GLORIA ANN SHOWS
Projects & Exhibitions
Highlights from selected projects and exhibitions.
February 2026
Commissioned Artist
Luray Caverns
Updates coming soon!
September 2025
Commissioned Artist
National Museum of Women in the Arts
I was commissioned to create a collaborative print project for NMWA Nights at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. I designed and screenprinted a foundational poster and carved a series of relief blocks that attendees could select and print on site, allowing each participant to customize and complete the poster. The project brought the communal printshop into the public, introducing the act of printmaking as a shared, hands-on experience, emphasizing process and collective authorship. ​​
Passing Notes reimagines the act of exchanging words across time, distance, and community. Drawing on feminist lineages of zines, letters, and other forms of shared language, the project transforms the intimacy of a note into a collective gesture.
Each carved block carries a phrase--fragments of resistance, care, and solidarity -- that echo the ways women and feminists have always kept each other going.By selecting and printing these messages together, participants create posters that are both personal and part of a larger chorus. The resulting works act as notes passed hand to hand, reminders of connection and responsibility, and reflections of the communities that hold us up
January 2025 - Present
Espiritu Press
In 2025 I founded Espiritu Press, a small printshop that gives new life to proofs, experiments, and prints made from repurposed linoleum. Each piece carries a sense of place and care, finding its way to those who connect with stories of mother and land.
Espiritu Press has been featured at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Samasama, and Ate Kuya Creatives, and has appeared in markets across Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, St. Louis, and Illinois.
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October 2024
In 2023, a widely circulated image and ensuing news coverage featured a seemingly human-sized bat in the Philippines. Upon closer examination it was revealed to be an optical illusion, underscoring how cultural beliefs and perceptions can shape our interpretations of the world around us. While bats have long been associated with superstitions and myths across various cultures, I’m interested in how the proliferation of digital platforms has allowed for the rapid dissemination and evolution of these narratives, especially in a world where personal experiences and stories can be shared instantly.
Do the batty B.A.T. bat bat!
Print Exchange
Organized by Sage Perrott
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Bats are interwoven in our cultures, and our ecosystems. This portfolio will be a celebration and exploration of bats – as environmental necessities, visual inspiration, and pop culture phenomena.
Images of bats appear in artwork throughout the ages. They symbolize a variety of ideas across cultures, including life and death, good or bad luck, change, and strength. Bats also regularly appear in popular culture – as cartoon characters, puppets, Halloween decorations, and more. And often, if not directly a bat, they appear as some inspiration for a character or creature—such as Batman, or Pokemon (Zubat, Golbat, etc.). In the printmaking field, a B.A.T. (Bon a Tirer) is the print by which the following prints in the edition are modeled.
There are over 1300 bat species globally. Environmentally, bats are an indicator of the health of an ecosystem.
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MidAmerica Print Council, Manhattan, KS
​Texas A&M University-Kingsville
StopWatch Gallery & Studio, Greensburg, PA "Smoldering Matches" Print Exchange was shown alongside two portfolio exchanges: "Wetlands" and "Wandering Woodcut"
Kansas State University, Mid America Print Council Conference
In Columbus, Ohio I first encountered the terms ‘climate sanctuary’, ‘climate refuge’, and ‘climate haven.’ The city’s reputation as a potential safe haven from climate extremes was appealing to me, coming from a state characterized by drought, tornadoes, wildfires, and a recent uptick in earthquakes. The idea that someone could escape extreme heat, atmospheric instability, or rising sea levels in coastal areas for a place with ‘real seasons’ was met with a complex mix of feelings both reassuring and unsettling. However, it was during my time there, I noticed that even the reputation of the Midwest as a climate haven was beginning to weaken as winters became milder and tornadic activity increased.
October 2024
Smoldering Matches
Print Exchange
Organized by Alanna Austin
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With questions consistently being brought forward about the future of our environment as well as the survival of all living beings on the planet, we are left with the remains of nature competing and fighting back against us all. Having grown up in a state constantly on fire, and with a recent fire burning the very town I grew up in, it's sometimes a wonder how much harm we cause ourselves and how much nature capitalizes on our weakness.
In this exchange, I would like participants to explore the self destructive tendencies humanity is putting on themselves as well as the way in which mother nature is retaliating. This is reflecting on our dynamic with the life and living and breathing world surrounding us as well as our place in it. We are in a constant state of rebuilding the broken down, and trying to rise from the ashes of our destruction and I hope that participants can create work reflecting on these relationships between us and the world around us.
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MidAmerica Print Council, Manhattan, KS
Santa Fe, NM
Kansas State University, Mid America Print Council Conference
For this print exchange, I reflected on my connection to Oklahoma, my first home in the U.S., and a summer years ago when a series of wildfires occurred daily throughout the state following a prolonged drought. I recall the first of many times I would see people in a state of panic, desperately spraying their homes with kinked garden hoses. I felt a deep sense of dread and frustration, knowing that much of the destruction could have been prevented.
October 2024
Experience and Connections
Organized by Alyssa Davis and Nichole Wolz
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In the United States there are 15 broad ecoregions that loosely outline the nation’s diverse ecological landscapes. Our environment not only impacts our ability to interact with nature, but also how we perceive and navigate the world. Due to these ecological differences, people that inhabit a specific ecoregion often experience the world differently than those in other areas. How does our personal, varied experience with the external world and involvement in nature impact our internal state of being? Topics to think about include the impact of our surroundings on community, emotional connection with nature, and personal realities based on the environment we inhabit. This portfolio is inspired by the theme of the conference, delving deeper into our relationships with our unique environments and how it affects our internal sense of being and perception of the world.
We ask you to consider.
What are the catalysts for the weight you carry,
Where does the head of the beast lie?
How do you stand firm under this weight,
Should we carry one thing at a time?
How do we stand thick on the ground,
To disrupt this flood of strife.
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Blockfort, Columbus, Ohio
Barbara A Kieft Accelerator ArtSpace, Elmhurst University, IL
March & September 2024
Heavy IS A Heavy Thing
Print Exchange
Organized by Dustin Brinkman and Michael Weigman
Heavy IS a Heavy Thing is a portfolio exchange that asks us to address the topics of contention we routinely experience through media, institutional powers, and society at large. From the attacks on the universal human rights and identities of our community members and loved ones, the destruction and neglect of sacred landscapes and resources, and the instances of personal loss and tribulations, how do we carry this weight? We are interested in how we push back against the mortal coil, strengthening our resolve and not allowing these issues to become drowned in the immense volume of trials we face each day.
As visual makers we sit between the line of call and response, we observe, we report, but we can also act. This exchange asks us to act, to make work that brings awareness to the universal and personal issues we experience, to make them larger than bite sized
bits or 24-hour segments on the news. As artists and printmakers, we us our chosen medium to disseminate information to the masses, to ask questions, and to create
something physical, eternal, and multiple, making it harder to ignore. We fight the heavy with our visual vocabulary, raising to the surface our history, culture, and allyship which strengthens our many identities as they become undeniable and uncrushable under this weight.​​
May 2024
Make Me A Mixtape
Organized by Peter White and Nicholas Nocera
This exchange is inspired by the tradition of sharing music, whether it's through a cassette, CD, or Spotify Playlist, music connects us. This medium often serves as an opportunity to share parts of yourself with others. We use it to show our love for someone or just share our excellent taste in music. Like art, we use the mixtape to speak.
Like a mixtape, this exchange is an opportunity to share and receive.
Rewind Press​
September 13 - December 31 2023
It's an Honor to Be Here
Curated by Maria Burke and Madeline Beaumier
Exploring the eclectic backgrounds and relationships between artists and the natural world, It’s an Honor to Be Here inspires curiosity and respect for the natural diversity found throughout Ohio and the talented artists that dedicate their craft to interpreting it.
Ohio-based artists from all corners of the state will share their interpretations of the breadth of nature that surrounds us all and share stories that will inspire a new generation of creators and environmental stewards. Using a variety of media, from traditional painting to taxidermy, paper sculpture, video and fiber arts, this exhibition will engage audiences of all ages and backgrounds and highlight the incredible work that Ohio artists offer.
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This exhibition has been made possible in part by the Payne Fund; Ohio Humanities, a nonprofit organization that shares stories to spark conversations and inspire ideas; and the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
May 13-14 2023
Columbus Art Book Fair
I was a participating vendor for Columbus Printed Arts Center's inaugural art book fair where I tabled alongside local, regional, and national producers and distributors of artist books, zines, printed editions, and more.
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Pizzuti Collection of the Columbus Museum of Art
Columbus, OH
April 14 - May 5 2023
Haunt You Like A Ghost
In April I was one of four artists exhibiting work at Roy G Biv Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. I exhibited alongside Dustin Brinkman, Casey Dressell, and Lyric Morris-Latchaw.
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Thank you to the Greater Columbus Arts Council for the funding of materials that made this work possible.
2022
Interior Mural
In September I was commissioned to paint a mural in the first home of a recent California transplant.
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This mural incorporates natural elements of landscapes inspired by the Philippines, the country from which her mother and father had immigrated. With this mural I hope to comfort and enrich the connection with family and culture.
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1 Aug - 27 Aug 2022
The Self is Story
This exhibition at Blockfort features narrative works inspired by personal experiences of three artists who all work in graphic media. Comics, prints, and illustrations often tell a story, and this story is compounded and rich when developed from personal experience. Artists M.S. Harkness, Mariana Weflen, and Gloria Shows all bring their personal experiences to their work.
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Columbus, OH
3 June - 2 Sept 2022
Photos by Lauren Fourcade
Connect: Collect: Illumination
Award: Curator's Choice
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As part of this print exchange and exhibition, I submitted my print titled I'll Come Visit.
Connect: Collect is a national print exchange for artists working with traditional, analogue processes which annually seeks to connect printmakers across great distances. Each printmaker in the 2022 exchange was selected through application, by the project organizers, to create a unique edition of prints that engages with the theme of Sustainability.
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Norick Art Center,
Oklahoma City, OK
12 Aug - 17 Oct 2021
Connect: Collect: Holding Patterns
As part of this print exchange and exhibition, I submitted my print titled I'll Come Visit.
Connect: Collect is a national print exchange for artists working with traditional, analogue processes which annually seeks to connect printmakers across great distances. Each printmaker in the 2022 exchange was selected through application, by the project organizers, to create a unique edition of prints that engages with the theme of Sustainability.
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Norick Art Center,
Oklahoma City, OK
28 Jan - 10 April 2021
Build It: Artists Creating Community
Curated by Erika b Hess
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The Ohio Arts Council’s (OAC) Riffe Gallery presents Build It: Artists Creating Community in Ohio, an exhibition exploring the work of artists who, in addition to making their own artwork, build community for artists and for those in their geographic area. The arts community is unique in that it not only includes artists making work, but also frequently expands to include and positively impact people residing in the surrounding area. 
Featured artists: Anissa Lewis, Ann B. Kim, Ashley Jude Jonas, Calcagno Cullen, Dana Lynn Harper, Eli Gfell, Glen Cebulash, Gloria Ann Shows, Jordan Buschur, Jessica Pinsky, Liz Maugans, and Stephanie Rond.
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Media support was provided by CD92.9, CityScene, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Channel, Ohio Magazine, and WCBE 90.5 FM
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Ohio Arts Council Exhibition Page
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Ohio Arts Council's Riffe Gallery
Columbus, OH
21 Oct - 3 Dec 2020
Connect:Collect:Sustainability
As part of this print exchange and exhibition, I submitted my print titled Hold On Tight.
Connect: Collect is a national print exchange for artists working with traditional, analogue processes which annually seeks to connect printmakers across great distances. Each printmaker in the 2020 exchange was selected through application, by the project organizers, to create a unique edition of prints that engages with the theme of Sustainability.
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Norick Art Center,
Oklahoma City, OK
21 May - 27 June 2019
Connect:Collect
& Print As Object
As part of this print exchange and exhibition, I submitted my print titled Gathered.
Connect: Collect is a national print exchange for artists working with traditional, analogue processes which annually seeks to connect printmakers across great distances. Each printmaker in the 2020 exchange was selected through application, by the project organizers, to create a unique edition of prints that engages with the theme of Sustainability.
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Print As Object Catalog (Link)
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Norick Art Center,
Oklahoma City, OK
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Additional showings
November 2019
The Goddard Center,
Ardmore, OK
15-17 Nov 2019
Chicago Art Book Fair
Filipino American Artist Directory
I presented prints and zines in affiliation with Filipino American Artist Directory, an independent initiative by St. Louis-based artist Janna Añonuevo Langholz to connect and make visible the broad community of visual artists of Filipino heritage living and working in the United States. It aims to increase the recognition of Filipino American artists through an online resource and series of publications, as well as group events, exhibitions, commissioned works, and collaborations with other artists and organizations.
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Filam Artist Directory Instagram
FilAm Artist Directory Website
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Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
12 S Michigan Ave
Illustration by JJ McLuckie
17 August 2019
STL Small Press Expo
Filipino American Artist Directory
The St. Louis Small Press Expo is St. Louis’s premier annual indie-print showcase, bringing together self published books, comics, zines, literature magazines, poetry, and more.
I presented prints and zines in affiliation with Filipino American Artist Directory, an independent initiative by St. Louis-based artist Janna Añonuevo Langholz to connect and make visible the broad community of visual artists of Filipino heritage living and working in the United States. It aims to increase the recognition of Filipino American artists through an online resource and series of publications, as well as group events, exhibitions, commissioned works, and collaborations with other artists and organizations.
3 Sept - 9 Oct 2019
/There
Wood, silk, paint, muslin, thread, monotype
approx. 30 ft x 20 ft.
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This is one of four iterations of this suspended installation.
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Pearl Conard Gallery,
Mansfield, OH
3 Sept - 9 Oct 2019
/Here
Wood, silk, paint, muslin, thread, monotype
approx. 30 ft x 15 ft.
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This is one of four iterations of this suspended installation.
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Hopkins Hall Gallery,
Columbus, OH
19 Feb - 15 Mar 2019
Ex:perimental; Punctu[a]tion:
Here/There
Wood, silk, paint, muslin, thread, monotype
approx. 30 ft x 15 ft.
2019
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I exhibited alongside 12 artists in partial fulfillment of the Ohio State University’s Masters of Fine Arts program.
After three years of extensive studio work, research, and experimentation, this exhibition showcases the work of artists about to graduate from The Ohio State University Department of Art. With work in a wide variety of styles and media, it is a fascinating look at a diverse group of emerging artists.
Featuring work by:
Teri Bailey, Jamie Battersby, Kellie Bornhoft, Michelle Burdine, Betsy Foster, Travis Jarrells, Nick Larsen, Calista Lyon, Taylor Ross, Ethan Rucker, Gloria Shows, Rose Stark, Matthew Verticchio
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This is one of four iterations of this suspended installation.
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Urban Arts Space
Columbus, OH
Summer 2018
Wall Drawing #931
Assistant Draftsperson
Pomerene Hall,
The Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH
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I had the privilege of being part of the team organized by Gabriel Hurier to install Sol Lewitt's Wall Drawing #931
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29-30 Sept 2018
Big Ink
In celebration of Phoenix Rising's 20th anniversary, they invited Big Ink to bring their mobile, large format printing press, dubbed "The Big Tuna", to establish a temporary print shop outside their studio. I was one of eleven guest artists to carve a woodcut for this 2-day event.
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Columbus, OH
March 2016
Momentum OKC
Reflection of the Inscape
Wood, paint, tulle, yarn, india ink
approx. 13’x13’x13’
2016
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As part of Momentum OKC, an annual exhibit organized by Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, I was selected as one of three spotlight artists commissioned to create new work with guidance from curator Trent Lawson and guest curator Catherine Shotick. Alongside my work was work by other spotlight artists of 2016 were Klair Larason and Haley Prestifilippo.
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The Plow,
Oklahoma City, OK
Organized by Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition