“Color…can transport us through time.” – Gibbs Rounsavall
Gibbs Rounsavall at work in his studio
Science and art may appear to inhabit opposite corners of human experience; but they have much in common. Aside from the dubious distinction of being targets in the current culture wars, each absolutely depend upon acute observation and stringent process. Perhaps nowhere is this synchronicity more apparent than in the study and application of color theory. In the work of Gibbs Rounsavall, the compositions may strike us wholly academic in their construction; a juxtaposition of color rigidly enforced by the strictest geometry, yet there is more than theory at work here.
“I compare my studio practice to that of a scientific exploration embracing the thrill of discovery.” Explains Rounsavall. “The focus of my study has primarily been on relationships between shape and color. Color has such strong associative powers that it can transport us through time eliciting memories while simultaneously suspending the perception of reality.”
"Transitions #5" by Gibbs Rounsavall, 27.25 x 34.75 in, enamel on paper (framed), $1150 | BUY NOW
The artist uses one-shot sign paint to create the exacting geometric images, which, although reminiscent of computer-generated graphics, are painted entirely hand. The blend of symmetrical precision and the inherent imperfection of the artist’s hand is the key to their appeal – the reason we as viewers cannot turn away. The discipline and craft are compelling, but Rounsavall puts into the service of a simple ideal.
“Most importantly, I want my work to provide a positive experience for my audience and a sense of beauty that can enrich their lives by raising an awareness and appreciation for the present moment.”
"Transitions #4" by Gibbs Rounsavall, 27.25 x 34.75 in, enamel on paper (framed), $1150 | BUY NOW
In 2015 Rounsavall completed the Sunshine and Shadowmural in Louisville’s Shelby Park.
Rounsavall has three drawings on exhibit at Scout on Market in Louisville, and was accepted into the 12th Annual Mazin Art Exhibit at the Jewish Community Center’s Patio Gallery, which runs through January 3, 2017.
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky Education: BFA, Washington University in St. Louis, Concentration: MAT, University of Louisville, Concentration: Art Education Website:http://www.gibbsrounsavall.com
"Transitions #6" by Gibbs Rounsavall, 17 x 21 in, enamel on paper (framed), $450 | BUY NOW
"Transitions #3" by Gibbs Rounsavall, 27.25 x 34.75 in, enamel on paper (framed), $1150 | BUY NOW
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"Artis part and parcel of a cumulative and collective enterprise, viewed as seen fit by the prevailing culture. It isn’t just the result of an unencumbered creative act. Everything that is seen and understood is part of a work and art is always a collaboration with all that came before you, that co-exists with you, and that comes after you." — Louise Lawler
Sarah Lyon, Steven Irwin, 2006, Archival Pigment Print, 40x40in
Tom LeGoff, Matt, 2013, Inkjet Print
The intersection of a geographic location and the culture it sustains is marked by how a physical place both supports and is reciprocally shaped by human involvement. Cultural landscape refers to the coalescence of a place with the people who inhabit it and encompasses works of art, narratives of culture, and expressions of regional identity tied to that specific place. Surveying the social and artistic topography of a place reveals aspects of its origins and development, as well as the interconnectivity of the relationships between the physical location, society and its structures.
The provenance of Louisville’s current cultural landscape can be accessed through the juxtaposition and alignment of the work of two photographers living and working in the city– one native and the other a recent transplant. The accompanying artworks unearth narratives about the area’s human geography- how a place and the people that produce creative output in that place serve as the bedrock of its vernacular landscape. The portraits shown here depict individuals who contribute to and enrich the area’s cultural terroir- affirming that the creative outpouring that takes place here is unique and incapable of being reproduced elsewhere. The individuals represented here may be preceded by their reputation. They may perhaps be more easily identifiable by the fruits of their creative labor - the artwork they create, music they produce, or performances they direct- than by their names or faces alone. But portrayed in and through their most valued environments, the resulting images reveal the virtues of the person depicted in equal measure with the backdrop against which they are situated.
Sarah Lyon, Natalie Sud, 2008, Archival Pigment Print, 40x40in
Sarah Lyon originally viewed her photographic practice as a means through which she could experience her native city, as though she were an outsider exploring it for the first time. She began translating her personal relationships and experiences into an alternative way of mapping the city and its human and geographic landmarks. Out of this practice grew a portrait series that allows Lyon to become better acquainted with those who accompany her on these explorations, synthesizing them with their own personal environments.
The people with whom Lyon re-discovers her city are the figures who appear in her photographs. Consistently situated within a wide visual plane, the space and distance afforded to the figures facilitates an unimposing co- existence between the subject and the viewer. Allowing the viewer to soak in the totality of situational factors that shape the subject’s identity. Lyon’s photographs convey a sense of rootedness, giving prevalence to place and obscuring the distinction between whether the subject’s identity is informed by the impact they have on their locale, or the impact their locale has on them.
Tom LeGoff, Chris, 2015, Inkjet Print
Tom LeGoff approaches his subjects as a self-proclaimed outsider, his portraits less burdened with history and interpretation. After re-locating to the area four years ago, he familiarized himself with the city by considering those who prominently occupy the landscape. LeGoff’s work magnifies the inherently ‘other’ quality that inevitably accompanies notoriety, imbuing his photographs with an elevated sense of intrigue as he casts his subjects in various roles, as though they were characters in a film noir. Yet, these oft-solicited and dramatized relationships still subtly convey reality. LeGoff intently concerns himself with the parts his subjects play in the locale he shares with them. Without pretense of familiarity, he offers viewers delicate contextual clues from which to deduce their identity, as illustrated in is his photograph, Chris (2015).
This image shows the portrait of an artist who uses the scale of her own body as the guiding principle in the production of her artwork. Using materials such as shards of glass and airy mesh boxes as representations of her own weight and volume, she examines how those constructed representations relate to and react with the environment around them. Photographed near her studio in the Portland neighborhood, LeGoff poses Chris standing at centurion attention. LeGoff references Chris’ own artistic study, arranging the composition so that her figure occupies the same amount of visual space in the composition as the first column in the row of interstate pylons receding into the horizon, reinforcing the relationship between her form and the environment in which her form exists.
Sarah Lyon, Jason Willar, 2005, Archival Pigment Print, 40x40in
Though examined from different vantage points, Lyon and LeGoff both identify the terroir that characterizes the unique cultural landscape within which they have personally and professionally entrenched themselves. By documenting their creative counterparts, not merely as an act of preservation, but as a means of acknowledging and propagating the artistic talent with which they co-exist, both Lyon and LeGoff participate in a camaraderie that nurtures a thriving creative ecology that is cross- pollinated by both ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’.
Tom LeGoff, Dean, 2013, Inkjet Print
Sarah Lyon, Kirby Coleman, 2005, Archival Pigment Print, 40x40in
Tom LeGoff, Mo, 2014, Inkjet Print
Sarah Lyon,Mitchell and Matthew Barney, 2004, Archival Pigment Print, 40x40in
This Curatorial Spotlight was written by Jessica Bennett Kincaid. Jessica Bennett Kincaid is currently the Exhibitions Assistant at the University of Louisville Hite Art Institute. Her curated exhibitions include “Hugh Haynie: The Art of Opinion” at the Frazier History Museum, "All of Bob Lockhart" at Louisville Visual Art’s Public Gallery, and most recently, “Joshua Watts- Resonant Disclosures at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts. She studied at the University of Louisville Hite Art Institute, University of Kentucky, Institut Catholique de Paris, and Santa Reparata International School of Art.
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