Serpent Mound: Observations of the Seen, the Unseen

June 4- 27, 2026

Studio Kroner presents renowned local artist Ken Landon Buck and his exhibition Serpent Mound: Observations of the Seen, the Unseen, the Mystical, and the Reverent—a body of work shaped by years of return visits to one of Ohio’s most sacred landscapes.

Over a three-year period, Buck repeatedly returned to Serpent Mound during equinoxes, solstices, and seasonal gatherings, quietly observing Indigenous ceremonies marked by prayer, song, movement, and communal ritual. Initially documenting these moments for personal reflection, he came to recognize a deeper artistic and spiritual calling within the images he captured.

The exhibition features approximately 30 works in pastel, watercolor, and gouache. Through layered gesture, color, and atmosphere, the paintings convey Buck’s sustained presence at the site and his deep respect for its cultural and spiritual significance, offering viewers a space for reflection grounded in observation, memory, and reverence.

Opening Reception

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Artist Talk

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Closing Reception

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Bios

Ken Landon Buck is a Master Pastelist with signature status in the Pastel Society of America, Southeastern Pastel Society, and Pastel Artists of Oregon. He has Signature status in the National Watercolor Society, Watercolor Society of America, Kentucky Watercolor Society, and the Georgia Watercolor Society.

His work appears in the Encyclopedia of Living Artists in America, Creative Watercolor, the Pastel Journal. Manifest: the Nude 2, and “Ichimal no E” magazine in Japan. One of his works was selected to be in a pastel show for the Butler Museum of Art, as well as for the Pastel Journal’s Top 100 artists for 2020.

Ken’s paintings are in numerous private and corporate collections such as; Cincinnati Financial Corporation, Brown Forman, Baker Hunt Foundation, Yeiser Art Center, Nassua Community College and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

He currently is teaching multiple classes at Baker Hunt, and shows regularly at ARTclectic Artr Gallery.

Artist Statement

Serpent Mound: Observations of the Seen, the Unseen, the Mystical and the Reverence.

Several years ago, on the Spring Equinox, I went to Serpent Mound to do my yearly trek and spiritual tune-up. When I got there I was happy to find that other groups of people were also feeling the call to pray, observe and do their own personal ceremonies as well. I saw various people brightly dressed, with their drums, rattles, and various tools of expression. I observed quietly for a bit focusing on my own feelings and desires for earthly communion until I began to be spiritually moved by the indigenous people chanting, singing and sounding their instruments.

With only a cell phone to capture the fleeting moments of spontaneity, I got in line walking the Serpent’s pathway with them. I felt their love and dedication as I played the unobtrusive observer, and began clicking away. I had intended just to record the day for my own personal remembrance, but later , while going through my images, I saw I had something more.

I began to paint and draw what I felt was a passionate calling. Several times I was drawn back for the Summer and Fall ceremonies, and again, recorded what I was moved by. Thus began a three year painting project. I hope that people will feel what I do looking at the collective works for this show.

Serpent Mound: Observations of the Seen, the Unseen

February 26-28, 2026

Opening

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Artist Talk

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Closing

•••

Bios

He currently is teaching multiple classes at Baker Hunt, and shows regularly at ARTclectic Artr Gallery.

Steve Kroeger

Steve Kroeger, a special educator and action researcher for thirty years, uses his current research to focus on supporting voice. Steve is involved in national and international projects including the Palestinian West Bank, and Ireland. While teaching, graphic narrative emerged as a powerful medium of expression. Since the last election, volunteering in a food pantry doing Spanish translation stirred thinking about abundance and scarcity of food. Comics helps tell the stories of people who are doing the amazing work of collecting, growing, cooking, distributing, educating, and serving in our regional Food Shed.

Karen Boyhen

Through illustration and graphic design, Karen Boyhen helps people communicate with their customers with a delightful and relatable approach. Her portfolio includes editorial illustration, illustrated maps, merchandise, brochures, posters, and annual reports for non-profit, education, and healthcare companies. In the studio at Visionaries + Voices, she facilitates artwork and builds relationships. Last summer she led a project entitled “Tiny Cincinnati” with the community while on artist residency through the Contemporary Arts Center. Karen is focused on making art and building creative partnerships.

Scott Hand

Scott Hand is the Chief Brand Officer at Urban Artifact, Principal Architect with Trilobite Design, and Station Manager for Radio Artifact. A licensed architect specializing in acoustics and sustainability, Scott spent years mastering how physical structures sound and feel. Today, he translates that rigorous design philosophy into the visual realm. He approaches brand development with an architect's eye, treating every illustration as a foundational block of a larger narrative. Scott’s goal is to build an internal world for folks: one that offers a rich, immersive experience and rewards curiosity with intentional whimsy.

Amaha Sellassie

Amaha Sellassie is a afrofuturist, peace builder, social healer, freedom fighter, network weaver, student of cooperation and lover of humanity. He’s an Associate Professor of Sociology at Sinclair Community College in Dayton Ohio. amaha is a practitioner scholar and participatory action researcher dedicated towards building bridges of trust, healing historical wounds, and harnessing the unique gifts and talents of every human being as we press towards a just and equitable society. His areas of interest include health and education equity, praxis, cooperative economic development, dismantling structural violence and getting the voice of marginalized communities into the center of public policy in order to emerge structures of belonging that acknowledge the dignity and worth of every human being. He is co-founder and board chair of the Gem City Market, a community driven effort to address food apartheid through a food coop dedicated to increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables within west Dayton.

Artist Website