The Diane Kidd Gallery at Tiffin University will present The Waiting Room, a solo exhibition by Ohio-based artist Eileen Woods. The public is invited to attend an artist reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, January 30, 2026. Guests will have the opportunity to meet the artist and engage with her work. Light refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public.
The Waiting Room is rooted in Woods’ personal experiences surrounding major surgery and the extended periods spent in sterile, transitional environments where time appears suspended. The exhibition explores themes of vulnerability, time and human fragility through an intimate series of portraits inspired by moments spent in hospital waiting rooms. Each portrait in the series is drawn from life and based on photographs Woods personally took of individuals absorbed in thought, focused on their phones or quietly staring into space.
The compositions are intentionally minimal, featuring stark white walls and lightly rendered furniture in graphite to reflect the impersonal atmosphere of medical waiting rooms. Clocks appear in every work, either as functional objects or collaged fabric elements, serving as reminders of time’s relentless passage and the fragile balance between life and death. The warmth of woodburning contrasts with the cool gray palette, underscoring the emotional tension within these subdued spaces.
“Through these portraits, I aim to capture the vulnerability and quiet dignity of people caught between moments,” Woods said. “They are waiting for news, for change or simply for life to continue.” Woods’ work invites viewers to slow down and reflect on shared human experiences of uncertainty, resilience and mortality.
About The Artist
Eileen Woods has spent decades exploring themes of memory, mortality and human frailty through her work. She works across fiber, painting, woodburning, collage and installation, examining the randomness of death and the ways people confront life’s inevitable passages.
Woods holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from The Ohio State University and completed a residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture in Maine. She has taught at several institutions, including The Ohio State University and West Virginia University. Her work has been exhibited at the Massillon Museum, The Ohio State University, the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, the Mansfield Art Center and the Canton Museum. Upcoming exhibitions include the Erie Museum and the Ohio Craft Museum. Woods received an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award in fiscal year 2021. She lives in Westlake, Ohio, with her husband, Rich, their dog, Celeste and six finches.
For more information, visit the Diane Kidd Gallery’s website at tiffin.edu/arts/diane-kidd-gallery/ or email Joseph Van Kerkhove at VanKerkhoveJM@tiffin.edu.