With Gratitude: Wrapping Up All Else Pales 2 at Studio Kroner

Paul Kroner
May 29
3 min read

From left to right: John Sabraw, Julia O. Bianco, Paul Kroner, Devan Horton, Albertus Gorman, Stephen Hall

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who showed up for All Else Pales 2, Studio Kroner’s ambitious five-week exhibition exploring climate, sustainability, and our shared responsibility to the planet. Whether you attended the opening, one of the many events, or simply stopped in to take in the art, your presence helped make this show what it was: a dynamic, interdisciplinary celebration of art, science, and community.

The show featured remarkable work by an extraordinary group of artists—Devan Horton, John Sabraw, Julia O. Bianco, Albertus Gorman, and Stephen Hall. I’m honored to have shared the gallery space with their vision and voices.

Over the course of the exhibit, close to 550 people visited the gallery, during open hours and at the events that included:

A packed-house opening night
Two talks with our featured artists, moderated by Sue Spaid and Chandra Frank
A thoughtful roundtable discussion with UC’s Institute for Research in Sensing (IRiS), moderated by co-curator Devan Horton
A powerful panel with UC's Center for Public Engagement with Science (PEWS), moderated by Peter Crawley of the Sustainability Roundtable in Boston
A compelling presentation on the Green Cincinnati Plan by Oliver Kroner, Director of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment and Sustainability
An inspiring talk by Tom Boeing of the Ohio Valley Forestry Fellowship on their 50-year mission to restore our region’s forests
Two lively performances by KIDS Act Out! Youth Theater, directed by Carol Brammer
A meditative climate writing workshop led by eco-poet and Citizen Climate Lobby member Elaine Olund
An unforgettable evening of poetry hosted by Elaine Olund, featuring 22 live readers and a 76-page anthology featuring 55 poets from many US States, Canada and as far away and the UK, sponsored by Just Earth Cincinnati
Two sold-out performances of A Living Earth Pageant, written by Mary Kroner and performed by a local cast of 10 community actors
And a lovely closing reception to bring it all home

I’m deeply grateful to Devan Horton, who acted as my co-curator on this project, and to all the artists, writers, performers, scientists, city officials, and community partners who made this exhibition come alive—and to the incredible team of friends and family who made the impossible feel possible.

Thank you especially to:

Elaine Olund, Cathy Kroner-Kelley, Lou Kroner, Julia Sullivan, Ray Kroner, Rebecca Jansen, Carissa Widenhouse, Emilio Santos, Vinny Meehan, Mary Ann Meehan, Hugh Hilton, Nate Morehouse (IRIS) and Angela Potochnik (PEWS)

Thanks as well to WavePool LLC for serving as our fiscal sponsor, helping us legitimize and fund this dream.

And finally—to every single person who contributed to this show financially: your generosity, big or small, gave this vision wind in its sails. I am so thankful for your support. (See the full list of donors below.)

As for me, I’m now taking a short break to rest, recover from a knee injury I sustained in December and prepare for upcoming prostate surgery. I’ll also be spending time with my newest grandchild—and hopefully making some of my own artwork again.

Studio Kroner will be closed until fall. I look forward to reopening refreshed and re-inspired.

Until then, stay tuned—and please be kind to the planet. As you know…All Else Pales.

Warmly, Paul Kroner