Artebella On The Radio: March 18

The application for The Fischer Award for Visual Art is now open and this week we discuss how to craft the the best submission for such opportunities with filmmaker Naveen Chaubal and printmaker Susanna Crum. Also joining us is Deja Jackson from the Community Foundation of Louisville. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM, or stream on Artxfm.com Thursday at 10:00 am to hear more about it.

Naveen Chaubal was born and raised in a small town in Indiana to parents who emigrated from India. Throughout his schooling, he was on the path to become an engineer, but when his older brother decided to pursue dance and music at NYU, he started seriously thinking about the arts and film as a life path.

Chaubal graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts where he was awarded the Thomas Bush Scholarship in Cinematography. Currently, he not only enjoys exploring the field of cinematography, but also photography through short films, music videos, art films and
commercials. He looks forward to working as much as possible and traveling to all parts of the world. In 2018 he received the M.A. Hadley Prize in Visual Arts.

Susanna Crum is Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at Indiana University Southeast, where she serves as area head of the Printmaking program. She received an MA and MFA in Printmaking with minors in Sculpture and Intermedia from the University of Iowa, and a BFA in Printmaking from Cornell University.

Susanna returned to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky to start the city’s first fine art print studio, Calliope Arts, with fellow printmaker Rodolfo Salgado. In 2013, she was the recipient of the inaugural M.A. Hadley Prize for Visual Arts, which supported the studio's research and development. 

Deja Jackson is a Program Officer at the Community Foundation of Louisville.. She brings with her a background that includes coordinating, improving processes, and project management.

Deja’s most recent work experience was with Louisville Promise and 55,000 Degrees as the Initiative Coordinator. She is a councilmember for the Council of Friends (of the Library). She is also the 2019 President of Louisville Youth Group.

Vignette: Rachel Singel

“Lily Leaves” by Rachel Singel, 12x18in, intaglio on mulberry paper (2016)

A photograph of Singel at work in her studio.

The line as an element in art is often taken for granted. The common layperson’s observation that “I can’t even draw a straight line,” betrays a common misunderstanding about how an artist approaches line. When an artist wants to draw a straight line, they pick up a ruler, but a line has so much more potential. Printmaker Rachel Singel thoughtfully explores the linear in her work: “Lines are the building block of my world. The printmaking process allows for a technical consideration of how these lines are distributed throughout the work, with the weight of each line relating directly to how much time it etches. Their physical qualities carry weight; they do not descend into the paper but protrude from the surface.” 

If that explanation sounds academic, it fairly reflects the intellectual aspect of the printmaking process as well as Singel’s position as Assistant Professor at University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute, but her lines also describe recognizable forms in nature, and in Venetian Vortex, there is a discovery of the hallucinatory character that can be found in the natural world, and line works in concert with scant patches of color to move into the realm of the abstract.

“Venetian Vortex” by Rachel Singel, 56x72in, intaglio on cotton paper (2013)

“Lines develop into curves, from curves to semi-circles, and from semi-circles to the full circle. This stylistic tendency comes from my interest in openings in nature—those places around which nature’s complex forms develop. Close studies of natural objects reveal holes in their surfaces. The space is a source of weight—a fulcrum point that seizes my attention by giving the illusion of an even deeper space, seeming to recede to infinity. The lines radiate out from these seeming voids—the starting points for infinite variation within the work.”

Singel was one of the organizers of the October 2016 Mid America Print Conference hosted by Indiana University Southeast and The University of Louisville. Her work was featured in an exhibit with Susan Moffett, Marilyn Whitesell, Mary Lou Hess, Susanna Crum, and Susan Harrison.

Singel was also selected to participate in the Mid-America Print Council Members Juried Exhibition at the Carnegie Center for Art and History, October 2016.

Singel currently is co-curating a group exhibition at Asheville Bookworks. She has exhibited internationally in Venice, China, Korea, Chile, Japan, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and the United Arab Emirates, and her work is included in 2016 Literary Innovation: A Juried National Exhibition Inspired by William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway at the Catapult Gallery in Cape Girardeau, MO, through November 27, 2016, and in Points of Departure: An Exhibition without Borders, at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center on Sheboygan, WI through January 15, 2017.

“Seed Pods” by Rachel Singel, 18x20in, intaglio on mulberry paper (2015)

In Louisville, you can next view Singel’s work in The Art and Architecture of the Jewish Ghetto in Venice, Italy, The Jewish Community Center, Louisville KY, January 15-February 21, 2017. 

Permanent Collections (selected)

Tipoteca Italiana Archives, Cornuda, IT
Jewish Museum of Venice, Venice, IT
Baylor University Libraries, Waco, TX
Avery Architecture and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York, NY
University of Denver Special Collections & Archives, Denver, CO
DePaul University Special Collections & Archives, Chicago, IL
Stanford University Special Collections & University Archives, Stanford, CA
Artist Books Collection, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
SGCI Archives, Pacific NW College of Art and Portland State University, OR
John C. Hodges Library Special Collections. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
Guanlan International Print Biennial, Shenzhen, China
Permanent Collection Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, Christchurch, New Zealand
Proyecto´ace Print Collection, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Venice Printmaking Studio Print Collection, Venice, IT
Indiana University Print Collection, Bloomington, IN
University of New Mexico Print Collection, Albuquerque, NM
Pyramid Atlantic Art Center Print Collection, Silver Springs, MD

Age: 29
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: MFA, University of Iowa, 2013 BA, University of Virginia, 2009
Website: http://www.rachelsingel.com

“Exploding Flower” by Rachel Singel, 16x20in, intaglio on handmade cotton paper (2015)

Are you interested in being on Artebella? Click here to learn more.

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

Advertise on Artebella! Click here for more information.