Past Exhibitions
Three Tales From Broken Men
November 6th-17th 2023
Three Tales From Broken Men was Draconian Onyx’s first solo exhibition held at Winona State University’s Weber Gallery from November 6th-17th. The exhibition presented three stories of fictional men each facing unique conflicts that utilized fantasy as a medium to explore their respective traumas. These stories were formatted into three separate books, The Husband, The Gambler, and The Martyr, twenty copies of each book sold alongside fifteen poster-sized prints of the forty-plus illustrations within the complete series at the exhibition’s reception on November 10th 5-8pm.
All fifteen prints were sold at a silent auction and all sixty booklets priced at twenty dollars each. The over two thousand dollars collected were donated directly to nonprofit Family Service Rochester’s FATHER project. The FATHER project is a program in Olmsted County that directly helps fathers overcome obstacles that get in the way of being their best selves for their children. This program assists fathers in obtaining mental health services, housing, legal services, and employment among providing other resources. Jo Robins, a Father Project case manager, spoke at this exhibition aside Onyx on behalf of this program. Three Tales From Broken Men also collaborated with The Little Heart Project, a nonprofit that utilizes crocheted hearts to promote suicide awareness and prevention, organized by Catherine Fruzyna
Onyx chose to use his exhibition to donate to this program as it directly focused on men’s mental health and works directly with Olmsted County, the same county that housed Onyx as a foster child. Onyx wanted to give back to the community that helped him become the man that he is and provided him resources to pursue an otherwise unobtainable college degree. Onyx also shared that this exhibition was incredibly personal to him, as the series completion was directly connected with grieving the death of his father. Heidi Handson, former features editor of Winona State University’s Newspaper quotes Onyx’s reception speech in the November 15th 2023 (Vol. 105, No.6) issue of The Winonan:
“I didn’t know what [the exhibit] would be until February, the same month I received the results from the DNA test that told me the identity of my father,” Onyx stated at the event. “This told me that the man I’ve always wanted to meet had been dead for 13 years.”
Handson, Heidi. “Healing Through Art: ‘Three Tales from Broken Men’ by Draconian Rubin Onyx.” The Winonan, 15 Nov. 2023, p. 5.
Onyx states that this exhibition helped him manage the grief for a father he never had the opportunity to meet through connecting with his local community. Onyx would like to personally thank the Winona State University Art Department for making this show possible and for those who mentored him when he needed it most. Although Onyx will never meet his father, Onyx is happily connecting with his other relatives related to his dad. Onyx speaks with his tio, tia, and primas often, and is glad this exhibition helped him find his family.
Full PDFs of Three Tales From Broken Men can be found below
Third-Annual Women and Non-Binary Art Show
February 28-April 1st 2023
Onyx’s first exhibition was his participation in Ed’s No Name bar’s Third-Annual Women and Non-Binary Art Show from February 28th through April 1st. This group exhibition included over 45 artists and over 90 pieces from the local art community, including Onyx. Onyx was personally invited to participate by his teacher and co-curator of the event, Mary-Jo Klinker. Onyx was overjoyed to be invited and included in this fantastic exhibition of feminine and nonbinary brilliance aside his fellow Winona artists.
Onyx submitted three illustrative works for the event depicting one of his original characters, transwoman and tiefling Orion Heartsong. This was Onyx’s first attempt at displaying a series of works to tell a story, the story in question of one fictional transwoman’s journey with gender. This opportunity inspired Onyx improve his images and gave him the confidence as an artist to complete his future works.
To learn more about this art show, consider reading this March 24th 2023 article from The Winonan that explores this event in depth.