“The rhythm of this work is integrated with the presence of music and dance in my life.”
– Susan Moffett

*A photograph of Susan Moffett in her studio.*

Music is so often, if not always, an integral part of the life of a visual artist. Besides being a highly respected printmaker and teacher, Susan Moffett is also a “Caller” for contra and square dances, and now is playing the fiddle. If we might characterize such pursuits as folk music crossed with precision of execution, it would be perhaps be a fair description of the work we see here.

The tradition and protocol of printmaking includes labored technique, process, and the notion of limited editions of prints pulled by the artist to their exacting standards, but we find Moffett abandoning those for what she calls the, “the freedom and spontaneity of woodcut monoprints. Instead of a traditional series of perfected prints with a consistent image, I opt to use the block prints in an intuitive exploration of organic forms, creating rhythm within and relationships between the prints. Small prints are repurposed in relationships of color, density and repetition, to make a larger installation.”

Although Moffett is too educated and sophisticated in her sensibilities to be labeled a folk artist, there is an elemental quality in these latest images. Yet, because they are densely textured and highly detailed, they are also complex. We often find such tension at the heart of art that is compelling, a balance of contrasting themes and aesthetic that seems the honest, organic result of genuine discovery.

"Moonlight in the Forest" by Susan Moffett, 19x14in, relief monoprint collage, $375 | BUY NOW — *"Moonlight in the Forest" by Susan Moffett, 19x14in, relief monoprint collage, $375 | BUY NOW*

Moffett is Professor Emeritus of Fine Art at Indiana University Southeast where she taught Printmaking, Drawing, and Art Appreciation for many years. She teaches private drawing and printmaking lessons.

"Seasonal Rhythms" by Susan Moffett, 42x54in, relief Monoprint Installation, $2,250 | BUY NOW — *"Seasonal Rhythms" by Susan Moffett, 42x54in, relief Monoprint Installation, $2,250 | BUY NOW*

Moffett is a founding member of PYRO Gallery in Louisville, where she is currently exhibiting with Wendi Smith and Marilyn Whitesell in Ex-Faculty; New, Renewed and Repurposed through November 26, 2016. She has exhibited throughout the United States as well as abroad in Ireland, Poland and Australia. Her work is in numerous public and private collections including:

Selected Collections
• Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, Evansville, IN
• Hyatt Regency, Louisville, KY
• Brown-Forman Distillers Corp., Louisville, KY
• The Kentucky Foundation for Women, Louisville, KY
• Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, Louisville, KY
• University of Dallas, Irving, TX
• The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
• Owensboro Museum of Art, Owensboro, KY
• The University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

Hometown: Dallas, TX
Age: 66
Education: MFA, Northern Illinois University, 1977; Texas Tech University, 1973
Gallery Representation: Pyro Gallery (Louisville) Ro2 Art (Dallas)
Website: http://www.susanmoffett.com

*"Seasonal Rhythms (detail)" by Susan Moffett*

*"Cool Flow, Fall," by Susan Moffett, 14x20in, relief monoprint collage, NFS*

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Painting

Vignette: John Brooks

Josh Jenkins · October 20, 2016

*A photograph of John Brooks in his studio.*

"All Of A Sudden You Made Him Laugh" by John Brooks, 20x24in, oil on board (2016), $800 | BUY NOW — *"All Of A Sudden You Made Him Laugh" by John Brooks, 20x24in, oil on board (2016), $800* *| BUY NOW*

If you approach John Brooks’ with no foreknowledge of him or his work, his paintings may strike you as primitive, or an example of ‘folk art’. We might begin by acknowledging the limitations of visual art nomenclature, which often seems designed to pigeonhole an artist; semantics aside, that reading becomes fascinating when one hears Brooks speak about his work in such thoughtful and intellectual terms. In his artist’s statement he tells us: “Regardless of subject matter or media, within each work is contained its own emotionally charged atmosphere and each work seems to have both specific and nebulous meaning.”

Earlier this year, Brooks moved into a new studio space in the Portland Neighborhood, and he thought he would use the change of space to move his work in a slightly different direction. “I've been collecting overheard phrases for years and have used them in my writing but have never previously used them in my visual work. This work is a real departure for me - it's abstract but also features the concreteness of text. But what I like about the phrases is the ambiguity they take on because they have no context. Some harmless phrases, like "Mommy Has It," even take on an air of the sinister.”

"Untitled #1" by John Brooks, 30x40in, oil on board (2016), $1800 | BUY NOW — *"Untitled #1" by John Brooks, 30x40in, oil on board (2016), $1800 | BUY NOW*

Yet Brooks found himself turning back to more familiar ground. “Thinking about the sinister and multi-dimensional meaning in that series of text-based paintings led me to return to my previous subject matter - faces - but with an eye on the mood of uncertainty that's seemingly overtaken the world, at least here in the US. This is a series still very much in progress, but they are about the zeitgeist, all that's happening in 2016: the fear of terror, the fear of unknown, the fear of ‘the other’.” Brooks certainly does see the new work as undeniably political, but he also believes they have an individual identity of their own; both personal and universal.

Brooks is a Kentucky native. He studied Political Science and English literature at the College of Charleston, in South Carolina, and art at Central St. Martins and the Hampstead School of Art in London, England. His work is held in private collections in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Germany, and India. Brooks has exhibited extensively in the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as Art Chicago. He moved back to Louisville, KY after several years in Chicago, Illinois. His last solo exhibition in Louisville, It Is So Beautiful Here, was at Swanson Contemporary in May 2015.

Hometown: Frankfort, KY
Age: 38
Education: BA in Political Science, College of Charleston; Studied art in England at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, the Hampstead School of Art and the Camden Art Centre
Website: http://www.johnedwardbrooks.com

"Untitled #2" by John Brooks, 24x36in, oil on board (2016), CFP | BUY NOW — *"Untitled #2" by John Brooks, 24x36in, oil on board (2016), CFP | BUY NOW*

"Untitled #3" by John Brooks, 30x40in, oil on board (2016), $1800 | BUY NOW — *"Untitled #3" by John Brooks, 30x40in, oil on board (2016), $1800 | BUY NOW*

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australia

Vignette: Susan Moffett

“The rhythm of this work is integrated with the presence of music and dance in my life.”– Susan Moffett

Vignette: John Brooks

“The rhythm of this work is integrated with the presence of music and dance in my life.”
– Susan Moffett