Arabella Fought it… at Hedge Gallery
HeART of Cleveland Opens at Hedge Gallery @ 78th Street Studios
Join me Wednesday night, November 13th at Hedge Gallery for the Preview Reception of the HeART of Cleveland show! Curated, organized and masterminded by Scott Kranyak,
this is also a
Book Launch for HeART of Cleveland 2.
where artists of Cleveland paint artists of Cleveland!
My painting, Arabella fought it like Ike and Tina will show alongside the work of a
star-studded cast of Cleveland artists.
Internationally known, Arabella Proffer is the subject of my portrait.
Once upon a time, Arabella posed for my Chicks with Balls Project.
I'm heartbroken her cancer prevailed and she did not survive to see this show.
She did put up an amazing fight though, right to the end, like her cats, Ike and Tina, fought each other.
Special Preview Reception:
Wednesday November 13th, 5:00 to 7:00 PM
You can also see the show at 78th Street Studios Third Friday,
November 15th from 5:00 to 8:00.
Show continues through December 28th!
Hedge Gallery
78th Street Studios
1300 West 78th Street
Cleveland, Ohio
Calypso @ Valley Art Center 53rd Juried Show
Opening Reception Friday November 8, 6:00 to 8:00
I'm thrilled and honored to announce that Calypso Says So Long O, from my HER Space, HER Odyssey Triptych
has been accepted by to the 53rd Annual Juried Exhibition at the Valley Art Center.
Even more psyched that there will be another legendary Ekphrastacy event on Thursday night, December 5th!
What is Ekphrastacy, you ask? Its a fantastic night of performance and poetry readings written by Cleveland's animated and gifted internationally renown poets and inspired by the art in the show! The honor was all mine when last year, Cleveland Heights Poet Laureaute, Siaara Freeman chose my work as her inspiration. I was so inspired by her performance and poem that I returned the honor and asked her to pose for me. A Greek mythological scholar, Siaara told me about Calypso, whose story prompted my triptych, HER Space, HER Odyssey.
Calypso Says So Long O is the left panel of this mega-work.
Excited to reveal that his year, poet Willow Watson has chosen my painting to compose their poem to!
Along with a host of exquisite Cleveland poets,
Willow will read and perform their Calypso-inspired poem at the Valley Art Center:
Ekphrastacy: Thursday Night, December 5, 6:30 PM
Show continues through December 16
Three Fates win Second Place at Kaleidoscope
Three Fates Cut Ties showing at Summit Artspace
Three Fates Cut Ties will be showing through Election Day and beyond at the
Summit Artspace in Akron as part of Kaleidoscope, juried by Meg Harris Stanton
Show continues through December 14th!
Why Three Fates Cut Ties?
I’m psyched that my faintly veiled and politically charged painting has an audience…and an award… here at the Summit Artspace, right through the election season. The Three fates from Mythology control life, death and destiny for humans via a single thread spun from their spindle. When the thread is cut, the mortal’s life ends. My fates are wrestling with the iconic long red necktie and do not wish harm upon anyone. They, along with the artist, do however, emphatically believe that we as a nation must cut ties with those who promise to trample on human rights and overthrow democracy.
Best in Show at Ohio State Fair
Burden of Thalia Triptych takes top honor at Ohio State Fair
Thrilled to announce that my triptych was awarded Best in Show at the Ohio State Fair this past summer 2024.
Sincere thanks to jurors Tasha Beckwith and Stephanie Rond! It was a truly spectacular show and the honor was mine!
A New Book by Judy Takács
My Weapon of Choice: Judy Takács paints Reproductive Rights
In the best kind of double entendre,
figurative realist Judy Takács’ weapon of CHOICE is the paintbrush.
Her fourth book chronicles Ohio’s battle for abortion rights before and after
the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
This accessible, chronological, historical account is richly illustrated
with Takács’ Goddess and Pro-Choice paintings, and includes her Op Ed articles and letters to the editor;
all part of the artist’s feminist activism during this pivotal time in Ohio.
My Weapon of Choice
Judy Takács paints
Reproductive Rights
hardcover 8 x 10, with a dust jacket,
88 pages, 30 color images,
$75, available at judytakacs.com
Goddess Project Book Available NOW!
The Goddess Project Book
72 pages, 55 full color images and chock full of paintings and stories of
Goddesses, Mortals and Heroines as seen through my contemporary feminist lens.
$60 plus $10 shipping.
Art of the Heartland Mena Gallery Arkansas
1 John 4:11…Love is Love
Thrilled that 1 John 4:11…Love is Love, from my Titans series, featuring Themis, Titan Goddess of Justice
was accepted to the Southwest Artists, Art of the Heartland Show at the Mena Gallery in Arkansas.
Show continues Through November 2nd
15 Paintings Head to Infinity and Beyond!
Fifteen Judy Takács paintings saving the Universe…one world at a time!
Believe it or not, digital copies (not NFTs) of Fifteen of my paintings are included in the Lunar Codex Time Capsule and joining NASA’s scientific payloads on Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One!
Artists on the Moon is an initiative coordinated by physicist Dr. Samuel Peralta.
Approximately 32,000 artworks and books are digitally included in this time capsule to be archived on the moon via Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander, traveling on United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket.
How did my works get invited to make this historic ride?
They were all included in Beautiful Bizarre and Poets/Artists Magazines over the years,
and those were some of the many places Dr. Peralta looked when choosing art for the moon…
they were in the right place at the right time!
Some of these historic works are sold and some are still available.
All can be made into archival prints at the size of your choosing.
Check ’em out at my online shop now, under the category, Art to the Moon!
Update: The Rocket launched January 7th, and now is heading out into the Universe
for even more possibilities for discovery and education
BANS OFF awarded First Place at Kaleidoscope 2023
Taking the Top Award, BANS OFF on display at Summit Artspace in Akron
In its 21st year, the Kaleidoscope show has been a prestigious juried exhibition in Akron for over two decades.
Juried this year by Anderson Turner, Director of Exhibitions and Collections at the Kent State School of Art,
I was honored to win the top award for my very important right this minute Pro-Choice painting…BANS OFF.
Matthew 5:44 awarded First Place at Art of the Heartland
Dynamic Duo heads to Arkansas for Art of the Heartland
Recently renamed Matthew 5:44,
my Goddess Project painting returned home from showing this summer at the Ashtabula Arts Center.
Without skipping a beat this sweet pair of powerful ladies just returned from the Mena Gallery in Arkansas.
Thrilled to report they were awarded FIRST PLACE at the
Southwest Artists, Art of the Heartland Show!
Read about the crazy trajectory of this painting…and why I re-named her!
Matthew 5:44, The Holy Grail Second Place at ANJE @WMOCA
Awarded Second Place @ Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art
Matthew 5:44 is a triptych, and the two end pieces work together as a diptych!
Bolstered by the success of the center panel in Art of the Heartland (above), I submitted this dynamic duo to
the 7th Annual National Juried Exhibition at the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art in Wausau, Wisconsin!
Thrilled that not only was Matthew accepted, so were three other Goddess Project paintings!
The Goddess Apollo, Venus, She's Got It and Burden of Thalia, Reverie on the Right!
Lo and Behold, Matthew 5:44, The Holy Grail won the Second Place Award!
Read all about the fascinating history behind this triptych, and why I re-named her!
All works are for sale through Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art!
7th ANJE @ WMOCA continues through December 30th.
Watch Museum Director David Hummer talk about the show.
TOP AWARD for MASALA
MASALA takes First Place Prize at the Akron Society of Artists Members Show
With the election coming up, the timing couldn't be more perfect.
MASALA (Make Abortion Safe and Legal Again) won First Place, the top award at the
Akron Society of Artists Members Juried Exhibition.
Huge thanks to juror, John P. Smolko, for his beautiful words about my heartfelt painting.
Judy Takacs piece, MASALA (Make Abortion Safe and Legal Again), is a perfect example of Judy being an artist in her own time. This is a dynamic issue in our society, and it took an enormous amount of bravery for Mrs. Takacs to create it and exhibit it in this exhibition. It is a painting that individuals on both sides of the issue should see and appreciate. When I was teaching high school art, I told my students that they should create art that viewers will either love or hate. The kind of art that is not actually art at all, is art that elicits no response and has no soul. This painting has soul. You will either love it or hate it, but you will not be oblivious to its presence. Judy Takacs has created a painting that explodes on the wall and demands your attention. It is thought provocative, and we all will be voting on it this election. Picasso said, “No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It’s an instrument of war for attack and defense against the enemy.”
Featured on Cool Cleveland!
Goddess Project makes ABC News!
Panel Discussion with the Women of The Ohio Innocence Project Makes the 6:00 News
So psyched that Cleveland ABC News5 came out to cover the Goddess Project: Innocents Panel Discussion March 20th!
It was an amazing event. I was honored and humbled to share the stage and meet these strong women who've been through more than we can imagine whether they were wrongfully incarcerated or loved someone who was. It is to their huge credit that they continue to work with the Ohio Innocence Project to help others who were wrongfully incarcerated
as they transition back into the world they have been robbed of for so long.
Thank you to Chagrin Arts for hosting the exhibit and the Panel Discussion.
Show continues through June 12th at Chagrin Arts in Downtown Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Three Portrait Society of America Honors
Judy Takács has been granted Portrait Society of America Signature Status
Signature Status recognizes those practicing and accomplished artists who are dedicated to the educational mission and high aesthetic standards of the Portrait Society of America. The artist's work must consistently demonstrate a high level of skill and sophistication of aesthetics.
Thrilled that my work and my contributions to the portrait and figurative art world are recognized by the
Portrait Society of America, and organization that I've been proud member of for over a decade.
Pictured above is, Madonna and Child and Child: A Portrait of Joy
one of the paintings submitted for my Signature Status Application.
ONE is a finalist in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Show!
Thrilled to announce that my painting, ONE, has been awarded finalist status at the Portrait Society of America Members Only Exhibition in the Non-commissioned Portrait Category! She was also very recently awarded an Honorable Mention at the Valley Art Center 50th Anniversary Show!
Lauralee wins Select Fifty Award in Portrait Society of America International Competition
After entering this holy grail of a prestigious Portrait competition for 12 years, I have finally achieved a placement among the stellar 100 chosen from over 2200 entries.
This is a huge first for me and I'm thrilled about it!