Fragile Balance: A Study in Copper, brings together a selection of works highlighting the artist’s ongoing exploration of the domino effect triggered by changes in the number of predators and prey within a food chain—from pollinators to apex predators, from prey to threatened populations.

Repurposed copper from wires, pipes, joints, and roofing materials is central to the formation of these sculptures, acting as both material and metaphor: embodying endurance, transformation, the quiet erasure of wildlife, and the energy exchanged between various species. Much as humanity depends on the vast web of biological diversity in the natural world, it has also come to rely on copper as an essential material for survival—from its early use in tools, weapons, and water storage, to its critical role today in construction, industry, electrification, and energy transmission, particularly within advanced technologies.

While this exhibition brings together species from across the world, the quiet disappearance of animals once native to Ohio, also serves as a point of reflection, inviting viewers to consider that in 1770, Ohio forests were teeming with wolves, cougars, bob cats, black bears, and herds of elk and bison. By the time Ohio became a state in 1803, the last bison was killed, and by 1855 Ohio was no longer home to big cats or wolves. The displacement or extinction of species in Ohio echoes a broader, global pattern within the fragile balance of ecological systems.

This exhibition highlights the necessity of environmental awareness, and the need to acknowledge the true magnitude of extinction. Without a clear understanding of the human need to progress, along with the cascading consequences, humanity itself may fall prey to our own technological advancements.

BIOGRAPHY

John Nativio is a multi-disciplinary artist proficient in sculpture, painting, and drawing. After earning a Fine Arts degree from Cooper School of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, Nativio traveled and studied in Europe, where he was granted access to old master drawings in the archives of the Uffizi Gallery. His formative study and residence in Italy grounded his interest in merging traditional techniques with an emphasis on sustainability and the use of repurposed materials.

At the core of his practice is a lifelong reverence and interest in the natural world, which extends across both his paintings and sculptures. His art continually examines the complex relationship between human progress and its impact on the environment. Grounded in compositional principles, the artist recontextualizes the tradition of still life paintings for the digital age. By replacing classical objects representing time and mortality with discarded everyday objects and materials, he highlights the transitory nature of technology and innovation. Using recycled copper, the artist creates structurally driven sculptures, inviting viewers to investigate ecological balance and how humanity depends on both obvious and unseen life-supporting systems.

Nativio has exhibited his work in regional, national, and international venues, and is supported through a longstanding professional partnership with the Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio. His most recent commissions include the installation of copper sculptures: Panther Across the Ohio Sky (The Great Council State Park, Xenia, OH) and American Wood Bison (President William Henry Harrison’s Grouseland, Vincennes, IN).

Nativio maintains a studio, while also owning and operating a construction company in Cleveland, Ohio. His experience in construction and structural design consistently shapes his art and the ongoing discussion of how structure, stability, and technology influence human advancement.