“I hope to provoke the viewer to consider the contradictions arising from our contemporary fixation with notions of health.“ – Lori Larusso

*"Eating Animals (Broccoli Poodle)" by Lori Larusso, 19x10in, acrylic on shaped panel (2016), price available on request*

When you hear the term “political art”, what comes to mind? Campaign and propaganda posters from contentious times; “Buy Bonds” during World War II, “Join The Party” from Europe in the 1930’s - Iconic mileposts of social change. Yet, in the work of Lori Larusso we find social and political statements about food production and distribution in the U.S. that are as slick, clean and polished as the height of the form, but placed in a whimsical context that makes the message more approachable; couching the provocative in a comfortable mid-Twentieth Century aesthetic.

“Our unhealthy obsession with healthy food often masks the origins of its production,” explains Larusso. “It also fails to consider who has the financial means and access to consume foods defined as healthy. For those in need of assistance, state bureaucracy determines the affordability and accessibility of staple foods. WIC programs, for example, allow for the purchase of sugary breakfast cereals, while at the same time, refuse to allow for the purchase of organic dairy products and high quality all natural foods. These newest paintings are reflections on the disconnect between the disturbing realities of commercial food production and our often naive assumptions about the pastoral lifestyle of animals raised for consumption. Here, the presentation of the food images, (cagey, but carefully prepared and staged) calls to mind the desire to provide healthful foods for ourselves and families while evoking the contrasting reality, both the abusive treatment of animals in CAFOs and those unable to participate in the health market.”

The pieces are illustrative and narrative, but Larusso states that, “the tangible quality of finished pieces is tied more directly to a contemporary painting practice.” Digital images of the work don’t clarify that these pieces are acrylic painted on shaped panels, so, as is always the case, a proper reading of the work requires viewing it in person. Larusso’s work can be seen at this moment in three exhibits:

March 3 - April 29 -The Chamber of Golden Light & Eating Animals at James May Gallery: Algoma, WI

February 12 - March 18 - Art and Tart at KMAC Shop; Louisville, KY

January 19 - April 30 - Contemplation Consumed: Artworks by Johanna Goodman, Natsuko Hattori and Lori Larusso, Porter Contemporary; New York, NY

Hometown: Massillon, Ohio
Age: 36
Education: MFA, Interdisciplinary Studies- Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) BFA, Studio Art- University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning
Galley Representation: Skidmore Contemporary (Santa Monica, CA), Jordan Faye Contemporary (Baltimore, MD), Porter Contemporary (New York, NY)
Website: www.lorilarusso.com

*"Eating Animals (Green Grapes Porcupine)" by Lori Larusso, 18.5x10.5in, acrylic on shaped panel (2017), price available on request*

*"Eating Animals (Banana Dolphins)" by Lori Larusso, 24.5x12in, acrylic on shaped panel (2017), price available on request*

*"Eating Animals (Cucumber Shamu)" by Lori Larusso, 15x6in, acrylic on shaped panel (2017), price available on request*

*"Eating Animals (Strawberry Mice)" by Lori Larusso, 16x7in, acrylic on shaped panel (2017), price available on request*

*"Eating Animals (Waffle Sea Turtle)" by Lori Larusso, 24.5x12in, acrylic on shaped panel (2017), price available on request*

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Fiber

Vignette: Vallorie Henderson

Josh Jenkins · March 14, 2017

“Being part of the earth, its secrets are part of our fiber, our purpose, our memory, and our spirit.” — Vallorie Henderson

"A Bigger Piece of the Pie" by Vallorie Henderson, 2x3ft, hand-dyed and felted Merino wool with silk organza, machine stitching, $675 | BUY NOW — *"A Bigger Piece of the Pie" by Vallorie Henderson, 2x3ft, hand-dyed and felted Merino wool with silk organza, machine stitching, $675 | BUY NOW*

Because they are created by human hand, we are tempted to think that textiles are less connected to nature than some other mediums. Yet the work of Vallorie Henderson captures the tones and textures of the natural world with certainty. Her Appalachian heritage has always imbued her artist’s sensibility with a feeling for the land, but isn’t there something inherent in the fibers of the material, which are born of the fluid, organic quality of biology, that carries the earth with it through any process?

“My work will always have its origins in nature, if not by the inherent qualities within wool that allow it to felt, then perhaps by the preference for a particular line or form found only in the natural world. I enjoy creating landscapes with an abstract expressionist approach, hoping to represent the essence of the chosen vista through transparent layers of silk and wool, allowing a visual blending of complex colors when the viewer’s eyes see multiple hues through other hues.”

"Bottom Land" by Vallorie Henderson, 7x35in, hand-dyed and felted Merino wool with silk organza, machine stitching, $575 | BUY NOW — *"Bottom Land" by Vallorie Henderson, 7x35in, hand-dyed and felted Merino wool with silk organza, machine stitching, $575 | BUY NOW*

“With my most recent body of work, Birds Eye View, I chose to focus on aerial views of the farmlands in southern Indiana, western Kentucky and some areas of southern and eastern Kentucky where I am from. At first glance, these works may appear to represent a fascination with geometric shapes, patterns and repetitive grids. Viewing the landscape from higher altitudes does not allow a full understanding of the ongoing process that give form to the land below or of how its appearance reflects human occupation and the day-to-day engagements involving people, land, material, and circumstances. Beyond its dramatic scenery, our landscape is remarkable for the cultural activities and ideas it represents.”

"Gray Day along the Pike" by Vallorie Henderson, 14.5x28in, hand-dyed and felted Merino wool with silk organza, machine stitching, $625 | BUY NOW — *"Gray Day along the Pike" by Vallorie Henderson, 14.5x28in, hand-dyed and felted Merino wool with silk organza, machine stitching, $625 | BUY NOW*

“My Cherokee ancestors did not think it possible to own land, believing instead that we are born from Mother Earth. As an artist, I accept that we are made of this earth and in some manner, have always known the earth and its environs. Being part of the earth, its secrets are part of our fiber, our purpose, our memory, and our spirit. We are this place and all of its stories and events. Making connections between our experiences, their location and time is to be part of a greater whole while living in the present.“

Vallorie Henderson’s Bird’s Eye View series is currently featured in the Louisville Visual Art exhibit, Tessile Ora, along with work by Denise Furnish and Elmer Luciell Allen. It will be on display at Louisville’s Metro Hall through May 26, 2017.

Hometown: Somerset, Kentucky
Age: 59
Education: BA in Art, Berea College, Berea, KY; MFA in Fibers, Miami University, Oxford, OH
Website: http://www.valloriehendersontextiles.com

"Amber Waves of Grain" by Vallorie Henderson, 2x3ft, hand-dyed and felted Merino wool with silk organza, machine stitching, $675 | BUY NOW — *"Amber Waves of Grain" by Vallorie Henderson, 2x3ft, hand-dyed and felted Merino wool with silk organza, machine stitching, $675 | BUY NOW*

*"Woodland Vessel" by Vallorie Henderson*

Painting, Drawing

Vignette: Jenny Shircliff

Josh Jenkins · February 28, 2017

"Creekside" by Jenny Shircliff, 24x36in, oil on canvas (2017), $1500 | BUY NOW — *"Creekside" by Jenny Shircliff, 24x36in, oil on canvas (2017), $1500 | BUY NOW*

Artists turn that introspective gaze towards themselves; it’s not at all unusual - most art reveals something of the person who creates it. Jenny Shircliff makes herself the subject as a way of investigating age and, by implication, mortality.

"Cavea" by Jenny Shircliff, 18x15in, pastels on paper (2016), $650 | BUY NOW — *"Cavea" by Jenny Shircliff, 18x15in, pastels on paper (2016), $650 |* *BUY NOW*

Her earlier paintings were naturalistic renderings of the figure, but her new work is a departure, in which she dramatically abstracts human form nearly beyond recognition, and equates it with landscape forms.

“Our culture's idea of figurative beauty is predicated on youth, smooth skin, and rosy complexions,” observes Shircliff, “I am inverting that tenet and looking at my own aging flesh as a recording of my life, much in the same way that time is visually marked on the landscape. Thus, I have turned to viewing various parts of my own body as elements of land formations and use them as a derivation for abstract landscape. And I draw my color from nature itself. In a way, this new body of work could be described as ‘flesh-scapes’.”

What results from this focus are images of startling graphic impact. They appear to be abstract but are, in reality, intense, close-up views of the human form that embrace and reveal their humanity. The discovery of organic pattern and shape is so universal that we mistake them for images of other animals or natural rock formations. Through this highly candid, nearly forensic self-portrait series, Shircliff reminds us that we are a part of a larger natural world.

"Outcrop" by Jenny Shircliff, 20x24in, pastels on paper (2016), $950 | BUY NOW — *"Outcrop" by Jenny Shircliff, 20x24in, pastels on paper (2016), $950 | BUY NOW*

Shircliff has returned to painting after a long period devoting herself to the studying and teaching art history. “One of the most important things I learned from that experience is that assumptions should be challenged, inverted, and viewed in a different light.”

Shircliff has taught previously at Kentucky College of Art + Design at Spalding University, KSAH, Bellarmine University, University of Louisville, IUS, JCTC, and Midway College.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 62
Education: PhD in Art History, May 2014 University of Louisville, Louisville, KY; MA in Painting, 1994 University of Louisville, Louisville, KY; BFA in Drawing, 1976 Murray State University, Murray, K

"Cavern" by Jenny Shircliff, 31x36in, oil on canvas (2016), $3000 | BUY NOW — *"Cavern" by Jenny Shircliff, 31x36in, oil on canvas (2016), $3000 | BUY NOW*

"Gorge" by Jenny Shircliff, 48x48in, oil on canvas (2016), $1500 | BUY NOW — *"Gorge" by Jenny Shircliff, 48x48in, oil on canvas (2016), $1500 | BUY NOW*

"Cliffside" by Jenny Shircliff, 24x36in, oil on canvas (2016), $750| BUY NOW — *"Cliffside" by Jenny Shircliff, 24x36in, oil on canvas (2016), $750| BUY NOW*

Ceramics, Print Making

Vignette: Elizabeth Stevenson

Josh Jenkins · December 27, 2016

*"Untitled #1" by Elizabeth Stevenson, 4.5x4.5x4.5in, fired white clay (2015)*

We are officially in the Holocene (“entirely recent”) epoch, which began 11,700 years ago after the last major ice age, but many argue for the current period to be term “Anthropocene”—from anthropo, for “man,” and cene, for “new”—because human-kind has incurred a profound enough impact on the earth to merit the classification. Claims about global warming aside, mass extinctions of plant and animal species, and pollution on a large scale have inarguably changed the planet.

"Untitled #4" by Elizabeth Stevenson, 11x15in, collograph relief print on paper (2015), $150 | BUY NOW — *"Untitled #4" by Elizabeth Stevenson, 11x15in, collograph relief print on paper (2015), $150 | BUY NOW*

Elizabeth Stevenson is directly inspired by this concept in her work, “… it fueled me to keep creating,” she explains. “Natural patterns are what originally inspired me to create this body of work. The lines I would see in sand when water washed over it or the small orb like forms of pollen particles. After looking to so much of nature for inspiration it made sense to study the science surrounding it. Once I had a better understanding of how nature works and the way in which humans are destroying it I found even more reason to create work motivated by it.”

For Stevenson, the process begins with a study of microscopic images: “Beginning with open organic forms I wished to investigate natural configurations that I saw and abstract them.” In the very beginning, she finds the three-dimensional forms to be soft and fragile, almost vulnerable to the pending manipulation by the artist’s hand. Her carving is primarily deductive, removing mass to create new empty space.

“The forms continued to push me to create and find different processes for making, which led me to develop a more jagged and unraveled representation of the natural world. With these new lines and shapes I began to look to more macroscopic imagery for inspiration. There is a glacial quality in the appearance of the newer pieces, as the lines seem to melt and become undone. Fluid lines drip off into empty space, or are they being contained? All of these forms seemingly contained within a circle, which I can only explain as an attempt to control what I was creating or to control the things that inspire me.”

Age: 21
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BFA candidate, Interdisciplinary Sculpture, Kentucky College of Art + Design at Spalding University, Louisville, Kentucky

"Untitled #3" by Elizabeth Stevenson, 13.5x10.5in, monotype print on paper (2015), $100 | BUY NOW — *"Untitled #3" by Elizabeth Stevenson, 13.5x10.5in, monotype print on paper (2015), $100 | BUY NOW*

*"Untitled #2" by Elizabeth Stevenson, 3.5x3.5x3.5in, fired white clay (2015)*

Mixed Media, Sculpture

Vignette: Jonny Gilroy

Josh Jenkins · November 15, 2016

“Embody” by Jonny Gilroy, steel, twine, root, acrylic, $420  | BUY NOW — *“Embody” by Jonny Gilroy, steel, twine, root, acrylic, $420 | BUY NOW*

Jonny Gilroy is an artist working in a variety of disciplines. He spent a few years in Raleigh, NC as a graphic designer for trade show displays. In his last year he was working in design/production of marketing materials for breweries throughout the southeast. He creates graphics using Wide-Format Inkjet Printing, ICC Color Profiling, Dye-Sublimation Fabric Graphics, Graphic Design, and Photography.

In abstract paintings of vivid colors, Gilroy creates compositions of fluid energy suggestive of human biology. The lines and striations mimic electrocardiograms as well as the organic structure within our bodies, connecting a visual pulse with our own biorhythms. Although grounded in Abstract Expressionism, a movement known for intellectual rigor, Gilroy’s work has a an accessible, almost kitschy quality that makes them paintings with a palpable sense of fun.

Gilroy also works in three-dimensions, and his sculptures often render line and kinetic energy in a similar fashion, but there is also a representational side to Gilroy’s work involving birds and the forest, and that also finds it way into sculptural work that draws parallels with the abstract pieces.

“Reinvent” by Jonny Gilroy, steel, twine, acrylic, shipping tube, stick, tape, $550 | BUY NOW — *“Reinvent” by Jonny Gilroy, steel, twine, acrylic, shipping tube, stick, tape, $550 | BUY NOW*

"Inspiration comes from recognizing the sense of feeling and acting upon the energy it creates. I like to describe that energy in the form of art that emits from a feeling. I feel colors, lines and shapes. These forms arise from different life experiences. I put them together into art to make sense of that experience."

Gilroy has exhibited extensively in the northeast, and has recently relocated to Lexington, Kentucky

Age: 30
Hometown: Olean, New York
Education: BA, State University of New York at Genseo
Website:

“Unravel” by Jonny Gilroy, black walnut, steel, acrylic, $350 | BUY NOW — *“Unravel” by Jonny Gilroy, black walnut, steel, acrylic, $350 | BUY NOW*

“Refraction” by Jonny Gilroy, black walnut, acrylic, dowels, $520 | BUY NOW — *“Refraction” by Jonny Gilroy, black walnut, acrylic, dowels, $520 | BUY NOW*

“Resonate” by Jonny Gilroy, black walnut, tape, wire, steel, acrylic, $280 | BUY NOW — *“Resonate” by Jonny Gilroy, black walnut, tape, wire, steel, acrylic, $280 | BUY NOW*

“Attach” by Jonny Gilroy, birch board, driftwood, twine, acrylic, burlap, $380 | BUY NOW — *“Attach” by Jonny Gilroy, birch board, driftwood, twine, acrylic, burlap, $380 | BUY NOW*

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Vignette: Lori Larusso