The Dayton Society of Artists is pleased to present What We Leave Behind, a solo exhibition by Elisha Frontz, on view in the Members Space. This exhibition runs concurrently with Future of Female, offering visitors an opportunity to experience a deeply personal and conceptually driven body of work alongside a broader celebration of women-identifying artists.
Opening Reception
Friday, May 8, 2026
⏰ 6:00–8:00 PM
Dayton Society of Artists
️ Free and open to the public
Exhibition Dates
️ May 8 – May 23, 2026
Meet the Artist
️ Saturday, May 9 | 12:00–4:00 PM
️ Friday, May 15 | 4:00–8:00 PM
️ Friday, May 22 | 4:00–8:00 PM
About the Artist
Elisha Frontz is a Dayton, Ohio–based visual artist and musician whose work is grounded in a sculptural understanding of form, structure, and rhythm. A graduate of the Art Academy of Cincinnati (BFA, Sculpture, 2004), Frontz brings an interdisciplinary approach to her practice, where material exploration and musicality intersect.
Her work balances technical precision with intuitive expression, rooted in curiosity and experimentation. In 2025, she received Best of Show at the Ohio Biennial in Columbus, The Contemporary Dayton’s Member’s Exhibition, and The Golden Ticket Exhibition at the Harrison Art Center in Indianapolis—recognitions that underscore her growing impact across the regional arts community.
In addition to her studio practice, Frontz has taught at the Dayton Art Institute and the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, sharing her commitment to material exploration and creative inquiry with emerging artists. She lives and works in Dayton, where her practice continues to explore the relationship between delicacy and endurance in both material and lived experience.
About the Work
What We Leave Behind emerges from a period of profound personal loss and revelation. Following her father-in-law’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s-related dementia, Frontz and her family uncovered the hidden impact of a long-standing gambling addiction—manifested in boxes of spent lottery tickets representing the loss of what had once been carefully saved for the future. Soon after, the unexpected death of her own father deepened this confrontation with mortality, absence, and inheritance.
These experiences led Frontz to reflect on the concept of legacy—both personal and societal. Drawing from traditions of handmade heirlooms such as quilts, her work transforms discarded lottery tickets into intricate, labor-intensive compositions. These pieces function simultaneously as intimate offerings to the next generation and as broader cultural critiques.
Through this body of work, Frontz asks what is truly passed down: not only within families, but within systems shaped by capitalism and chance. The materials themselves—once symbols of hope, risk, and loss—are reconfigured into objects of care, endurance, and meaning, challenging viewers to reconsider what we value, preserve, and ultimately leave behind.
