*"Searching For Enlightenment" by Joshua Jenkins, 43 x 64 x 1 in, acrylic and mixed media on canvas (2017)*

“Art to me is the soul’s communication - a response to experience and life.” — Joshua Jenkins

*"Summertime Contemplation" by Joshua Jenkins, 24 x 18 x 1 in, acrylic and mixed media on canvas (2017)*

Like any good Expressionist, Joshua Jenkins builds an atmosphere divorced from recognizable reality, and then populates it with figures of solidity that are often indistinct, occupying space as a mass but lacking the specifics of individual character. There is some detail in the faces he attaches to these figures, often on necks that protrude forward, so that the features often give the impression of a mask. Oftentimes the only insight provide for these figures are what they are holding: a stringed instrument is a common item, or a particular hat might give us some clue about the personality. Jenkins is more concerned with the composition and action of the paint, using setting and placement to suggest narrative.

“Some of the works in the show, like 'Summertime Contemplation' & 'Searching for Enlightenment' are an obvious transition from the body of work from my show Somewhere In Between Anxiety & Serenity,” states Jenkins. “There a lot of the paintings had more muted colors and calmer lines. A lot of these newer pieces harken back to my earlier work, the bolder style with warmer colors that I’m known for.”

*"Summer Heat (detail)" by Joshua Jenkins*

*"Summer Nights" by Joshua Jenkins, 48 x 30 x 1.5 in, acrylic and mixed media on canvas (2017)*

For many artists, the theme of summer would conjure up images of sunbaked landscapes, perhaps a beach-lined coastline - open areas of escape. But in “Summer Heat”, Jenkins captures the claustrophobic swelter of a crowded urban environment. This artist’s summer also include a domestic scene of four figures in a modern day family in “Summer Nights”, and the detail of the faces is noticeably more developed, with hair and facial details that suggest an element of autobiography in the scene. As most of the paintings show figures of some universality, here we get the sense that Jenkins knows these people, that this is his summer, and not necessarily anyone else’s.

Jenkins’ solo show, Summertime, will be opening at Lenihan Sotheby’s International Realty, 3803 Brownsboro Road, August 10 with an Artist’s Open House from 5:00pm-7:30pm.

Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY
Age: 30
Education: BA in Digital Media with a Minor in Studio Art, Marist College (Poughkeepsie, New York)
Gallery Representative: Joshua is self-represented locally, but has works available at Revelry Gallery, KORE Gallery, New Editions Gallery (Lexington, KY), and at Caza Sikes (Cincinnati, OH)
Website: http://www.joshuajenkinsart.com

*"Summer Heat" by Joshua Jenkins, 64 x 59 x 1 in, acrylic and mixed media on canvas (2016-2017)*

*"Summer Nights (detail)" by Joshua Jenkins*

*"Nature’s Musicians" by Joshua Jenkins, 36 x 48 x 1.5 in, acrylic and mixed media on canvas (2017)*

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Painting

Vignette: Julio Cesar Rodriguez

Josh Jenkins · August 4, 2017

“I started to find my identity and prominence through artistic creation, and the physical and conceptual relationship between humanity and nature became the starting point.” - Julio Cesar Rodriguez

Julio Cesar Rodriguez is unquestionably a Surrealist painter, his work echoes some of the great masters of the movement, such as Magritte, and in the new images shown here, he still retains the disruption of the human form that is a common characteristic of his previous work, but there is also a simpler, more innocent feeling here. Although the monochromatic images are rendered in acrylic, they have the graphic quality of drawings, and the merging of young girl’s heads with aviary studies are suggestive of an other worldly relationship between the two.

"A" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x12in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $500 | BUY NOW — *"A" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x12in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $500 | BUY NOW*

"I describe my work as a mixture of figuration and expressionism with an air of surrealism, where I project my individuality as a creator poetically and philosophically,” says Rodriguez. “I am interested in the connection between man and nature and everything that connects to both. I recreate this in a symbolic way and convert them into a scene with characters in ambiguous situations.”

The fantastical aspect of Rodriguez’ paintings are not removed from autobiography. We have accepted that dreams are always deeply revelatory, and the artist’s imagination becomes a bridge into that alternate world.

“This sample of my most recent work is a philosophical approach to those formal-poetic visions with which I'm reviewing my life. Each work becomes an illusion of alternate reality where I have fun with my unconscious and dialogue with my memories and shared memories in order to build an illusory present.”

*"B" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017)*

“From that I started to find my identity and prominence through artistic creation, and the physical and conceptual relationship between humanity and nature became the starting point. My work is a recreation symbolic of my personal experiences, the reflection of my life - my joys and sorrows, my loneliness and thoughts ...like the seasons of nature. My paintings present my intimate works from silence, where with my own angels struggle to break free from everyday life and thus recreate my passage through this world. My works are the ideal medium for channeling my interiority as creator; windows that open to the world, becoming the exact connection between the viewer and the artist - and in the end, both witness the magic.”

November 5 & 6, Rodriguez will be participating in the 2017 Open Studio Weekend, presented by Louisville Visual Art and the University of Louisville’s Hite Institute for Art.

Age: 40
Hometown: Holguin, Cuba
Education: BFA, Fine Art Academy, Holguin, Cuba
Gallery Representation: Revelry Boutique Gallery
Website: www.juliocesart.com

"G" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $400 | BUY NOW — *"G" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $400 | BUY NOW*

"E" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $400 | BUY NOW — *"E" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $400 | BUY NOW*

*"C" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017)*

*"F" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017)*

Painting

Vignette: Hillary Cox

Josh Jenkins · April 20, 2017

*"Friends" by Hillary Cox, 24x12in, gouache on canvas (2017)*

There has always been a strain of emotionalism in Modern Art. With the ubiquity of psychoanalysis in the 20th Century, painting became, for many, a direct conduit for expressing the dark and complex currents of human feelings. The plasticity of paint mediums seem ideally suited for cathartic – only one step away from the profoundly elemental aspect of finger painting.

Hillary Cox is a self-educated painter who understands that quality in her much of her own work: “My art is somewhat representative of my thoughts and how I feel, touching on aspects of mental illness, mixed with the aspect of darkness and horror. I believe it is a very interesting thing to explore and indulge in the shadows of your mind, but is also good to learn how to appreciate the light.”

“Although I make a large amount of dark art, I also like to make fan art and cute things sometimes when I am feeling a little brighter. I work mostly in the realms of macabre and illustrative art, dipping into influences from nature to anime. My preferred materials are gouache on canvas, or watercolor pencil and ink on paper. I also enjoy working on digital platforms such as Manga Studio Pro.”

Cox is a 2016 St. James Court Art Fair Scholarship Recipient.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 23
Website: http://www.hillarycoxart.storenvy.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilharibo/

*"Papillonsm" by Hillary Cox, 8x10in, gouache on canvas board (2017)*

*"Tête Dans Les Nuages" by Hillary Cox, 16x20in, gouache on watercolor (2017)*

*"Tailler" by Hillary Cox, 16x20in, gouache on canvas (2017)*

*"Le Petite Souris" by Hillary Cox, 8x10in, gouache on canvas board (2017)*

Drawing

Vignette: Barb McDevitt

Josh Jenkins · March 31, 2017

“Art enables us to finds ourselves. As an artist I try to interpret what I have seen in hope that others can see my vision.” — Barb McDevitt

"TAJI" by Barb McDevitt, 16x20in, pastel (2016) $700 | BUY NOW — *"TAJI" by Barb McDevitt, 16x20in, pastel (2016) $700 | BUY NOW*

Although she paints plein aire, Barb McDevitt also finds old architecture quite compelling. She sees the survival of venerable buildings from the past as inspirational, discovering the rich, earthy color of the brick, or the originally bright, albeit now somewhat dimmed colors of the signage and storefronts among the more modern buildings in the city.

“The TAJ was an old building bought back to life again,” says McDevitt. “I wanted to capture that rebirth. Conversely, The Phoenix Hill Tavern was a place of good times for many generations only to suffer a death by way of retirement. There is irony in the idea that a building with that name would not be born again from the ashes.”

These prosaic images tie present and past together in simple, honest, terms, but visual motifs are always loaded with more than the surface meaning; memory, history, and the passing of an age are at all at work in these paintings because those aspects are important to McDevitt. In her own way, like many other artist, she is a local historian and preservationist.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BA, Graphic Arts, University of Louisvill
Gallery Representative: Jane Morgan Gallery, Framer’s Express (Louisville)
Website: http://barbamcdevitt.webs.com/

"Spring Floyds Fork" by Barb McDevitt, 14x11in, pastel (2015) $350 | BUY NOW — *"Spring Floyds Fork" by Barb McDevitt, 14x11in, pastel (2015) $350 | BUY NOW*

"Coffee Talk" by Barb McDevitt, 12x16in, pastel (2016) $500 | BUY NOW — *"Coffee Talk" by Barb McDevitt, 12x16in, pastel (2016) $500 | BUY NOW*

"The Death of the Phoenix" by Barb McDevitt, 20x16in, pastel (2016) $700 | BUY NOW — "*The Death of the Phoenix" by Barb McDevitt, 20x16in, pastel (2016) $700 | BUY NOW*

Painting

Vignette: Debra Lott

Josh Jenkins · March 16, 2017

"Virtual Reflection" by Debra Lott, 36x72in (diptych), oil on canvas (2017), $2400 | BUY NOW — *"Virtual Reflection" by Debra Lott, 36x72in (diptych), oil on canvas (2017), $2400 | BUY NOW*

When painter Debra Lott observes that we live in a, “…world where the virtual and authentic collide and confuse,” the degree of understatement is not meant to be sarcastic, but simply a way to explain the foundation on which she has built her newest work. Self-portrait has not been such an overt theme in her previous work, although she has been focused on a woman’s existence in the contemporary society in a fashion so personal that it nearly passes as the same thing. Such is the nature of art that it always reveals something important about the artist.

Now Lott places herself unmistakably front and center to speak to the narcissistic tendencies of modern communication:

“My inspiration and influences are the popular mass media. This source became the tipping point for my experimentation into painting this series. The absurdity of the media images prompted me to take my work in a new direction. The paintings form satirical statements that incorporate figurative distortion and exaggeration while mocking the media’s use of photo- shopped, erotic, and often implausible poses.”

"Going to Great Lengths" by Debra Lott, 30x20in, oil on canvas (2016), $950  | BUY NOW — *"Going to Great Lengths" by Debra Lott, 30x20in, oil on canvas (2016), $950 | BUY NOW*

“My techniques include distortion, elongation, detachment and segmentation. The expressive brushstrokes and fantasy color schemes are symbolic of the theatrical and sensational drama of cultural media. My expressive and quasi abstract style combine color, form and texture to convey the illusion of beauty that is often construed as reality.

“My goal is to move in a direction toward further experimentation and abstraction. I began experimenting with the concept of ‘authentic’ versus ‘virtual’ especially as it applies to cultural media. To communicate this idea of counterfeit, I chose a complementary color scheme and ‘like values’ that allow the subject and background to overlap and create some uncertainty as to what is positive and negative space. My goal was to increase the abstraction of the content and cause the body to become part of the surrounding space.”

"Yes I Can" by Debra Lott, 30x48in, oil on canvas (2017), $1400 | BUY NOW — *"Yes I Can" by Debra Lott, 30x48in, oil on canvas (2017), $1400 | BUY NOW*

Lott presently has 2 pieces in the Owensboro Art Guild 55th Juried Exhibition, up through April 14th, 2017, and a solo show titled, Collections, runs through April 16, 2017 at the Pigment Gallery at Mellwood Arts Center in Louisville. There will be an Artist’s Reception, March 31st 6-9pm

"Self Love" by Debra Lott, 30x20in, oil on canvas (2017), $775 | BUY NOW — *"Self Love" by Debra Lott, 30x20in, oil on canvas (2017), $775 | BUY NOW*

Selected Adjudicated Exhibitions:
2018 - Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, OAG 55th Juried Exhibition, Owensboro, KY, February 25-April 14, 2017
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
2013 - The Art at the X National Juried Exhibition, Xavier University, Cincinnati, 'Multicultural Expressions of Faith', Award of Excellence, August 23-October 11, 2013
2010-2013 - National Art Education Women Caucus Juried Art Exhibition, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
2011 - 55th Mid-states Juried Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, Indiana, December- March 2011
2010 - Manifest Gallery International Drawing Annual- Exhibition in Print, Cincinnati Ohio, art work selected - Seasons of Grace, Charcoal on Paper
2010   Water Tower Regional, Louisville Visual Art Association, KY, January 24-March 7, 2010
2009   54th Mid-States Juried Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, Indiana, Dec 7-January 18, 2009.
2007   Mad Art Gallery, St Louis, Missouri, Contemporary Women Artists XIV, International Juried Exhibition, Sept 7-29, 2007, St Louis Chapter of the National Women’s Caucus for the Arts
2006   Kniznick Gallery of the Women’s Studies Research Center, Brandeis University, Boston, Vital Voices: Women’s Visions, 2006, (National Juried Exhibition in conjunction with National Women’s Caucus for the Arts)

Hometown: Lake Worth, Florida
Age: 65
Education: MAT with a concentration in painting, Florida Atlantic University, a BA in Art Education, Palm Beach Atlantic University
Gallery Representation: PYRO Gallery
Website: http://www.debralott.com/

"Original Selfie" by Debra Lott, 24x24in, oil on canvas (2017), $675 | BUY NOW — *"Original Selfie" by Debra Lott, 24x24in, oil on canvas (2017), $675 | BUY NOW*

modern

Vignette: Joshua Jenkins

“Art to me is the soul’s communication - a response to experience and life.” — Joshua Jenkins

Vignette: Julio Cesar Rodriguez

“I started to find my identity and prominence through artistic creation, and the physical and conceptual relationship between humanity and nature became the starting point.” - Julio Cesar Rodriguez

Vignette: Hillary Cox

Vignette: Barb McDevitt

“Art enables us to finds ourselves. As an artist I try to interpret what I have seen in hope that others can see my vision.” — Barb McDevitt

Vignette: Debra Lott