Vignette: Bill Fischer Prize Recipient Elizabeth Hardy

“I believe it is my responsibility as an artist to work to communicate the incommunicable…” – Elizabeth Hardy

"Bison Mystic," by Elizabeth Hardy, hand-dyed fiber, grown-crystal, plaster, stone, mixed media armature, 3 x 2.5 x 2.5in, 2016

The Community Foundation of Louisville, in partnership with Louisville Visual Art, has presented Louisville-based sculptor and designer, Elizabeth Hardy, with the first annual Bill Fischer Prize for Visual Art.

On her website, Hardy includes this declaration: “Elizabeth works to curate & cultivate aesthetically keen experiences across visual disciplines, inviting viewers to indulge in romantic collaborations with the natural world.” It points to a broader embrace of art and design in various contexts, and the rest of her site vividly illustrates the point, showing the artist’s work in many commercial channels. The lines of demarcation between art and design, fine art and commercial work, are forever shifting, as artists like Hardy navigate the overlap of creative spaces in the culture.

Yet the Fischer Prize recognizes the “fine art” produced by Hardy, and however slick and professional the images online may be, she is also immersed in the hard, knuckle-breaking work of carving stone and constructing mixed media sculpture, working in a modest room during winter – in the warmer climate she moves her carving outside, under a tent.

Since earning her BFA in 2012, Hardy has traveled for residencies in stone carving:

2015 - Carving Studio & Sculpture Center in Rutland, Vermont.

2016 - Green Olive Artist Residency in Tetouan, Morocco.
         - Carving Studio & Sculpture Center in Rutland, Vermont.

2017 - Tuscany Study Stone Sculpture Workshops at Corsanini Studio in Carrara, Italy.

Her installations and soft material sculptures combine contrasting sensibilities, the communication through three-dimensional form and space with the polish and craftsmanship of a commercial designer.  Hardy explains: “I am interested in producing work that honors the legacy of classic sculptural techniques which stand the test of time, married with a contemporary, experimental style that defies convention.”

“My work seeks to stir nostalgia for the primordial past and sublime in nature, via
romantic collaborations with the natural world. Whether through carving marble (a material consisting of interlocking crystals made by generations of petrified
tiny creatures slowly compressed by gravity at the bottom of a primordial sea), or
through growing crystals as surface treatment, the role of natural phenomena as
process is consistently present in sculptural works and installations. Beyond my
attraction to such processes that emphasize time passage - translating
ephemeral makings into enduring works that can speak to our past and present
for years to come.”

Hardy plans to use her prize money, "to provide a suitable environment with tools to establish a space to be able to create works on a larger scale than I am physically capable of doing with the restrictions of my current studio space. I could expand my practice for my own productions as well as have a proper venue to function as a learning environment that I could share the techniques I have learned with others."

Marble bust in Hardy's studio

The Bill Fischer Award for Visual Artists is a $5,000 cash prize designed to make a meaningful impact on the career of a visual artist residing in the Louisville Metro Area by providing support in the form of grants for the execution and exhibition of artwork and other efforts to foster a professional career as a visual artist. Recipients of the Fischer Prize must show a commitment to experimentation and the creative use of materials and techniques, and a commitment to pursuing a career as a professional working visual artist.

The Award is funded by the Artist Bill Fischer Foundation for Working Artists at the Community Foundation of Louisville. Louisville Visual Art serves as the administrative partner to the project and competition process.

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Education: BFA, Sculpture, Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 2012
Website: www.elizabethhardy.work
Instagram: elizabethianne

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"Western Reverie" by Elizabeth Hardy, fiber, grown crystal, mixed media armature. 10 x 8 x 7in, 2016-2017

"Lair" by Elizabeth Hardy, grown-crystal, fiber, plaster, stone, crystallized moss, mixed media, 10 x 12 x 6ft, 2016

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

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Vignette: Allison Schwartz

“Not all art needs to be so serious or grim, especially in today’s world.” – Allison Schwartz

"Sleepy" by Allison Schwartz, Ceramic, wood, expanding foam, faux fur, acrylic paint, flocking, 25x12.5x11in, 2017, $500

‘Cute and cuddly’ is anathema in the world of ‘serious’ fine art. But these sculptural forms from Allison Schwartz dare to introduce the motif of domestic cats into the mix by embracing any perceived lack of gravitas with bright and bold colors and textures that cry out for you to run your fingers through them. Yet there is also something a little unorthodox in these feline characters, as Schwartz explains: 

"Brat" by Allison Schwarts, Ceramic, expanding foam, faux fur, acrylic paint, wood, flocking, 15x16x17.5in, 2017, $500 (base not included)

“Sea is for Catfish is an installation of fictional creatures that are half cat and half fish, which is based off my love of felines and all aquatic creatures. The contradiction and uncanny nature of their ‘existence’ expresses the unnatural and non-native feeling of pure happiness in my life.” 

“Each sculptural catfish is a combination of ceramic, wood, expanding foam, faux fur and acrylic paint. I love creating texture and strive to reveal the unexpected – or in this case – very familiar textures. These catfish are covered with an extremely soft faux fur, enticing its viewer to interact.”

So Schwartz is more concerned with the visceral experience than any overriding intellectual thesis for her work, so that one might argue that it has a more important connection to expressionist traditions. The synthesis of two distinct species that are historically seen as being at odds communicates a subversive unease that reflects the artist’s own emotional struggles: “My work comes from a desire to connect with others without using words. Recently, I’ve been overcome with a sense of euphoria whereas I had been in a constant haze of anxiety. My hope is that the viewer walks away experiencing the same strange happiness I find daily.”

Schwartz is a recent graduate of Northern Kentucky University and just had work in the Main Gallery on that campus.

Age: 23
Hometown: Lancaster, Kentucky
Education: BFA, Spatial Arts, Northern Kentucky University School of the Arts, December 2017
Instagram: @al2lison

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"Cleaner" by Allison Schawrtz, Ceramic, expanding foam, faux fur, acrylic paint, wood, flocking, 16x15x13in, 2017, $500

"Scratcher" by Allison Schwarts, Ceramic, expanding foam, faux fur, acrylic paint, wood, flocking, 12.5x14x24in, 2017, $500 (tower not included)

"Large Cat Tower" by Allison Schwartz, Wood & foam, 32x24inx5ft, 2017, $500 (catfish not included - tower not built for real cats but could be adapted)

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

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Vignette: Sid Webb

“These images are representative of a life long need to use art to reflect the political atmosphere.” – Sid Webb

(Honoré Daumier, after Charles Philipon, who was jailed for the original.)

Political satire has a long and storied history. Honoré-Victorin Daumier (1808-1879) caricatured the French King Louis Phillipe turning into a pear, and often as corrupt. In 1835, the king reinstituted censorship of images, effectively curtailing Daumier’s most pointed political work. By the time Napoleon III took the throne, Daumier had become more careful, inventing Ratapoil, a political henchman of the new king that placed his critiques at a safer remove.

Such commentary in art today is usually more explicit, owing to digital technology that makes it all too easy to incorporate actual photographs of the subject. Of course, their subjects in return attack the artists, but has any period ever provided such ripe targets as this generation’s overexposed and shameless crop of politicians?

"The Word Only He Can Say Publically" by Sid Webb, Digital multi-media, Acrylic, 24x40in, 2017, $3400

Sid Webb is an artist and activist who, now a "Senior Citizen", still takes to the streets with his wife to protest injustice and inequality. As a Kentucky resident, he need not look very far to find the conflict between ideologies and division that defines our age. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) draws his ire, as does the current President of the United States, Donald Trump.

In a pointed commentary on the now infamous Access Hollywood video, Webb positions the 45th occupant of the Oval Office in conflict and contrast to a sexualized female figure that is both salacious (in its sheer, revealing lace) and innocent (the face of silent movie icon Clara Bow). The result is a bracing image of ego and arrogance run amuck that unfortunately has become an all-too common part of the Modern American Experience.

There is little need to explain Webb’s point-of-view; the images speak for themselves.  The artist has stated before that, “Art is a creation that aptly describes its time and place,” and perhaps that is the explanation necessary. The themes of corruption and the abuse of the people’s trust are here rendered in terms specific to today, but they are universal, the same as expressed by Daumier and others over time, and just as likely to keep being revisited over and over, for the next generation of artists to rail against.

Webb works in a variety of mediums, and included here are figure studies that verge into the abstract. "Green Woman" merges the generous figure of an ancient fertility goddess with a Pop Art sensibility, capturing a Post Modern Feminism in loose gestural fashion and a note of sardonic humor.

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky
Education: Majored in journalism and political science, University of Kentucky; Atlanta School of Art (High Museum)
Website: www.sidwebb.com

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"'Nuff Hope" by Sid Webb, Digital, 6.25x10in, 2013, $180

"Boys" by Sid Webb, Ink & conte crayon, digital restoration, 16x20in, 1967, $2200

"Green Woman" by Sid Webb, Acrylic, 8x8in, 2017, $180

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire text copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.
Original works of art, copyright reserved by artist.

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Vignette: Philip High - Open Studio Weekend Artist

Reclamation is ubiquitous in contemporary art – artists were the first recyclers, long before it became de rigueur to include orange bins as a part of the household routine, and usually this refers to found physical materials, objects rescued from the oblivion of dumpsters and landfills. For Philip High, the action of scavenging the past runs deeper than the surface, shape, or texture of things.

“I am a collector of forms, contemplating the forces that created them. I freely combine these abstract and recognizable fragments, looking for patterns and relationships that suggest non-linear stories reflecting on nature and human experience - a visual haiku.”

His language establishes a somewhat spiritual context for his work, one that illuminates the connection between humankind and our environment. It is a common enough theme among 21st century artists, yet it seems in exhaustible. High’s work never feels derivative or second hand, but registers his very individual journey in highly specific terms. The connection to nature is profound enough to encourage deeper and more thoughtful approaches to artistic expression, and High’s aesthetic is unique and resonant.

"Fortuna" by Philip High, mixed media on wood, 24x25x3in, 2015, $900

“My current work is in mixed media and falls into three general categories: works on paper, assemblage, and small sculptural objects.” We see examples of all three here. “Fortuna” is a piece that began with a fragment of wood found on the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville. Fortuna was the Roman goddess of fortune, often associated with cities and rivers. One of the reasons why the piece intrigues is that the assemblage technique obscures any traditional examination of the artist’s hand. Which marks were part of the discovery and which are made by High in response? The “craft” is exercised as much through a series of correlative choices as through any manipulation of plastic medium. 

High is currently featured in The Modern Landscape, which runs through November 4, 2017 at New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY.

"Jar with Lid" by Philip High, concrete and mixed media, 6x4x4in, 2015, $90

Phillip High will be participating in the 2017 Open Studio Weekend, sponsored by Louisville Visual Art and University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute. His studio, located in the Old Louisville 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: 67
Education: Three years at the University of Kentucky as a painting major, where I also studied ceramics and printmaking.
Website: philiphigh.com
Instagram: highphilip
Gallery Representation: New Editions Gallery (Lexington, KY),
Zephyr Gallery (Louisville, KY).

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"Above and Below" by Philip High, mixed media and Tyvek on wood, 12x12in, 2017, $350

"The Labyrinth Makers Son" by Philip High, mixed media on wood, 50x31x3in, 2017, $2100

"Into the Wind" by Philip High, concrete and mixed media, 9x12x3in, 2015, $150

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

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Vignette: Wendi Smith

Fetish \ˈfe-tish\ :an inanimate object worshiped for its supposed magical powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit.

"Multicolor Stick Fetish Box" by Wendi Smith, Acrylic on reclaimed pine box, sticks, floss, beads, 9.25 x 14 x 1.25in, 2017

When we speak of installations, we conjure up memories of three-dimensional work that would fill up a wall or even a room – at times whole environments are created. So when an installation artist such as Wendi Smith builds small boxes, we should not be surprised that each one might come across to the viewer as a miniature installation.

"Bone Fetish Box" by Wendi Smith, Acrylic on reclaimed cedar box, jawbone, feather, bead, cord, 5.75x3.75x1.5in, 2016

The wooden objects are adorned with images representing small organic items that are matched by the actual items themselves, revealed when we open the snug and perfectly fitted drawers. Seashells, seedpods feathers, and small twigs are placed inside, intimately positioned with beads and thread; handmade bits that echo the forms found in nature.

"Bone Fetish Box" by Wendi Smith (detail)

“A long fascination with ritual objects has brought me to fetishes,” states Smith. “A fetish may be a figure or a non-figurative object that is associated with a spiritual connection, magic, or offerings. Creating a fetish is a way of making a prayer or intention physical, of calling upon an unseen power, of trying to influence that which we cannot control.”  

“These particular pieces are culled from found natural objects, and influenced by Native American design. They are not intended to be powerful or magical, except in the reverence for Nature in which they are designed and executed.”

If Smith doesn’t seek to overwhelm with these fetish boxes, there is still undeniable attraction in their mystery and discovery. The viewer is inextricably drawn to the sensuous warmth of the well-crafted wood and to the preciousness of the objects contained within. They might be seen to replace the aged cigar boxes and old canning jars that those of us of a certain generation can recall using to safeguard found treasures in our childhood. And what can be more powerful than memory?

This past June, Smith was a part of Curio Cabinet, a curated group exhibit at the Indianapolis Art Center. In February 2018 she will have a solo show at garner narrative contemporary gallery in Louisville.

Hometown: Corydon, Indiana
Education: BS Art Education, Illinois State University 1972:
MS Painting, Illinois State University, 1975
Gallery Representation: garner narrative (Louisville)

"Fetish Box III" by Wendi Smith, Acrylic on reclaimed cigar box, pod, beads, thread, 6.25x5.75x1.5in, 2016

"Fetish Box III" by Wendi Smith (detail)

"Shell Fetish Box" by Wendi Smith, Acrylic on reclaimed cedar box, shells, acorn, feather, vine, beads, 5.5x8.25x5in, 2017

"Shell Fetish Box" by Wendi Smith (detail)

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

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