display. Nativio's exhibition, FRAGILE BALANCE: A STUDY IN COPPER, will open at the Canton Museum Art, April 27, 2027, and run through October 17th, 2027.

*It was a special pleasure getting to know Anthony Schepis during the planning of this exhibition, and it was with great sadness that I learned of his passing at the end of June. I am greatly honored to show his amazing work in this exhibition, and to represent his paintings going forward.

Opening Reception:

September 18th

Third Friday Receptions:

October 16th, November 20th, and December 18th