This week we spoke with Louisville native but Brooklyn resident Dean Christensen about his new solo exhibit at Galerie Hertz opening on July 18. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM or stream on Artxfm.com Thursdays at 10 am to hear Keith Waits talk with artists.

“Smile” New Work by Dean Christensen opens July 18 at Galerie Hertz with a reception from 1-4 pm and runs through September 5th.

N. Dean Christensen (aka Deansace, b. 1992, Louisville, KY) is a figurative painter living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Christensen's body of work is an ongoing commentary on the influence of the smartphone in our lives.

Using satire, social media iconography, and techniques that mimic in-app editing tools, he compels us to examine online persona, the human need for connection and approval, the inescapable pervasiveness of advertising, and the hidden constraints of social media.

Painting

Vignette: Sharon Matisoff

Josh Jenkins · August 16, 2017

*"For the Roses" by Sharon Matisoff, 19x36in, oil on canvas (2017)*

“Painting allows me to transform my perceptions of the world into portraits and figurative compositions.” — Sharon Matisoff

Sharon Matisoff likes to paint portraits, but as an artist in Kentucky, the temptation of thoroughbred horse racing as a subject is inevitable. “Although I’ve always painted people, recently I discovered the joys of equine painting. Now I primarily divide my artistic attention between these two subjects. Horses are poetry in motion and I aim to capture their grace and power when I paint them. It is gratifying to me that my portraiture skills are also useful in portraying the myriad ways in which people interact with horses. I feel as though my life as an artist is just beginning.”

Matisoff has been painting for years, but being newly retirement affords her the time to double down on her studio practice. Her slightly heightened sense of color is grounded in naturalism, and her sensitive observation of detail, which has always been a key element of her portraiture, is put into good use in her behind the scenes images of the world of horses. Her perspective on the racing form of the horse and jockey are adept, but the fact that her sensibility is drawn to the more workaday aspects of the equine world is telling.

*"Catching Up" by Sharon Matisoff, 19x36in, pastel on sanded paper (2017)*

*"Chillin'" by Sharon Matisoff, 27x19in, pastel on sanded paper (2017)*

“I often work in pastel when I’m so inspired that I don’t want to stop and mix colors or stretch a canvas. The desire to paint is so strong that I must immerse myself in a painting all at once. Pastel painting allows me to be fearless with the elements of art in the most lyrical way. Oil painting is a language that I learned later in life, and so demands a more considered approach. With the elaborate preparation that oil painting requires, I work in this medium when I feel very deeply about a subject and pastel is too ephemeral to convey the depth or complexity of the subject. Armed with these media, I feel as though I can interpret the subjects that touch my soul.”

Matisoff will be one of the featured artists in the Fall Equine Show at the Brown Gallery in the Brown Hotel. The show will be on display from September 1, 2017 through January 1, 2018.

Hometown: Oak Park, Michigan
Education: BA in Psychology from California State University-Northridge; Studied art at the Art Center College of Design (Pasadena, California)
Gallery Representation: Jessie's Art Gallery and Custom Framing (Frankfort, KY)
Website: http://www.sharonmatisoff.com/

*"Before the Race" by Sharon Matisoff, 19x36in, pastel on sanded paper (2017)*

*"Wild Blue" by Sharon Matisoff, 24x24in, oil on canvas (2017)*

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Photography

Vignette: Kevin Warth

Josh Jenkins · April 26, 2017

“Resisting normative constructions of time, I examine moments in which the past, present, and future collapse upon each other.” — Kevin Warth

When one says “digital” it tends to suggest clean, polished audio and visual product - the pristine clarity of the CD, or the magical ability to animate entire worlds in your favorite blockbuster movie. Yet there are legions devoted to the warmth and subdued crackle of analog technologies. Vinyl, for example is still first choice for many.

Kevin Warth’s photographs here are exposed and confessional self-portraits that have the feel of x-rays. The intentionally distressed images seem furtive and from a by-gone time, recalling vintage pornography and early experiments in multiple exposure techniques, so that we find Warth delivering a suitable marriage of theme and technique.

“My work explores temporality, memory, and the body through self-portraiture. Resisting normative constructions of time, I examine moments in which the past, present, and future collapse upon each other. My body becomes a vehicle for memory as the past haunts the present. These images are tangible yet insubstantial. I use alternative and historic photographic processes alongside current digital methods of image making to further complicate and queer linear time. Moments are not discrete or bound to sequential time; rather, they bleed into other timelines in unexpected, jarring ways.”

"Echoes" by Kevin Warth, dimensions variable, photo transfer on glass (2016), $500 | BUY NOW — *"Echoes" by Kevin Warth, dimensions variable, photo transfer on glass (2016), $500 | BUY NOW*

"I Am Consumed By Specters" by Kevin Warth, 16x20in, kallitype (2015), $400 | BUY NOW — *"I Am Consumed By Specters" by Kevin Warth, 16x20in, kallitype (2015), $400 | BUY NOW*

Warth is a recent graduate of the University of Louisville’s Allen R. Hite Institute, where he had received the Mary Spencer Nay Memorial Scholarship, the Allen R. Hite Scholarship, the Barbara Bullitt Christian Memorial Scholarship in Photography, and the Allen Memorial Prize in Creative Art.

On May 4th, Warth will be participating in Rainbows & Roses, a benefit show to raise money for Louisville's future LGBTQ+ Community Center. On June 2, he will organize/participate in Queer Voices, another charity show to be held at OPEN Community Arts Center in which a percentage of the work sold will be donated to a local LGBTQ charity in remembrance of those lost in the Orlando nightclub shooting.

Hometown: New Albany, Indiana
Age: 24
Education: BFA in 2D Studios and BA in Art History, University of Louisville, 2016
Website: http://www.kevinwarth.com
Gallery Representation: garner narrative contemporary

"Un" by by Kevin Warth, 7x7in, ambrotype (2015), $750 | BUY NOW — *"Un" by by Kevin Warth, 7x7in, ambrotype (2015), $750 | BUY NOW*

"I Am Consumed By Him" by Kevin Warth, 16x20in, kallitype (2015), $400 | BUY NOW — *"I Am Consumed By Him" by Kevin Warth, 16x20in, kallitype (2015), $400 | BUY NOW*

"Deux" by Kevin Warth, 7x7in, ambrotype (2015), $750 | BUY NOW — *"Deux" by Kevin Warth, 7x7in, ambrotype (2015), $750 | BUY NOW*

self-portrait

Artebella On The Radio: July 15

Vignette: Sharon Matisoff

“Painting allows me to transform my perceptions of the world into portraits and figurative compositions.” — Sharon Matisoff

Vignette: Kevin Warth

“Resisting normative constructions of time, I examine moments in which the past, present, and future collapse upon each other.” — Kevin Warth