Open Studio Spotlight: Meredith Hayden

“Circus Colors” by Meredith Hayden, Alcohol Ink with air duster on Ceramic Tile, 12x218in, 2018, $350

Color is a potent visceral expression of emotion in the work of Meredith Leigh Hayden. Ideas are communicated through the dynamic of specific mediums as much choice in subject matter, materials leading the artist as much as the artist leads the materials.

“Creating art has become an essential practice for refreshing my senses so I can enjoy being present,” she explains. “When I see something noteworthy I try to snatch it up and describe it with color. Art transforms the chaos of life into something tangible I can work with.  It gives me a chance to breathe.” 

“My favorite memories become crystallized on the surface with the medium I choose at the time. Currently, I use inks, chalk pastels, or crystals. I am usually seen wearing a crystal I wrapped. As much as I would like to feel I’m “in control”, there is no real way to control the bold Alcohol Ink. I did find I can move the ink with an air duster. The results amaze and delight me every time. My pastel flower series celebrates the impermanence of life and our universal connection to nature and each other. As flowers grow and change, they reveal their unique imperfections and lively character traits, just as humans do.“

“By showing the Alcohol Ink tiles and Chalk Pastel flowers together, I hope to provide a sense of hope and renewal for Spring through color. The rigidity of the tiles is a contrast to the flowing chalk pastel flowers. The wandering inks are carefree and mobile like the growth cycle of florals. The Chalk Pastels are a delicate and subtle contrast with the bright penetrating color of the ink. In any medium, daring color is the common thread to all my work. I choose to celebrate life’s majesty with the delicate and vibrant colors I choose.” 

“Mystic Branches” by Meredith Hayden, Chalk Pastel and water on sanded paper, 30x24in, 2014, $750

Meredith Hayden will be participating in the 2018 Open Studio Weekend, sponsored by Louisville Visual Art and University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute. Her studio, located in Art Sanctuary in the Germantown neighborhood, will be open the weekend of November 3 and 4. Tickets for Open Studio Weekend will go on sale October 16. Click here for more information.

On the the first Saturday of December, during Bardstown Road Aglow, Hayden will be showing at Safai Coffee, 1707 Barstown Road.

Hometown: Newtown, Pennsylvania
Education: University of Louisville Liberal Studies major, minor in Psychology, and concentrations in Art, Theater, and Women's Studies. Some art study in Italy
Website: mhayden.artspan.com
Instagram: meresmuse

Meredith Hayden working on “Red-Lipped Secrets”, Chalk Pastel, 24x30in. 2011, $750

“Enchanted Vibration” by Meredith Hayden, Alcohol Inks on Tile, Ink applied with a can of air. 12x20in, 2018, $250

“Wandering Eye of Contentment” by Meredith Hayden, Alcohol Inks on Tile, Ink applied with a can of air, 16x20in, 2018, $200

“Fiery” by Meredith Hayden, Chalk Pastel, 24x30in, 2007, Private collection

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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.

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Vignette: Shawn Marshall - Open Studio Weekend Artist

“Painting is a restorative and meditative ‘practice’” – Shawn Marshall

"Rusted Edges" by Shawn Marshall, oil on canvas, 20x20x1.5in, 2017, POR

When Shawn Marshall speaks about ‘restorative and meditative practice,’ it is a clue to what lies behind the simplicity of her paintings. Previous work has been more complex compositionally, but the spare and uncluttered landscape form that she is preoccupied with here seems less a document of a time and place and more about an internal mental or emotional state.

Photo by Jessica Ebelhar.

“For me, painting is an outlet to release intuitive energy and let go of preconceived notions of self-imposed rules or judgments of how I and my work interpret and portray the world. Though my architectural background and training often manifests itself in my work, it doesn’t constrain the freedom of expression. Using palette knives and sharp edged tools I create a three-dimensional surface on the canvas, always striving to create a balance between the built-up yet refined impasto and the underlying landscape beyond. Painting is a restorative and meditative ‘practice’ as I create what I refer to as ‘inward landscapes.’”

The harmony achieved belies the type training and experience we might assume for an artist coming from the exacting and technical architecture training, and the viewer must ask how much of Marshall’s work is a journey in the opposite direction; the training providing foundation but the action of painting a break away from that rigor and formal discipline to achieve a peaceful resolve.

Professionally, Marshall has worked as an Architectural Designer for several years, but most recently has taught at public schools in the Louisville area, including her current position as Visual Arts Teacher at North Oldham High School in Goshen, KY.

"Shoreline" by Shawn Marshall, oil on canvas, 24x18x1.5in, 2017, POR

Marshall is a member of PYRO Gallery in Louisville, and recently was included in two group exhibits, Selfies & Self-Portraits: 21 C Artists… at Viridian Artists Gallery, New York, NY, and The Modern Landscape at New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY. She will be having a solo exhibit at Craft[s] Gallery & Mercantile in March 2018.

Shawn Marshall will be participating in the 2017 Open Studio Weekend, sponsored by Louisville Visual Art and University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute. Her studio in Downtown Louisville will be open the weekend of November 4 and 5. Tickets for Open Studio Weekend will go on sale October 16. Click here for more information.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: 1992, Bachelor of Architecture, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY; 1996, Master of Architecture, Minor Fine Arts, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; 2009, Master of Art in Teaching, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY
Website: www.shawnlmarshall.com
Instagram: shawnmarshall

"Spark" by Shawn Marshall, oil on canvas, 12x16x1.5in, 2017, POR

"Phosphorescence" by Shawn Marshall, oil on canvas, 20x24x1.5in, 2017, POR

"rising Light" by Shawn Marshall, oil on canvas, 24x24x1.5in, 2017, POR

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Vignette: Laurie Fader - Open Studio Weekend Artist

“Making the painting is a mysterious and compulsive search for an emotional reality.”      – Laurie Fader

Abstract art is a loaded phrase, words that conjure as much misunderstanding as mystery. In the simplest terms, perhaps the best thing we can say is that abstraction is universal - artists tapping into the subconscious to elicit emotional reactions and develop visual relationships through elements of color, shape, and texture. The same equation is typically at work in representational art, but with those elements fashioned within the familiar.

"Big Toe" by Laurie Fader, oil, 48x42in, 2017, $3200

“Unconscious, subversive preoccupations are the driving force behind my paintings,” is how Laurie Fader puts it, “stabilized and excavated through the use of light and woven shapes of color. Making the painting is a mysterious and compulsive search for an emotional reality. Visual touchstones reveal complex psychological and intellectual states, contained within fragile, blistered and bubbled boundaries. It has become a metaphor for our political landscape as well, polarized and charged with dichotomies.”

"Plumage" by Laurie Fader, oil, mixed media on paper, 19x15in, 2017, $2200

Fader came to the abstract. Like so many artists, after years of representational work: “Freed from the perimeters of painting the landscape on site, which caught my interest for twenty years, now color can lead in a way it could not before. And with color comes delight in a different sort of visual and emotional journey.”

Fader is Associate Professor and Chair of Academic Affairs at Kentucky College of Art + Design at Spalding University, where she teaches Drawing II, Color and Design, Color and Design II, and Painting II. Since joining the faculty in 2010, she co-authored the BFA program before becoming Chair in 2011. In addition, she organized a Study Abroad Program and took 3 students to Umbria, Italy.

Earlier this year she finished an Artist’s Residency at Scuola Grafica in Venice, Italy.

Laurie Fader will be participating in the 2017 Open Studio Weekend, sponsored by Louisville Visual Art and University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute. Her studio, located in the Germantown neighborhood, will be open the weekend of November 4 and 5. Tickets for Open Studio Weekend will go on sale October 16. Click here for more information.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 60
Education: BS, Honors, New York University, NYC; MFA, Painting, Yale School of Art.
Website: lauriefader@squarespace.com

Scroll down for more images

"Charted Territories" by Laurie Fader, mixed media on paper, 22x18in, 2017, $2500

"Shroud" by Laurie Fader, mixed media, 13x19in, 2017, $2200

"Diversity" by Laurie Fader, mixed media, 32x28in, 2017, $2200

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

Vignette: M.J. Kinman

“Fire, the most dramatic of the four elements. You can't make excellent bourbon without it.”    – M.J. Kinman

"Char #4" by M.J. Kinman, Hand-painted cotton; poly batting; poly thread, 48x81in, 2017, $6500

M.J. Kinman creates fiber art compositions of geometric shapes in kaleidoscopic patterns. In her Bourbon Diamonds Series she captures the fire and brilliance of Kentucky's iconic spirit, with each piece inspired by a particular label from Kentucky’s most famous export. For example, “Char #4” recognizes Old Forester bourbon's heritage of crafting their barrels themselves, a process that requires setting the new oak aflame. 

“Bourbon isn't bourbon without fire,” explains Kinman.“Unless the interior of a new oak barrel is allowed to burn, there can be no blackening and crackling of the wood. Those tiny cracks invite the whiskey to penetrate the oak during the hot, lazy Kentucky summers, providing it's amber and smoky tones.” 

“I make the biggest diamonds in the world…but instead of working with the hardest substances on Earth, I work with the softest. For the past 20 years, I’ve used fabric and paint to create larger-than-life portraits of colored gemstones. My goal is to find a stone’s personality – the story of light and color – encased within. This work, part of my Bourbon Diamonds series, celebrates the importance of fire in the making of Kentucky bourbon.”

"Fire & Ice" by M.J. Kinman, Hand-painted cotton; poly batting; poly thread, 82x50in, 2017, $7500

Kinman will be showing at the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska, January 2 through 30, 2018. There will be an Artist’s Reception on Friday, January 12.

M.J. Kinman will be participating in the 2017 Open Studio Weekend, sponsored by Louisville Visual Art and University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute. Her studio, located in the Clifton neighborhood, will be open the weekend of November 4 and 5. Tickets for Open Studio Weekend will go on sale October 16. Click here for more information.

Hometown: Hastings, Nebreska
Age: 55
Education: Bachelors of Social Work (BSW), Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio; Masters in Social Work (MSW), University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan
Website: www.mjkinman.com
Instagram: mjkinman709

Scroll Down To See More Images

"Angel's Share" by M.J. Kinman, Hand-painted cotton; poly batting; poly thread, 58x58in, 2017, $5500

"Devil's Due" by M.J. Kinman, Hand-painted cotton; poly batting; poly thread, 53x78in, 2016, $7500

"Blush" by M.J. Kinman, Hand-painted cotton; poly batting; poly thread, 85x55in, 2014, $7500

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved

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Vignette: Julio Cesar Rodriguez

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“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

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Artist, 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

"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

"B (detail)" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez

"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)

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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