Events, Artist Support, Community
How can we best sum up the many highlights of even just the first day of Open Studio Weekend? 2017 was even bigger and better than ever, thanks to the more than 100 artists who opened their studios to the public all over Louisville. LVA was thrilled that our partnership with the University of Louisville's Hite Art Institute has been so well-received. We'll see you again on November 3 & 4, 2018!
Hyland Glass and fans.
Joyce Garner
Page Penna at Hope Mills
Image courtesy KET
On the Kentucky Women Artists Directory, the facts of Mary Ann Currier's life begin this way:
Married Lionel F Currier July 2 1949
Attended Chicago School of Fine Art 1945-1947
Louisville School of Art 1952-1962
Taught at Louisville School of Art 1962-1982
For many of us, that last line is the how and why of knowing her. She was not just our teacher, but an example of what a teacher should be: patient, wise, and filled with joy for the making of art - a vital influence for more than one generation of Kentucky artists. She was often the only woman studying art in a classroom of GI’s, and her two triumphant shows in NYC placed her in permanent collections that allow her work to remain online, forever archived, enabling her rich legacy to live on.
Onions and Tomato, Mary Ann Currier (American, born 1927), Oil pastel, collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Visitation will be on Wednesday, November 8th, from 4 - 8 pm at Ratterman's Funeral Home in St. Matthews (3711 Lexington Road).
Watch a very worthwhile KET documentary on Mary Ann here.
Events, Community, Artist Support
Open Studio Weekend is THIS weekend! Get your tickets at the Louisville Visitors Center when you attend our live art demonstration on Friday, November 3 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
You can also purchase tickets online now: http://www.louisvillevisualart.org/open-studio-weekend
PUBLIC Radio, Artist Support, Events
"LVA’s Artebella" on community radio station Art FM featured Open Studio Weekend artists Andy Perez, Tad DeSanto and Megan Bickel.
Andy Perez's studio is in Clifton. Tad DeSanto works out of his Highlands home. Megan Bickel shares space in Portland. They are all preparing to welcome you into their creative spaces for one weekend only, so get your tickets now: http://www.louisvillevisualart.org/open-studio-weekend
Tune in Thursdays at 10 a.m. to hear interviews with local artists on 97.1 or artxfm.com.
The passing of Charlotte “Toddy” Price saddens everyone in the Louisville Visual Art family. An artist and a philanthropist who supported the LVA mission throughout her life, Charlotte led the capital campaign to renovate the Louisville Water Tower in 1978-79 so the Art Center Association could move in and grow its programming. It was a crucial transition in the history of our organization and we could not have done it without her.
Sculptor Ed Hamilton shared these thoughts with us:
"Dear lord, Charlotte Price was a wonderful person as well as a great artist sculptor.
When I had no work and no paycheck, she put me to work so I could earn money to feed my family.
I will never forget her kindness during those lean times.
And to the family - your mom was the best!
Love you, Charlotte."
Charlotte Price with sculptor Ed Hamilton in 2009:
Artist Support, Community, CFAC
William Porter, photographed by Richard Grubola in 2008.
Written by Lindy Casebier, Guest Contributor to the Louisville Courier-Journal
Another new school year has begun, and since 1925, that has also meant another beginning for Children’s Fine Art Classes offered through Louisville Visual Art. Our name has changed over the past 92 years, but our programming and its outcomes have remained constant: teaching creativity and fostering the next generation of doers and problem-solvers in our community.
In the early years of CFAC, Mary Spencer Nay was inspired to pursue a distinguished career that would lead to the Marcia C. Hite professorship of painting at the University of Louisville. Her work is now held in the permanent collections of the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science and the Speed Museum.
Innovation and design were implanted in the mind of a young William Porter, who went on to serve as Studio Chief Designer at General Motors for three decades. He made his mark with the 1968 Pontiac GTO and the 1970-73 Firebird 400 and was a valued player in the world of automobile design. One of his teachers back when LVA was known as the Art Center Association School had been Mary Spencer Nay, proving directly how one child’s education can spread to help others.
Sculptor Ed Hamilton, another CFAC alum, attests that while other doors were closed to him, he found opportunity through the Children’s Free Art Classes program. Countless lives have been touched through his artistic interpretation of a young Abraham Lincoln and the unloading of slave boats at the edge of the Ohio River, as well as his impressive overall body of work that now graces landscapes across our country.
Gordon Brown, a former president and CEO of Home of the Innocents, led that organization through a period of unprecedented growth. He is a proud alum of CFAC and Shawnee High School who has never forgotten his roots and remains active today in the Portland neighborhood. Throughout his distinguished career, he has been a staunch advocate for the transformational and healing power of art.
Artist, educator and musician Carrie Neumayer has been a frequent art contributor to Louisville Magazine and an LVA instructor. She was a co-founder of the Louisville Outskirts Festival, which led to Girls Rock Louisville, a program aiming to empower female musicians in a supportive, inclusive environment. She was recently able to travel to Kazakhstan through a grant from the State Department to help work with youth interested in learning about creating art.
These are examples of the immense importance of art education in the lives of a few Louisvillians who, in their distinct ways, have all made a significant impact in education, commerce, healthcare, social services and, of course, the arts. Their contributions underscore the need for art education for all children. Art enhances our lives and our communities. Art causes us to question and to think. Art soothes and calms our collective souls. Through the years, art has been used to tell the story of those who came before. Exposure to and education in the arts does have a place in a civilized society.
As a creative hub now established in the Portland neighborhood, Louisville Visual Art is committed to removing barriers and building bridges throughout our community. With classes offered at more than 30 sites throughout Louisville Metro, Southern Indiana and surrounding counties, providing quality instruction to over 5,500 students annually, LVA is shaping the next generation of creative leaders, and is dedicated to enhancing our community through visual art education, community outreach and artist support. Check us out on social media and at louisvillevisualart.org
Lindy Casebier is the executive director of the Louisville Visual Art.
Artist Support, Exhibits, Mural
We were honored to witness the unveiling of the Veterans for Peace mural at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, IN, honoring those who have served or are currently serving in our military. Printmaker and IUS Assistant Professor of Fine Arts Susanna Crum and Mariana Grohowski, Assistant Professor of English, led student and local veterans in creating the mural, and LVA was proud to do what we could to help make it happen.
We thank our partners who made this possible, ArtsMatch and the Jennifer Lawrence Arts Fund at the Fund for the Arts, and Center for Neighborhoods, for their continued support, and Veterans for Peace for all that they do.
Events, Exhibits, Artist Support
Local artists were assembled by Revelry Boutique Gallery to do live bourbon barrel painting at Churchill Downs, and LVA was invited to join in the fun with artists Bri Bowers, Bobby Hinkel, Adam Horton, David Nichols, Wood + Twine and more.
Exhibits, Community, Artist Support
LVA held our second annual Plein Air Paint Out from 8am-3pm on Sunday, September 17. It was part of a day of fun at the site of the future Waterfront Botanical Gardens that also featured:
A food truck, adult beverages, crafts, demos, nature activities, and more, including a large flower mandala weed walk, solar power demonstration, free canoe tours, butterfly tent, beekeeping, rainwater demo, raptors, baby goats, face painting, a paper flower workshop, a bonsai display and live music by the Porch Possums. Did we forget anything?!?
LVA Executive Director Lindy Casebier with winning artist Carrie Johns, whose piece is below:
Our newest Kroger mural by artist Liz Richter was installed in the New Albany Kroger on State Street this week! It's filled with gorgeous color, interesting characters (including the band Houndmouth - see if you can find them!) and fascinating history.
Ann Stewart Anderson, LVA member
LVA Creative Design Director Amy Chase, a ceramic artist, and Ann Stewart Anderson, a mixed media artist, are two of six Kentucky artists awarded a $7,500 Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council "for exemplifying excellence in their respective creative disciplines."
The Fellowship award was named in 1983 in honor of Al Smith, a journalist and Kentucky Arts Council board chair. This program has since been able to distribute a few million dollars to emerging artists in the Commonwealth.
“Our Al Smith Fellowship and Emerging Artist Award recipients represent the best in their disciplines, and we count them as ambassadors for Kentucky’s artistic excellence,” said Lydia Bailey Brown, Arts Council executive director. “Their awards are well deserved, and we look forward to more great work from them in the future.”
Amy Chase, LVA Creative Design Director
Sea of Dreams by Julius Friedman
LVA was greatly saddened today to learn of the passing of artist Julius Friedman, a great talent, influence and friend. We profiled him on Artebella in 2013, and Keith Waits interviewed him for our PUBLIC radio show last year. Listen to it here and remember him always.
Adrienne Miller
The Community Foundation of Louisville, in partnership with Louisville Visual Art, presented Louisville-based artist and printmaker Adrienne Miller with the fifth annual Mary Alice Hadley Prize for Visual Art today at 10 a.m.
The $5,000 award is an opportunity for local artists to enhance their careers through a targeted enrichment experience. Miller will use the prize to research the landscape and art historical influence of the Four Corners area of the American Southwest. The two-week trip will cover close to 2,000 miles in a loop through the Four Corners region and will include a variety of stops, including several different pueblo ruin sites, printmaking studios in Albuquerque, the Georgia O’Keefe museum and archives, several National Parks, energy vortexes in Sedona, and several large earthworks in the region.
“I want the experience to be transformative and immersive so that I come away feeling as though the experience really was a tipping point for me,” said Miller of the Hadley Prize enrichment experience. “I want to return to Louisville renewed to create a whole new body of work.”
Adrienne Miller, Susan Barry
“The selection committee was very impressed with Adrienne’s clear artistic vision and the unique nature of her enrichment experience,” said LVA director Lindy Casebier. “Her focus on landscape, both as a part of the American identity and as a driver of her own work, really stood out.”
“The local artists competing for the Hadley Prize continue to impress us with their originality and passion,” said Susan Barry, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Louisville. “While this award focuses on a single artist and a single project, it has the potential to make a much greater impact. By helping Adrienne develop professionally to realize her full potential, she will be empowered to share her gifts with other artists and the Louisville community.”
Brad Vetter, Adrienne Miller, Susan Barry, Lindy Casebier
LVA joined artists Aron Conaway, Artist/Curator & Tara Remington to welcome their mural "The Story On Story" to Butchertown, with neighbors, politicians and media present!
Louisville's NPR affiliate, WFPL 89.3 FM, interviewed LVA Executive Director Lindy Casebier about LVA's new NEA Grant, and how it helps us provide art to students from all backgrounds.
Read it here.
In an exciting example of a corporation infusing money into the community through locally commissioned art, Kroger's is collaborating with Louisville Visual Art to employ local artists to create dynamic interpretations of the surrounding neighborhoods. We're sharing the works in progress being created in our space in Portland for the Elizabethtown and Clifton Krogers!
Annette Cable's Elizabethtown mural is really coming along! It's been so amazing watching the work progress and change over the last few days.
Noah Church is making tons of progress on his Clifton mural! We can't wait to see the finished piece!
We'll keep posting updates periodically until the install. Be sure to follow along!
In an exciting example of a corporation infusing money into the community through locally commissioned art, Kroger's is collaborating with Louisville Visual Art to employ local artists to create dynamic interpretations of the surrounding neighborhoods.
LVA and Kroger unveiled four large-format art installations in four stores on August 4, 2015. Three local artists were commissioned by the supermarket chain to create murals at four Louisville-area stores in Prospect, Springhurst, The Highlands neighborhood, and Middletown.
Ashley Brossart brings her unique, trademark approach to cataloging iconic landmarks and buildings that represent the intrinsic character of an area to her art for the Prospect store. The expressionistic edge and idiosyncratic perspective, as in all Brossart's work, encourage a fresh viewpoint on familiar environments.
For the Middletown store, Carrie Neumayer focuses on the Kentucky Derby, architectural landmarks from the area, and the signature roses and lillies featured in the Winner's Garland that is crafted each year at the Middleton Kroger. A lighthearted visual collage of Churchill Downs imagery showcasing the trademark twin spires, racing fans, and, of course, thoroughbred horses, the style reflects the popular illustration work of Ms. Neumayer that is so often featured in Louisville Magazine.
Claire Hirn's piece for the Kroger Highlands store is inspired by the setting of bountiful, colorful produce, integrated with a backdrop of known Highland area elements. The composition takes advantage of the open wall space between and above two windows and moves the eye through color and cut out shapes.
Hirn's design for the Springhurst location is inspired by the proximity of open land and residential living, as one flows into the next visually. Harvesting crops are delivered to the table in this composition, with the texture and colors of the land breathing into our daily lives. All under the rays of our sun!
Each mural had a budget of $10,000, and they can be found in the café section at Prospect, Springhurst and Middletown, and in the produce area at the Highlands store.
