Vignette: Robert Halliday

"Intermission" by Robert Halliday, Plexiglass, Watercolor, 28x31in, 2005, $4000

“Intermission” is an installation of images that pay tribute to the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Louisville. The series of small blocks are presented in a grid-like configuration that echoes the glass-paneled architecture as well as the audiences that congregate within. The piece neatly encapsulates the varying strains in Robert Halliday’s work: the propensity for non-representational images shot through with a sense of playfulness, contrasted with an equally developed eye for naturalism.

"Late Afternoon at Monhegan Light" by Robert Halliday, Watercolor on arches paper, 25s35in, 1997, Private Collection

Halliday takes an organic approach to medium, avoiding easy categorization and keeping a fresh and open mind. “I let each new idea dictate my medium and the form it will take,” such as watercolor for the landscape “Late Afternoon at Monhegan Light”. Halliday’s paintings in this genre earned him a place in “The Artist and the American Landscape, an Historical Overview of American Landscape Painting”, by John Driscoll & Arnold Skolnick. (Published by First Glance Books, Cobb CA, 1998).

This dedication to exploring mediums has led to a “surprisingly diverse body of art. I work in watercolor both on site and in the studio, Acrylics on canvas, and I have produced a collection of conceptual artworks in a variety of forms and media.“ In his group of blocks cataloging art trends of the 20th century, “Modernist Movement”, the pieces are ready to handle and play with as a child might with alphabet blocks. As with all of his work, balance and harmony dominate.

"Modernist Movement" by Robert Halliday, Painted Bricks, 48x48in, 2011, $18,000

Halliday is a Signature Member of both the Kentucky Watercolor Society and the Taos National Society of Watercolorists.

In 2019 Halliday will have a solo show at Kentucky Fine Art Gallery entitled "The Unexpected Landscape", and his work can be found in the following corporate collections:

PNC Bank Corp
Brown Forman Corporation
Makers Mark Distillery
Stoll, Keenon, & Park
Curtis, Baxter, Stevens, Broder, & Micoleau
Fidelity Investments
LG&E/KU

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: English and Humanities Major, University of Louisville; also attended the University of Arizona
Website: www.bobhalliday.com And www.hallidayart.com
Instagram: bobhalliday.1
Gallery Representative:  Kentucky Fine Art Gallery-Glenview Pointe, Louisville, KY

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"Bridge" by Robert Halliday, Acrylic on canvas, 36x36in, 2008, Private Collection

"Network" by Robert Halliday Acrylic on canvas, 36x48in, 2013, $11,500

"Track" by Robert Halliday Acrylic on canvas, 30x30in, 2013, $3000

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

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Vignette: Jaime Corum

It is the sport of Kings, but Jaime Corum paints horses as if they themselves are the royal subjects.

"Racing Frieze 1" by Jaime Corum, oil on wood panel

Where once a portraitist would depict a monarch in a controlled studio setting, Corum honors the horse with the same reverent approach, imbuing them with a similar lofty dignity. In these portraits, the supple but powerful forms are carefully positioned and lit, placed against deliberately artificial backdrops such as the tapestry in “Amando and Onne”. Corum cites George Stubbs as a key influence, and she has the same formality, the same thorough and complete observation of anatomy, and the same romantic point-of-view of equine nobility.

Corum also paints thoroughbreds in action, but the formal portraits are easily the more distinctive work. She sees the considerable range of expression in these animals; the contrast of mass, power, and speed against the impossible delicacy of the limbs and the graceful, fluid movement. For centuries the horse has worked for us, taken us into battle, and occupied the center of a multi-million dollar sporting industry.

The horse has also played a crucial role in culture, figuring prominently in human mythology and poetry. Symbolic of the force and beauty that are its natural attributes, it carries death, plague, pestilence - but also hope, purity, redemption in equal measure. They occupy our dreams and bear witness to our history:

"Ghost in the Darkness" by Jaime Corum, oil on wood panel

The black horse crooks his
forelegs, the hills split open,
his nostrils pour flame.
Snort, snort through miles,
O charger, through rock.

From The Black Horse Rider - by Pierre Loving

For the White Horse knew England
When there was none to know;
He saw the first oar break or bend,
He saw heaven fall and the world end,
O God, how long ago.

From The Ballad Of The White Horse - by G. K. Chesterton

Can any other animal claim as much symbolic importance in humanity’s understanding of itself? Corum, of course, is not alone in this understanding, but the manner in which her work locates a distinctly continental tradition in equine imagery exemplifies this idea without resorting to kitsch, and she shows restraint in her embrace of sentimentality. She sees the horse for what it is, and while companionship is recognized as vital, her horses resist precociousness.

Jaime Corum is based in Louisville, Kentucky. Her equine art is inspired and refined by her own experience with horses, especially her own horse Chesapeake. She is currently exhibiting in Poetry in Motion: The Equine Art of Jaime Corum and Richard Sullivan at The Brown Hotel through July 1, 2018

Photo: Leo Osborn

Hometown: Pineville, Kentucky
Education: Bellarmine University
Website: jaimecorumequineart.com
Gallery Representation: Kentucky Fine Art Gallery (Louisville), New Editions Gallery (Lexington), Tilting at Windmills Gallery (Vermont & Saratoga, NY)

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"Amando & Onne" by Jaime Corum, oil on canvas

"Her Treasures" by Jaime Corum, oil on gessoboard

"Engine" by Jaime Corum,  oil and gold enamel on wood panel.

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

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