Henry Hondroulis reflects on the journey in ‘The Safari’

Henry Hondroulis said the paintings of tigers, kangaroos, and rhinos on display in “The Safari,” the Bexley native’s new exhibition opening this weekend at the Awesome Gallery, all could have been titled “Self Portrait,” the assorted works reflecting his state of mind at various points in time over the last couple of years.

One piece, for example, depicts a jungle cat fading into its surroundings, the painting capturing the sense of uncertainty that gripped the artist in the months before he left for college last year.

“My classes started like three weeks after all of my friends did, so they were all off at school and I was left at home,” said Hondroulis, who will celebrate the opening of his exhibition at Awesome Gallery from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. “So, I was really doubting my decision, and I was just confused and not confident in who I was, in myself, and in my body. And I think all of that unintentionally came through in this one.”

Similar connections abound throughout the space. A painting of a downcast rhino wholly oblivious to the bright colors that surround could be read as Hondroulis’ efforts to capture the way his depression can at times leave him cut off from the good things in his life, while the artist said he completed a nearby portrait of a tiger curled up in a cardboard box at a time when he felt like there wasn’t a place in which he fit.

“There’s a reason I connect with all of these,” he said. “I really can see myself in every piece.”

Hondroulis came to art later in adolescence, tracing his initial interest to a drawing class he took during his sophomore year at Bexley High School taught by Mabi Ponce de Leon, who allowed the youngster the freedom to explore the more abstracted style to which he was initially drawn. In these earliest months, Hondroulis said, he would fill the page with layers of scribbles from which a piece would gradually emerge. “The Safari” includes one of these earlier efforts, titled “Red,” which is dense with expressive markings that capture the confusion, anxiety, and frustration he said he felt at the time but couldn’t quite articulate.

“And being able to experiment and work fast and throw paint at the canvas, or really be able to press on it, that was a way to get out some of that built up physical stress,” said Hondroulis, who doctors diagnosed in eighth grade with ADHD, depression and anxiety. “When I made this one, it was three or four in the morning, and I was alone in my garage. And I don’t remember exactly what was going on, and whether I was feeling stressed or alone. But being able to layer things on the canvas and see the painting come together through those emotions has definitely been important for me in processing everything. … And I think with time and distance [from this piece], I’m just grateful. Maybe at the time I was in a really shitty place, but seeing something like this, which is beautiful and expressive and creative, it shows me that I made it through those darker times.”

These challenges were heightened, at times, growing up in Bexley, which presents as an idyllic, well-to-do suburb and can make residents experiencing struggles feel like outliers, heightening a sense of isolation. “That’s entirely how it seems, like everyone is successful and no one is struggling with anything, which is certainly not the case,” said Hondroulis, who said he benefited from being raised by parents who stressed the importance of talking about your emotions.

The artist, who graduated high school in 2024, completed a handful of the works on display in “The Safari” in the time after he dropped out of college following his first semester – a move he said was ignited by an abusive athletic situation. “I went to this university to play lacrosse, and it wasn’t great, and I really felt myself falling back into that depressed spot I thought I had gotten out of,” said Hondroulis, who started to reestablish a sense of footing when he again picked up a brush following a months-long stretch in which he didn’t paint. “It reminded me how important art and creative expression are for me to be able to work through things. … There’s a grounding piece to it. And when I’m preparing myself to paint, I even like to go and put my feet in the grass.”

A return to painting has also allowed Hondroulis to adopt a fresh sense of perspective, with the artist coming to accept that whatever journey he might be on is uniquely his own and doesn’t have to resemble the one taken by others. 

“Not being at school and figuring out what I want to do next semester, it’s stressful, especially when everybody else around me [from high school] … is still following that Bexley kind of path,” said Hondroulis, who added that adopting the title “The Safari” for his exhibition is also reflective of the larger search on which he’s currently embarked. “It’s about my journey and coming back home from [college] and really just trying to figure things out. And for a while, I was asking myself why all of this had to happen, but it’s also what brought me here, which is something I’m grateful for.”