Artists Talk with LVA: July 20, 2023

Amberly M. Simpson of AMBO Dance Theatre joins us this week to talk about two upcoming dance events involving her company. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Amberly M. Simpson is a dancer, educator, and choreographer local to Louisville, KY. She later attended Bellarmine University (2015-2017) where she received her Master of the Arts in Teaching and is now a full-time Dance teacher at Noe Middle School. Through her work as an educator, Amberly was able to present her work on empowering youth through nontraditional partnering forms at the National Dance Education Organization’s National Conference (2019).

In 2019, Amberly founded Ambo Dance Theatre, a contemporary/modern dance company. Through Ambo Dance Theatre, Amberly has presented work with Brighton Dance Festival (2019), Lighthouse Dance Festival (2019), the Kentucky Refugee Ministries (2019, 2020), the Louisville Dance Series (2019, 2020), the Louisville Arts Network (2020), the Going Dutch Festival (2020), and Princeton Research Day (2019) where her collaboration with David Vartanyan received the Impact Award. She was also honored as one of the Hadley Creatives (2019-2020, Generation III) through the Community Foundation of Louisville.

Artists Talk with LVA: July 13, 2023

This week we speak live with Ben Barnhart an artist who works in several mediums and will shortly be opening a solo show at Aurora Boutique & Gallery. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com Thursdays at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Ben Barnhart is 43 years old and considers himself a Louisville native even though he wasn’t born here. He graduated from DuPont Manual’s visual arts program and then spent his 20s and 30s moving around the country pursuing an art education as well as a career in tattooing. He is now in his 20th year as a professional tattoo artist and is more inspired than ever to create.

Ben mostly tattoos in American traditional, large-scale Japanese, and abstract tattoos that don’t really fit into a specific genre. His creative life outside of tattooing involves painting, illustration, mixed media collage, and 3D assemblages.

Fragmentation: A Solo Art Show By Ben Barnhart opens at Aurora Gallery & Boutique on July 22, 6 - 10 pm.

Artists Talk with LVA: June 29, 2023

The show gets a 2nd hour this week so we are filling it with Juergen Tossmann, Patrick Tovatt, andSteve Woodring. One-Off Productions in partnership with Bunbury Theatre is mounting the world premiere of Patrick's new play, Helper, in Louisville June 30, 2023

Patrick Tovatt is an American actor and playwright. He is perhaps best known for his roles on several soap operas, He attended Harvard University and laterstudied playwriting at Antioch College where he studied playwriting. Tovatt was a member of the original company of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. He appeared for 14 seasons at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. He was also a founding director of the Virginia Stage Company in Norfolk, Virginia. Tovatt has retired to Grants Pass, Oregon.

Steve Woodring worked his life in the theatre as a designer and director and was for many years the technical director of the Kentucky Center in Louisville. He has directed several plays for Bunbury Theatre including Buried Child, Rabbit Hole, Red, and Patrick Tovatt’s Boatwright.

Juergen Tossmann was the Producing Artistic Director at Bunbury Theatre Company sfor 30 odd years, having produced over 200 shows. He is also a writer, director, actor, and musician. He has written over 20 plays for the company and writes short stories and poetry as well. He retired in 2022.

ONE-OFF Productions in partnership with Bunbury Theatre presents Helper by Patrick Tovatt

June 30, July 1, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, & 15  @ 7:30 pm
June 2, 9, & 16 @ 2:00 pm

Artists Talk with LVA: June 29, 2023

Pyro Gallery celebrates its 20th Anniversary and 4 members, John McCarthy, Keith Auerbach, Kathy Loomis & Elmer Lopez join us in the studio this week to discuss the past, present, & future of the co-op gallery. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Fueling The Fires of Creativity: 20th Anniversary Exhibition at Pyro Gallery

June 30 through July 30, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 15, 2023, 6-9 pm
Gallery Hours: Friday and Saturday 12-6 pm, Sunday 1-4 pm

John McCarthy is an artist, ceramic sculptor, and art educator. His sculptural pieces are hand-built and highly manipulated to create organic shapes with an emphasis on texture and subtle, naturally glazed surfaces.  McCarthy has used stoneware firings to produce one-of-a-kind compositions that are striking and durable, whether used indoors or as exterior garden sculpture.

Photographer and artist Keith Auerbach is a native of Louisville, Kentucky. For nearly 15 years his photographs appeared in LEO WEEKLY (Louisville Eccentric Observer). In 2007 he published “The Photographic Humor of Keith Auerbach,” which won a Book of The Year (IPPY) award from the Independent Publishers Association. He has won many additional awards and competitions including an International Photography Awards "Lucie."

Kathleen Loomis asks “Why do artists make art?  For me, it’s not to produce beautiful images and objects, although I hope some of my work has a bit of beauty.  By contrast, I’m a commentator. 

 Some of my comments are loud and brazen, speaking out when our society seems to be taking wrong turns.  Some are indirect, mourning the people who fight our wars and suffer from depredation.  Some are wry, taking on the tropes and cliches of mass communication and American culture.

 I work primarily in fiber, either with a needle in hand or a needle in a sewing machine.  This constant reminder of traditional female domestic pursuits lends an edge to what I make – the hand that rocks the cradle and does the laundry can also pull a voting lever. “ 

Elmer Lopez is a Spanish American artist with over 17 years of specialized experience using a variety of mediums and techniques. He studied art at duPont Manual High School in Louisville, Kentucky where he was accepted into the Visual Arts program. After graduating, he majored in Studio Art and minored in Business at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Elmer also studied abroad at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin in Germany, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute of China, and Shanghai University in China; learning new customs, cultural techniques and mediums, which he implements in his work today.

Artists Talk with LVA: June 22, 2023

Amber Estes Theineman is a visual artist and one-half of the musical duo Fool’s Ghost. She is also a 2023 Art[squared] artist and she joins us this week to talk about her exhibit at Grady Goods through the end of June. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.