Artebella On The Radio: November 5

Sadly, we have had to postpone Open Studio Weekend until spring 2021, but we have one more interview with some of the artists talking about their work. Robbie Mueller, Chris Hartsfield, and Dru Pilmer are our guests this week, along with LVA Executive Director Kristian Anderson. Tune in each Thursday to WXOX 97, or stream on Artxfm.com to hear Keith Waits talk with artists.

Robbie Mueller is a mixed media artist working primarily with wood, paper mache, found objects, and acrylic paints; 3-D sculpture, bas reliefs, and assemblages. “Much of my work often gets labeled folk art, because of the more traditional themes that become my subjects , but as my work has continued to evolve, more contemporary themes involving found art, & salvaged art are being incorporated. Because I am untrained, I label myself a contemporary folk artist with "outsider" tendencies.” His work can also be seen at the Kentucky Folk Art Center (Morehead State University, Morehead, KY), Gallery 104 (Lagrange, KY), Meraki & Moon (Georgetown, KY),on Facebook (Robbie Mueller: Folk Art Kentucky), on Instagram (@folkartky), and on Twitter(@ibwhittlin).

Chris Hartsfield is a self-trained watercolorist who works primarily with bright, clean colors to achieve a realistic style of painting. His technique produces a complicated yet detailed scene revealing an understanding of depth and realism. He enjoys painting a variety of subjects, including still life, landscape, street scenes, and nautical scenes. His compositions are well balanced and flowing, keeping the observer's eye engaged. Since Hartsfield began his art career in 1988, he has had paintings accepted in national and regional watercolor competitions. Including The American Watercolor Society, The National Watercolor Society, Arts For The Parks, Georgia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma Watercolor Society shows.

Dru Pilmer’s art is in private, public, and corporate collections in New York state, Chicago, Massachusetts, Los Angeles, Utah, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, South America, Canada, and Scotland. She was recently one of 46 artists in 13 states and Germany to win juried acceptance in ConTEXT III Exhibition at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, MO.  Her painting, “9 Millimeter Flowers” won Best of Show in KORE Gallery’s 2019 Black & White Show.  

She was a featured artist in March 2019 Today’s Woman Magazine, exhibited in Mariott and Hyatt boutique hotels, and executed numerous watercolor and acrylic commissions throughout the U.S.

LVA Executive Director Kristian Anderson has 15 years’ experience in the arts and culture sector, most recently as Senior Policy Advisor to the Mayor of Salt Lake City. In that role, he oversaw a variety of community, operational and political projects encompassing arts and culture as well as land use, urban design, economic development and more. Prior to his mayoral appointment, Kristian was for four years the Executive Director of the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and Executive Director for the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries in Seattle.

Vignette: Ray Kleinhelter

A photograph of Ray Kleinhelter at work on his boat (2016).

Ray Kleinhelter paints abstract compositions of intricate geometric pattern. Although he cites American Richard Diebenkorn and London’s Frank Auerbach as influences, Kleinhelter’s approach touches upon a variety of 20th century movements, and a viewer might feel as if they are seeing a mash-up of Color Field, Abstract Expressionism and a touch of Pop Art. But such attempts to pigeonhole his work probably wouldn’t be accepted by the artist himself: 

“I am interested in the process, (or craft) of painting, drawing, and printmaking. Every serious painter has a different interpretation of what this means. There are no rules to follow, but what we want are pictures that hold up. No explanation required. Painting in its purest form is much more interesting than any perceived meaning applied to the image. Contemporary interpretations of art, while intellectually compelling, have little to add to the language of painting, where form and content are inseparable.”

"#12" by Ray Kleinhelter, 12x9in, watercolor on Arches hot press paper (2016)

As with most artists, Kleinhelter began with representational work, and he still sees recognizable form and the natural world at the root of his intensely colored geometric abstracts: 

"Landscape Variation #4" by Ray Kleinhelter, 22.5x30in, charcoal on Stonehenge paper (2016)

“I continue to draw and paint from nature, lately from my boat, exploring the appearance of land and light. These pictures inform others and act as starting points for improvisation. I rarely stop with one version of an image. In the last year or two, wood cut printing has become a catalyst toward flatter, more direct images. Interestingly, the paintings have changed through the experience of printmaking, moving toward what I believe is a cleaner sense of structure.”

You can visit Ray Kleinhelter on the Ohio River during OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND, November 5 & 6, 2016, where he will be painting on his boat. The event benefits scholarship programs for Louisville Visual Art and University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute and tickets may be purchased here.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: Yale School of Art Summer Painting Scholar 1982; BFA, Kansas City Art Institute 1982; MFA, Indiana University, Bloomington 1986
Gallery Representation: Galerie Hertz (Louisville)

"Riverbank #6" by Ray Kleinhelter, 34x40in, oil on panel (2016)

"Riverbank #1" by Ray Kleinhelter, oil on panel (2016)

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2016 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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