Vignette: Macel Hamilton

Macel Hamilton, “Love”, oil, 11in x 14in, 2021, NFS

By profession, Macel Hamilton has been a Registered Nurse for 34  years, but seven years ago she started teaching herself to draw, and within a year she was painting. A native of Beaver, located in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, her simple portrait work captures a rural sensibility. Whether through technique - Hamilton favors natural lighting and has a knack for capturing it - or subject - each portrait is of a family member or close friend - the artist expresses the prosaic existence of the Appalachian region.

“My main goal with my art is to improve and learn. I really enjoy my art when I feel like I am learning and improving.”

Macel Hamilton, “Uncle”, oil, 11in x 14in, 2021, NFS

Not that the inspiration is the cliche of rural unsophistication. In “Husband”, Hamilton paints a spouse who was a professional studio musician for over 50 years with Capitol Records, working with many famous musicians in the 1960s, and an “Uncle” who was an Old Regular Baptist preacher in Eastern Kentucky. The focused energy present just before he begins a sermon is palpable.

Hamilton’s gift for rendering people with such unsparing realism doesn’t prevent her from capturing their humanity, it elevates it. There is empathy in the exploration of every hair and wrinkle in the flesh, and great warmth injected into the details. With “Love’, the deep connection between a middle-aged man and his aging father acknowledges the complicated emotions in familial relationships while hinting at the pain of witnessing the passing of generations. In 2021 “Love” was exhibited for six months in the Kentucky Capitol as a part of the Team Kentucky Gallery.  

SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE IMAGES

Macel Hamilton, “Husband”, oil, 16in x 20in, 2020, NFS

Macel Hamilton, “Old Rusted Lock”, watercolor on paper, 16in x 20in, NFS

Macel Hamilton, “Uncle”, oil, 11in x 14in, 2021, NFS

Macel Hamilton, “Life Is Good”, acrylic, 16in x 20in, 2019, NFS

Written by Keith Waits

Entire contents are copyright © 2022 by Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

Artists Talk with LVA: April 28, 2022

This week we talk about "Seeing Sam Richards Sculpture", the new book by Frances Kratzok, and others, including Melinda Walters & John Begley. Tune in to WXOX 971.1 FM/Artxfm.com Thursdays at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Sam Richards was a prolific sculptor. His experimentation was broad, deep, and lifelong. He was knowledgeable, articulate, and down-to-earth, a man of sparing speech, and personal and artistic integrity. Richards taught at the University of Louisville for almost 19 years and making most of his sculptures in his campus studio. 

Louisville sculptor Frances Kratzok received a B.F.A. in sculpture from the Tyler School, Temple University, and an M.F.A. in sculpture from Rinehart School of Sculpture of Maryland Institute College of Art.

She has taught sculpture and art classes at several colleges in the Louisville area and exhibits regionally. She was married to sculptor Sam Richards.

Melinda Walters is currently a special education teacher in Louisville. She received her BA in Fine and Studio Arts with a concentration in Sculpture from the University of Louisville where she studied with Sam Richards. She went on to earn an MFA from the University of Albany SUNY before returning to U of L to get a Masters in Education.

John Begley is a freelance art worker (artist, curator, art services provider) He was Gallery Director, Assistant Professor of Art (Emeritus), Critical and Curatorial Studies graduate program coordinator for the Allen R. Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville 2001 – 2014 (Retired). He was also the Director, Louisville Visual Art Association 1983 - 2001

Artists Talk with LVA: April 21, 2022

Applications for the 2022 Bill Fisher Award in Visual Arts are now open and Simone Sibley-McBride of the Community Foundation of Louisville and Louisville Metro Public Art Administrator Jessica Kincaid talked about what make for a good submission. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Simone Sibley-McBride joined the Community Foundation of Louisville’s Mission & Impact team as the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Manager and Program Manager in December 2021. Simone is passionate about improving community and organizational equity, systems, and wellness. She supports the Foundation in implementing equitable departmental strategies around DEI, Anti-racism, grantmaking, trust-based philanthropy scholarship practices, and evaluation of organizational impact.

Jessica Bennett Kincaid has been a curator and writer based in Louisville,  Kentucky for several years, and she was recently appointed Public Art Administrator for Louisville Metro Govt. She was previously the Manager of Permanent Collections for 21c Museum and before that the coordinator of collections and exhibitions at the University of Louisville Hite Art Institute, where she also served as a lecturer in art history.  

The Bill Fischer Award for Visual Artists is a $7,000 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 Award 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.

Apply here: louisvillevisualart.org/fischer-award

DEADLINE: May 2, 2022, @11:59 PM (EST)

Artists Talk with LVA: April 14, 2022

Actors Theatre has been the subject of a lot of discussion in recent weeks, so this week we spend an hour with Executive Artistic Director Robert Barry Fleming talking about his experience and vision of ATL's future. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com Thursdays at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Robert Barry Fleming is the Executive Artistic Director of Actors Theatre of Louisville. Fleming previously served as Associate Artistic Director at Cleveland Play House and as Director of Artistic Programming at Arena Stage. Fleming was also a tenured professor and Chair of the University of San Diego Theatre Arts and Performance Studies Department. Directing and choreography credits include Are You There? and Once On This Island (Actors Theatre of Louisville), and productions at Cleveland Play House, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Tantrum Theater. Professional acting credits include stints on Broadway, Off-Broadway, television (The George Carlin Show) and in films (Academy Award-winning L.A. Confidential).

Artists Talk with LVA: April 7, 2022

KMAC Couture is April 16 and Joey Yates joins us to talk about the 2022 edition! Tune in to WXOX 97.1/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA..

Joey Yates is currently the Curatorial Director at KMAC, where he has worked as a curator since 2012. He earned his Masters in Curatorial Studies at the University of Louisville and worked for Land of Tomorrow and Bellarmine University before joining KMAC.

On April 16 KMAC will host the 10th-anniversary edition of KMAC Couture featuring these designers: Pascalle Ballard, Jessica Sharp, Laura Patterson, Samantha J Moore, Xuena Pu, Ayodeji Lasisi, Frances Lewis, Katie Ensor, Molly Ensor, Alyson Thiel, Kathryn Henzler, Harlie Anderson, Brian Harmon, Bri Bowers, Ehren Reed, Frances Brunner, Sara Jane Coakley, Cathy Wade Ridge, Lauren Dowell, Wan Keith Smilely, Andrea Kaye, Fabio Pardo, Kris Thompson, Alexandra Ludwig, Fiyin Lasisi, Abigail Fadel, Edward Ruzicka, Rachel Schmidt, Edward Taylor, Danielle Vettraino, Tiffany Woodard, Lilly Chodyniecki, Wes Durham, Liz Klemenz, Isaac St. Thomas, Grey Vanderwoude, Caroline Parker, Kaylee Bliss, Ainsley Alexander, Amanda Von Kannel, Haylen Wehr, Kathryn Dillard, Brady Irwin, Lilly Gaunt, Kassandra Johnson