Steve Justice: Oddly Familiar
February 13- March 15, 2025
Studio Kroner is proud to present Oddly Familiar, a captivating solo exhibition by Cincinnati-based artist Steve Justice. Known for his unique blend of cultural storytelling and bold design, Steve's work inspires and engages viewers. Drawing inspiration from figures like Thomas Hart Benton and MAD Magazine, he uses art to educate and entertain. With a strong background in design from the University of Cincinnati, he brings both precision and a playful spirit to his creations. Oddly Familiar invites visitors to embrace the unexpected and rethink the ordinary.
Opening Reception
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Artist Talk
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Closing Reception
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Bios
Bio
Steve Justice was born in the steel town of Homestead, in Pittsburgh, in 1956 (Monkey/ Gemini) during a period of labor unrest for both his mother and for Homestead. His father was a mighty steel engineer -- he once carved a working locomotive from a single ingot of steel, using only a hacksaw and a bastard file. Justice’s mother was 100% Finnish, with a literary bend and some artistic aptitude. Justice subsequently grew up using both hemispheres of his brain.
He learned how to apply this laterization with years of study at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Institute, under the tutelage of Joseph C. Fitzpatrick (Warhol’s teacher and mentor). This was followed by Industrial Design training (with some Art History and fine art electives) at the University of Cincinnati, where he made the Dean’s list 10 times and won a scholarship. This led Justice to a successful and gratifying career as a product designer around the Rust Belt and beyond, designing products for consumer and commercial customers (Coca-Cola drinkware, 2002 Olympic torch, etc.), while creating thousands of manufacturing jobs. But he craved a bigger beauty.
Steve began oil painting in 1985, at first part-time, then eventually full-time, and he has stayed that course ever since. Making that transition led him to more than 183 exhibitions (17 solo), awards, and dozens of sales. His art may be free-wheeling and eccentric, but Justice has absorbed a lot of professionalism from his design days, and he’s very well aware of an artist’s position of responsibility.
Steve now lives in Cincinnati with his wife, the internationally recognized design educator, Dr. Lorraine Justice, following stops in Rochester NY, Hong Kong, Atlanta, Columbus, and NE Ohio.
Artist Statement
Statement
I love cartoons. I always have. They are my earliest memories, and I hope they will be my last someday. Cartoons are universal, but they weren’t always that way. I knew a Swiss man who saw his first cartoon at nine and concluded that animals in America can talk. I didn’t draw that conclusion until I was in my late twenties. I create art because I can and I love it. The impulse becomes a drive, “To get it off my back,” as Nina Simone said. “With great power comes great responsibility,” many of Stan Lee’s characters have added. Such responsibility is wasted without mindful action.
I read a lot, and much of what I read winds up on my canvas, usually in combination with other things I’ve read, seen, heard, and experienced. My style is influenced by the art of Thomas Hart Benton, Rick Geary, MAD Magazine, Underground Comix, psychedelic poster art, Orthodox icons, Michelangelo, fashion photography, etc. I use a “cultural color wheel” of my device, which includes International Orange, Coke Red, Hershey Brown, Conrail Blue, School-bus Yellow, John Deere Green, and other colors a viewer may feel oddly or overtly familiar with.
My early paintings began with simple quotations and readings on creativity by practitioners of every discipline, but my inspirations and their interpretations have expanded over time. I sometimes have flashes of insight while doing mundane things such as walking the dog, meditating, or milking a cow (which I have never done). In Latin, this is called “Solvitur ambulando” (“It is solved by walking”). What I want to do is Educate, Enlighten and Entertain. (my 3 E’s)
I paint on canvas and wood panels, and I use oil paint because I like the look, feel, and smell. It’s exciting to do novel things with ancient materials. If I don’t have fun, the viewer won’t, and if the viewer doesn’t, I won’t. May that circle be unbroken.
Steve Justice: Oddly Familiar
February 26-28, 2026
Studio Kroner is proud to present Oddly Familiar, a captivating solo exhibition by Cincinnati-based artist Steve Justice. Known for his unique blend of cultural storytelling and bold design, Steve's work inspires and engages viewers. Drawing inspiration from figures like Thomas Hart Benton and MAD Magazine, he uses art to educate and entertain. With a strong background in design from the University of Cincinnati, he brings both precision and a playful spirit to his creations. Oddly Familiar invites visitors to embrace the unexpected and rethink the ordinary.
Opening
•••
Artist Talk
•••
Closing
•••
Bios
Bio
Steve Justice was born in the steel town of Homestead, in Pittsburgh, in 1956 (Monkey/ Gemini) during a period of labor unrest for both his mother and for Homestead. His father was a mighty steel engineer -- he once carved a working locomotive from a single ingot of steel, using only a hacksaw and a bastard file. Justice’s mother was 100% Finnish, with a literary bend and some artistic aptitude. Justice subsequently grew up using both hemispheres of his brain.
He learned how to apply this laterization with years of study at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Institute, under the tutelage of Joseph C. Fitzpatrick (Warhol’s teacher and mentor). This was followed by Industrial Design training (with some Art History and fine art electives) at the University of Cincinnati, where he made the Dean’s list 10 times and won a scholarship. This led Justice to a successful and gratifying career as a product designer around the Rust Belt and beyond, designing products for consumer and commercial customers (Coca-Cola drinkware, 2002 Olympic torch, etc.), while creating thousands of manufacturing jobs. But he craved a bigger beauty.
Steve began oil painting in 1985, at first part-time, then eventually full-time, and he has stayed that course ever since. Making that transition led him to more than 183 exhibitions (17 solo), awards, and dozens of sales. His art may be free-wheeling and eccentric, but Justice has absorbed a lot of professionalism from his design days, and he’s very well aware of an artist’s position of responsibility.
Steve now lives in Cincinnati with his wife, the internationally recognized design educator, Dr. Lorraine Justice, following stops in Rochester NY, Hong Kong, Atlanta, Columbus, and NE Ohio.
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.
