Artists Talk with LVA: April 3, 2025

Sara Olshansky is the recipient of the 2024 Bill Fischer Award and will open a solo exhibit at The Quonset Hut on April 5. She discussed all of this in the studio this week. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Sara Olshansky is a Louisville-based artist interested in exploring addition and erasure of imagery on a single picture plane to demonstrate alternatives to linear Time, primarily through landscape painting. She also freelances as a writer for regional publications and has curated exhibitions locally. She is the recipient of the 2024 Bill Fischer Award for Visual Art There will be an opening reception Saturday, April 5, from 5 - 8 pm at The Quonset Hut for From Beneath and Far Below New Paintings by Sara Olshansky.

In 2017, she attended Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona where she participated in contemporary, Spanish fine art practices and engaged with international art institutions across Europe. Olshansky is represented in several public and private collections across the United States and has exhibited regionally.

From Beneath and Far Below New Paintings by Sara Olshansky.

Sara Olshansky

Artists Talk with LVA: March 20, 2025

Julien Robson and Natalie Weis joined us this week to discuss Rounding the Circle, their book about the Al and Mary Shands collection. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 a.m. to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Rounding the Circle: The Legacy of Mary and Al Shands is a handsome hardcover volume, rich with full-color photography, that celebrates the art collection and philanthropy of the two late Louisville collectors.

The book's four essays (authored by Julien Robson, director of the Great Meadows Foundation; Peter Morrin, former director of the Speed Art Museum; John Yau, celebrated poet and art critic; and Natalie Weis, arts writer) chronicle Mary and Al's collection, the 2023 exhibitions at the Speed and at KMAC Museum, the sculpture preserve established on their Crestwood estate, and the creation of the Great Meadows Foundation. This non-profit has given more than $1M to Kentucky artists. It also includes short recollections by 12 artists impacted by Al or the foundation.

Trained as an artist at Bath Academy of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art, Julien Robson has held curatorial positions at the John Hansard Gallery at the University of Southampton (1984-1989), Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky (2000-2008) and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum (2008-2012).

Natalie Weis is a writer and creative director based in Louisville, Kentucky. As an arts writer she has been featured in Dwell, Hyperallergic, Sculpture, Collectors, Burnaway, Ruckus, and on NPR. 

For over 13 years in the advertising world, she was a creative director who developed strategy and has written award-winning campaigns for brands including Maker’s Mark, Utz, Monogram, Carrier, GE Aviation, OhioHealth, The Speed Art Museum, Louisville City FC, Bardstown Bourbon Tourism, and The Library Foundation.

Rounding the Circle: The Mary and Al Shands Collection

Julien Robson & Natalie Weis

Artists Talk with LVA: March 12, 2025

It's almost time for LVA Honors & LVA Executive Director Angela Hagan joined us to talk with two of this year's Honorees: Chuck Swanson & Juliet Taylor. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Dr. Angela Hagan became the Executive Director of Louisville Visual Art in September 2024. For over a decade, she worked in leadership functions including development, marketing and communications, and community engagement for nonprofit organizations focused on affordable and fair housing, education, youth development, and art (KMAC Museum) before spending a decade at Louisville-based Fortune 60 health plan Humana, where she led functions  and teams in member engagement and community health strategy and insights.

Chuck Swanson is an artist, primarily a painter, but he is also one of the pioneer gallerists in Louisville, having opened a gallery on Bardstown Road in 1982 and then in 1998 on East Market Street in what would eventually become the celebrated NuLu neighborhood. For the record, Swanson opened the space near Market and Clay well ahead of the rechristening of the area, so he must be counted as one of the reasons why the once-neglected and depressed environs became a hot spot for redevelopment.

Juliet Taylor is an interdisciplinary artist working with quilting & wearable art. She was a featured designer in the 2024 KMAC Couture and was a part of the Material Obsessions exhibit in the fall of 2024 at KMAC Museum. Most recently she has worked as the lead fabricator on the SPARK sculpture scheduled to be unveiled on the LVA building in February 2025. Juliet was a student in LVA’s Children’s Fine Art Classes and at DuPont Manual Visual Art Magnet.

2025 LVA Honors Part 1

Angela Hagan, Chuck Swanson, & Juliet Taylor

Artists Talk with LVA: March 6, 2025

Jamarr Cox opens an exhibit at Kore Gallery on March 7 & Suzanne Sidebottom opens one at Pyro on March 8. Both will join us this week. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Dreaming in the Dark and Beyond by Jamarr Cox, opens Friday from 6 - 8:30 pm at Kore Gallery.

Jamarr Cox was one of the artists in the 2023 Art in City Hall exhibit. Cox is a Louisville native who has been creating art as far back as he can remember. He holds a degree in Commercial Art and is currently a web / UI developer by day. 

Pyro Gallery opens Just Imagine, from Suzanne Sidebottom &. Beth Sharpe. There will be a reception Friday from 5:30-8:30 pm, and an Artist Talk Saturday, March 8, from 2-3 pm.

Suzanne Sidebottom is a trompe l’oeil clay artist. The artworks are not real, yet they still evoke a memory of time and place for the viewer. Everyday objects are realistically crafted from clay and printed with underglazes using antique and artist-designed printing blocks and artist-made decals. These objects are rich with texture and make the viewer want to reach out and touch them as if they are real. She has exhibited across the U.S. over the past seven years in over 60 juried and invitational exhibitions; had two solo exhibitions; and was published in “500 Prints on Clay: An inspiring Collection of Image Transfer Work.” Her sculptures are in numerous public and private collections.

New Exhibits at Kore and Pyro Galleries

Jamarr Cox & Suzanne Sidebottom

Artists Talk with LVA: January 30, 2025

WheelHouse Art is pleased to present Amalgamation, a group exhibition featuring 46 artists on view now through February 15, 2025.T wo of these artists, Robert Stagg and Ethan Osman, will join us live in the studio this week. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

2025 marks the 35th year of WheelHouse Art/B. Deemer Gallery, founded in 1990 by Brenda Deemer. Amalgamation celebrates the gallery's history by pairing together 23 B. Deemer Gallery legacy artists with 23 artists who started exhibiting here since the transition to WheelHouse Art. This exhibition brings into focus the continuing threads of talent, quality, and conceptual interests of the artwork featured in the gallery.

WheelHouse Art will host several receptions throughout the exhibition on Saturday afternoons from 1:00 - 3:00pm. Each reception will feature a handful of artists with artist talks at 2:00 pm.

February 1, 1:00 - 3:00pm: Robert Stagg, Ethan Osman, Lindsay Moremen, and Megan Bickel

February 8, 1:00 - 3:00pm: Thaniel Ion Lee, Liz Price, Brian Harper, Tiffany Carbonneau, Robyn Gibson, and Sabra Crockett.

Since graduating from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2006 with a BFA in Animation, Ethan Osman has continued a studio practice of making hand made, process based animated films. In its approach, the work is largely informed by parenting a neurodivergent child, his experience managing StudioWorks, an art studio that supports neurodivergent adult artists and his own experience living with learning disabilities. In recent years, he has developed collaborative relationships, shown work in film festivals, and galleries, and created commissioned work. This year, a music video was made for the song “Bananas” to promote an upcoming album by Bonnie Prince Billy.

Born in New Orleans, Robert Stagg has been an artist based in Louisville for more than 40 years. He holds 4 degrees in studio art and art history from the University of Kentucky, theUniversity of Louisville, and Louisiana College. He has work in several private and corporate collections including Brown-Forman, Corp., Capitol Holding, Commonwealth Insurance, the University of Louisville, and Louisville Gas & Electric.  

Amalgamations at Wheelhouse Art

Ethan Osman & Bob Stagg