For three months, beginning in September, six international artists created, collaborated and engaged with the Greater Cleveland community through our Creative Fusion international-artist-in-residence program. Hailing from Chile, Iran, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, the artists in the Creative Fusion 2015 fall class were in residency at local arts organizations including Cleveland Print Room, The Sculpture Center, Negative Space Gallery, Zygote Press, Rainey Institute and Waterloo Arts. We blogged about each artist in October, and now that the fall 2015 residency has ended, we’re giving a brief update about each artists’ work and experience during their time in our city. This is the first of six updates on the fall 2015 Creative Fusion artists.

Adolfo Bimer’s art explores the anatomy, imagery and mystery of the human body, and during his residency at Cleveland Print Room (CPR) he worked closely with MetroHealth, meeting radiologists in the burn unit and attending a support group for burn survivors at the hospital. These experiences at MetroHealth informed Adolfo’s work for his solo exhibition at Cleveland Print Room, SCANS, which used images from x-rays, CT scans and MRIs in much of the art.

Adolfo shared his art with the community through his work with local students. As part of MetroHealth’s School Health Program, he worked with students at Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD)’s Walton Elementary School. Adolfo also visited CMSD’s Case Elementary School where he helped students create self-portraits using instant photography. These portraits were shown in a public art installation, Snaps n’ Words, in collaboration with Neighborhood Connections and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood. In the final weeks of his residency, Adolfo spent two days working with students at Lake Erie Ink, talking with them about his art and life in Chile.

Adolfo immersed himself Cleveland’s art community, attending gallery events and fundraisers at local arts organizations and visiting local museums. In addition to his solo exhibition at Cleveland Print Room, Adolfo contributed work to United Nonsense, a group exhibition organized by some of the Creative Fusion artists in coordination with Cleveland-area artists. Even after Adolfo leaves Cleveland, one of his works will go on display as part of Pattern & Design, an exhibition at BAYarts gallery in March 2016.