Vignette: Bette Levy

“The hope of my last exhibition was that I would be able to continue to produce art, and the reality of this exhibition is that I can and I will.” - Bette Levy

“ReBirth” by Bette Levy, Reconfiguration of a piece completed in 2017, Hand crochet, powertex, 42in circumference, $1100

Love and loss seem to always be inextricably tied together, each deepening the impact of the other. It is as succinct an example of the balance of life. Harmony is never really about analogous emotional experience, but about contrast. Bette Levy may have been wise enough to understand that concept before recent events in her life, but some lessons never stop being reinforced. Her new show at Pyro Gallery addresses this. Also on display is work in wood by Indiana artist Paul Schreck.

“Rebirth is a follow-up to my two previous exhibitions, Before… and …And After, in 2016 and 2017, respectively. These exhibitions traced work created before and during my marriage to micro-surgeon Robert Acland, as well as work created after his untimely death. Rebirth examines my new creative work produced in the three years since his loss.”

“While the word rebirth typically refers to an endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth, it also refers to the ‘action of reappearing or starting to flourish or increase after a decline’, ‘a revival or renewal’, ‘a spiritual regeneration’ (Google Dictionary). In June/July 2018, I traveled to Japan as part of a World Shibori Symposium seminar and tour, supported in part by the Great Meadows Foundation. The experiences there served to jump-start my creative processes, which had lain dormant since Robert’s death.“

Levy describe the use of the circular form, “…which is reflective of a Japanese concept called the Enso circle. The Enso circle represents wholeness, completion, and perfection. It seems fitting to me that I am drawn to this form as I continue to heal.”

“A Trinity of Faucets” by Bette Levy, Hand crochet, nylon cord, faucets, various sizes, 2018

Yet the circle in “Rebirth” is also a chain, a succession of individual elements that have become interconnected. In this way Levy does not isolate the circle for its ideals, but illustrates how the healing journey is one step at a time, slowly rebuilding that wholeness overtime. All of Levy’s work shows this steadfast craft and attention to detail. The peace and harmony must be earned.

In another piece, “A Trinity of Faucets”, the continuum is built, again as linked components intrinsic to textile work, but here built around aging, discarded faucet handles. There is a contrast in the rusted steel and the delicate fiber material surrounding it but there is also an easy relationship of pattern that underscores the strength that comes from interlocking filaments of any material.

“In my 2017 exhibit, I showed a piece with three elements: a large rectangular crocheted piece from which a smaller circle had been removed, flanked by the removed circle and a border circle. As a whole, that piece represented what the death of my husband meant to the relationship, to me as an individual, and what my hopes were for the future. In its newly reconstituted form, ‘Rebirth’ suggests the renewal of my creative energies and output.”

“This exhibition displays a wide and new variety of techniques, processes, and mediums, many of which were triggered by my travel experiences in Japan. I have included works in spun paper, knitted wire, and boro (the Japanese technique of mending and patching), as well as more familiar techniques as large-scale crochet on rusted objects and work with pig gut. My new work diverges from my earlier abstract-stitched work to more symmetrical and grid-like structures. While my two previous exhibitions were a way for me to process the experience of my husband’s death, this exhibition is more experimental, more playful, a means for me to try out new methods and ways of working. I see it as a start of new directions and an opportunity to stretch my wings.”

Rebirth, opens on February 14, 2019, at Pyro Gallery, 1006 East Washington Street, and lasts through March 23. Also showing in the gallery will be work in wood by Indiana artist, Paul Schreck. An opening reception will take place on Friday, February 15 from 6-9 pm with a gallery talk on Saturday, February 16 at 10 am. Regular hours are Thursday through Saturday, from 12 noon to 6 pm, until 9 pm on first Fridays, and by special appointment with the artist.

 Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Education: BS, Experimental Psychology, Carnagie-Mellon University, Pennsylvania; MA, Art Therapy Institute of Expressive Therapies, University of Louisville; MFA Fiber Arts, Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville.
Gallery Representative: PYRO Gallery (Louisville)

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“Boro II” by Bette Levy, Hand stitched, cotton thread, dyed handkerchiefs, various fabrics, 30x38in, 2018, $800

Spinning Out” by Bette Levy, Spun paper, Japanese ledger books, glue, 24x36in, 2019, $300

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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

Vignette: Kathleen Loomis

“Daily People” by Kathleen Loomis, Fabric, Individual figures 3 to 10in tall, 2017, $20 each on wood base

Artists can and often do have many sides to their creative expression; writers paint, singers sculpt and sometimes it seems as if everybody takes pictures (doesn’t make them a photographer).

We have visited Kathleen Loomis previously as a maker of flag images that make political and social statements, but today she shares her version of a not uncommon artist’s practice: daily assignments. Of course, most any committed artist enters their studio every day, but in addition to whatever ongoing projects that might be taking up their time, the might set themselves the task of completing one self-contained idea each day, possibly in the morning. Like morning yoga or calisthenics, it gets the blood moving for the remainder of the day. 

“I've been doing daily art since 2001,” Loomis tells us. “Each year the rules change; in different years I have worked with photography, collage, drawing, hand stitching, quilting, soft sculpture and mail art.  

“Mask” by Kathleen Loomis, Paper, 10x10in, 2014, NFS

Loomis is a very active blogger, so the evidence of this strain of work is often evidenced there. In 2010 she took a photo every day and posted it: kathysdailyart.blogspot.com. In 2014 Loomis made a collage every day, but also challenged herself to expand on those ideas once a week for a bigger collage piece. A gradual increase in scale also followed her 2016 daily practice: “I did a drawing every day, filling five sketchbooks. Each new sketchbook was a bit larger than the previous ones as I gained confidence.”

“Once you've done it this long, the concept takes on a life of its own. Ask me why I do daily art, I'll tell you that I like the discipline and structure, that it makes me think about art every day, that the regular work improves my skill and focus, that the repetition allows me to explore ideas without the risk of a ‘real’ work. But I also do daily art because I do daily art. It has become a part of my life and I would feel bereft, missing an essential part of me, without it.” 

Loomis’s solo exhibit, Day by Day by Day: adventures in regular art, will be at PYRO Gallery in Louisville October 25 through December 1, 2018. The artist will give a gallery talk November 3 at 12 noon.

‘Sad Guy (detail)” by Kathleen Loomis, Hand stitching on cotton, 4x4in (one 4x4 panel in assembly of 366 daily stitchings), 2012, NFS

Selected Exhibitions

• Pyro Gallery, Louisville KY, Day by Day by Day, 2018; New Year, New Pyro Artists, 2017
      

• Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis IN, Dialogues, 2016
       

• Dairy Barn, Athens OH, and on tour throughout the US, Quilt National ’15, ’11,’09 and ’03 (Quilts Japan Prize, 2009)
       

• Jasper Arts Center, Jasper IN, Annual Juried Art Exhibits, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2017 (award of merit, 2011; best in show, 2015 and 2017)

Hometown: Saginaw, Michigan
Education: BA in Journalism, Syracuse University; MSJ Northwestern University
Website: http://kathleenloomis.com

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“Pinup Girl” by Kathleen Loomis, Paper collage on library catalog card, 3x5in, 2014

“Expanding Universe” by Kathleen Loomis, Ink on paper, 6x6in, 2016, NFS

“In the Alley” by Kathleen Loomis, Digital photo, 2010, $25 printed at 4x6" and matted

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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

Vignette: Corie Neumayer

“August at the River” by Corie Neumayer, Acrylic, Latex on canvas, 16x20in, $275

Corie Neumayer is an accomplished woman, but she has a soft-spoken and unassuming demeanor that doesn’t automatically claim much for herself. It is not an unusual quality to find in a visual artist, and even more common for women creatives. That painters tend to be introverts is a cliché, certainly, but the truth that is the foundation for that stereotype is that artists look inward and outward on different terms than others.

“Ripples Canvas” by Corie Neumayer, Torn fabric glued to canvas, then painted, 18x 24in, 2018, $400

Neumayer describes herself as a painter, “…who creates abstracted paintings of the landscape that focus on open spaces: desserts, mountains, lakes, small towns as well as my local countryside. My current work reflects the now fleeting beauty of our environment and the uneasiness caused by the changes in our climate.”

So while she looks outward for her subject, the inward perspective is expressed in the that balance of abstract and representational, a tension born of the artist’s forensic examination of the environment. Breaking everything down into geographic elements and using color and texture less to define space and form than to suggest those relationships. It underscores that there is often a thin line between descriptions and categories in art. Neumayer’s paintings are representational, and thus traditional, but abstract and conceptual, intellectual and emotional.

“I work mainly in acrylic and latex because it is so versatile. It dries quickly so the surprises of layering paint, or paper, cloth or almost anything else can be experienced almost immediately, and it lends itself to endless experimentation.”

In that statement the artist confirms the itch for discovery, but there is also a great pleasure in the tactile surface quality that documents the painter’s hand. The impasto crafted from brush, knife, and perhaps other tools, give a visceral kick to the viewer – paint is always seductive, has recently given way to a collage-like layering of canvas material.. 

On September 29, Neumayer will be part of the Louisville Visual Art’s Juried Exhibit in the 2018 Portland Art & Heritage Fair. The exhibit will be available for viewing at the Marine Hospital from 11am-5pm. Jury prizes will be awarded at 2:00pm.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: MA in Teaching, University of Louisville; BA, Georgetown College (Georgetown Kentucky); also attended Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, Georgia), California State University-Long Beach, and St. Cloud College (St. Cloud, Minnesota)
Gallery Representative: Pyro Gallery
Website: www.corieneumayerpaintings.com

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“Hot September” by Corie Neumayer, Acrylic, latex on canvas, 20x24in, 2018, $450.

“Tree Line” by Corie Neumayer, Paper, acrylic, latex paint on canvas, 18x24in, 2018, $400

“River Snow Latex”, Acrylic on canvas, Paint applied with rollers and brushes 24x30in, 2018, $600

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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

Vignette: Debra Lott

"No Strings Attached" by Debra Lott, Oil on Canvas, 48x48in, 2018

Debra Lott’s most recent Artist’s Statement begins by recognizing that she, “is recognized for her figurative paintings that feature and uplift women. “ It’s a true enough statement, and the observation of her women is filled with tenderness and vulnerability. Because her human subjects are always female, one might imagine that she views these characteristics as inherent to women, yet an extended view of her work somehow expands our sense of her themes to be more universal than that.

In her most recent exhibition at Pyro Gallery, Lott places her work in the context of the current “#METOO” movement where she, “reveals pivotal moments when women break free from the culture of sexual harassment.” In these images, the artist once again makes the connection between that vulnerability and how it is the root of strength and resiliency. We grow from the recognition of our frailty.

“For me this exhibit encourages victims, gives them a voice and promotes healing and hope. The inspirations for this series are the women breaking the silence of sexual abuse. They are the community of survivors who are in the process of healing and moving forward together. “

“The subjects of these paintings represent ‘The Silence Breakers’. I’ve incorporated white ribbons and cords into the paintings as symbols of bondage –the ‘attached strings’ that have manipulated women and muffled their voices. The ribbons are unraveling; they are breaking. The paintings celebrate women standing together, leaning on and aiding one another to encourage healing.”

"Breaking the Ties That Bind" by Debra Lott, Oil on Canvas, 36x72in diptych, 2018

Lott’s new exhibition, #MeToo "From Silent to Resilient" - New Paintings by Debra Lott, with guest artists Meg White and Rachel Gibbs, runs September 6 through October 20, 2018, with a First Friday Reception on September 7th 6:00 - 9:00 pm, and a Sunday Afternoon Reception September 9th 1:00-4:00.

Selected Adjudicated Exhibitions:

2017 - Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, OAG 55th Juried Exhibition, Owensboro, KY, February 25-April 14, 2017 - Lexington Art League, Demographically Speaking, A Figurative Exhibition, Lexington, KY, January13-February 12, 2017
2016 - Art Comes Alive 2016, ART Design Consultants Inc. Cincinnati, OH, July 23-August 29, 2016 Figurative Artist of the Year Award
2015 - The Chautauqua National Exhibition, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 1/26/2015-2/20/2015

Hometown: Lake Worth, Florida
Education: MAT with a concentration in painting, Florida Atlantic University, a BA in Art Education, Palm Beach Atlantic University
Gallery Representation: PYRO Gallery
Website: debralott.com/

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"Breaking Point" by Debra Lott, Oil on canvas, 20x30in, 2018

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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

Feature: Ewing Fahey

Ewing Fahey & Caren Cunningham in 2014. Photo: Rich Copley/Lexington Herald Leader

                   Based on material from Caren Cunningham and Suzanne Mitchell

When does an ongoing reality become a tradition? Enid Yandell’s Daniel Boone Sculpture dates from 1915, meaning the history of noted women sculptors in Louisville is more than 100 years old. Certainly that qualifies as a tradition?

But it takes more than the passage of time, it takes a chain of individuals who, whether aware of it or not, maintain an ideal through a continuous series of actions. For the tradition of women sculptors working in Louisville, the strongest and most vital link in that chain is Ewing Fahey.

Her mother was a pioneer in the field of special needs education, but her father died when Fahey was nine years old. Despite the hardship of the death of three other family members, they travelled to Chautauqua, NY for ten weeks every summer. Fahey grew up attending lectures, concerts, and exhibitions, and Chautauqua has remained a regular summer adventure.

"Ceremonial Object" by Ewing Fahey, Cow bone & painted wood base, 2011. 

Fahey graduated from the University of Louisville in 1942, at the age of nineteen, with a double major in Fine Arts (painting and drawing) and Art History. Her Art History professor was Justus Bier, a recent German emigre, scholar, and expert in contemporary art. He was an important influence on her, encouraging Fahey’s love of art, architecture, travel, and lifelong learning and thinking. 

It was during her senior year that Fahey became the editor of the University’s Cardinal newspaper, the first woman to hold that position. That journalistic experience led to her being hired as the first female reporter for WAVE Radio (television was still a few years in the future). She also taught art, first at the Louisville Girl’s School, and then at a middle school where she worked with approximately 750 students each week. It was 1946, and the classrooms were heated with wood-burning, pot-bellied stoves.

"The Turrets" by Ewing Fahey, The Highlands Island designed by Suzanne Rademacher, 1990

That same year, Fahey took off for New York City to work as a copywriter for McCalls Pattern Sales and later became an Art Director for Norcross Greeting Cards. When Fahey returned to Louisville, in 1953, it was to become the first female Advertising Manager at Louisville Magazine, and within two years she had become editor. She was still in her early 30’s. 

If Fahey was a trailblazer in breaking the glass ceiling for women in so many positions, was it because of the times, or was she destined to be an iconoclast? Her independence seems confirmed by her decision, on the eve of her marriage, to spend several weeks traveling through Europe by herself in order to see firsthand all of the art and architecture she has studied while in school. There are so many firsts in her history, and she returned to her fine art roots at the age of 56, becoming a sculptor of the most unforgiving materials, learning to carve wood and limestone and working outdoors in all climates.

In 1998, she helped form ENID, a collective of women sculptors named in honor of celebrated Louisville sculptor Enid Yandell (1869-1924), who studied in Paris with Auguste Rodin and Frederich MacMonnies and was only the second female to be inducted into the National Sculpture Society. The group shows about once every two years, and their most recent exhibition was at PYRO Gallery in 2017.

Eighteen members of ENID were featured in that exhibition, including Leticia Bajuyo, Gayle Cerlan, Caren Cunningham, Jeanne Dueber, Linda Erzinger, Ewing Fahey, Sarah Frederick, Fran Kratzok, Valerie Sullivan Fuchs, Mary Dennis Kannapell, Paula Keppie, Shawn Marshall, Suzanne Mitchell, Joyce Ogden, Jacque Parsley, Emily Schuhmann, Gloria Wachtel, and Melinda Walters.

"Ancient Reliquary" by Ewing-Fahey, Gilded cattle bones and glass, 2011

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, www.Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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