Art Envoy
The Louisville Visual Art
Association
Review
by Mary Margaret Sparks
Entire
contents are copyright © 2012 Mary Margaret Sparks. All rights reserved.
Art Envoy is the last Louisville Visual Art Association (LVAA) exhibition at
the Louisville Water Tower. The historic building on River Road has been home
to the LVAA since the 1980s. LVAA will be moving downtown soon, and Art Envoy brings together the past and
future of the oldest arts organization in Kentucky.
One
of the first exhibitions at the Water Tower in 1981 was Showcase 25. This group show represented twenty-five local/regional
artists in a variety of mediums including photography, sculpture, textiles and
painting. Art Envoy brings together twenty
of the original Showcase 25 artists
paired with twenty local and emerging artists.
Artist
Pairings:
James
S. Adams and Alice Stone Collins
Peter
Bodnar III and Gibbs Rounsavall
Gayle
Cerlan and Georgia Henkel
Ann
S. Coates and Grace Nation
Michael
Dwyer and Lora Gettelfinger
Leslie
Friesen and Andrew Spalding
Kay
Polson Grubola and Douglas Miller
Michael
E. Kirk and Matthew Ronay
Julie
Wirick and Andrew Cozzens
Cal
Kowal and Anita Douthat
Robert
Lockhart and Teresa Koester Mills
Fred
DiFrenzi and Jonathan Swanz
Jacque
Parsley and Kathleen Lolley
C.J.
Pressma and Aron Conaway
Arturo
Alonzo Sandoval and Christine Levitt
Albert
E. Sperath and Daniel Pfalzgraf
Ted
Wathen and Ross Gordon
Neisja
Yenawine and Philip Yenawine
 |
| Blood Lines, Neisja & Philip Yenawine, 2012 |
Each pairing is exhibited together in the gallery. One of my favorite works in the show is the collaboration of mother and son Neisja and Philip Yenawine. Both artists have suffered trauma in the past years (a stroke and a broken spine; and although they have been continuing to produce art with one another, this piece is their first collaboration. Blood Lines features delicately carved wooden gingko leaves and is a beautiful representation of their relationship and shared experiences.
 |
| Looking Forward, steel, water, time, Andrew Cozzens |
Another
great partnership includes Julia Wirick with Andrew Cozzens. Wirick is an
architect, and her works in the show include detailed site plans for the Falls
of the Ohio and the Pecos Watershed Education Center. Andrew Cozzens’ sculpture
is a large steel beam that interacts with moving water. The water comes up
through holes in the beam, pools, then drips down the sides so it can come up
again. Both of these artists have showcased work in their own style while still
maintaining a direct correlation to one another.
 |
| Save the Gorilla, Recycle-A Metaphor For…, installation by Aron Conaway & C.J. Pressma.JPG |
Being
an activist, I was pleased to see work in the exhibition addressing an
environmental and social issue. Save the
Gorilla, Recycle: A Metaphor For… is an installation addressing the issues
of cell phones and gorilla habitats. Knowing both artists, it’s evident that
their individual styles are represented in the collaborative work. The piece
makes a striking visual impact in the gallery by featuring a large metal
gorilla, TV screen and pile of cell phones on the ground. Paired with a variety
of audios including cell phone rings and what appears to be news broadcasts, this
well-rounded installation hits on multiple senses while educating the viewer on
the deterioration of the gorilla habitat by mining for minerals used in
cellular telephones.
 |
| It is my view that it's not worth it to gather up the residual peckers, neo-colors & oil pastel, Bob Lockhart & Teresa Koester Mills. |
Other
strong partnerships include Bob Lockhart with Teresa Koester Mills, Albert E.
Sperath with Daniel Pfalzgraf, and Ann S. Coates with Grace Nation. I loved the
collaborative drawings of Lockhart and Mills. Both artists sent drawings back
and forth to create colorful, imaginative and whimsical works combining both of
their own styles. Ann S. Coates and
Grace Nation both include handmade paper in their pieces. I was drawn to
Nation’s creative use of the paper as the skin for her figures.
Although
all of the work in the exhibition is good, the strongest pieces are those where
the artists collaborated or connected in some way. I would have liked to see
more collaboration between artists, especially since I thought some of the
pairings were brilliantly assigned. It is interesting, though, to see two
generations of artists exhibiting side by side. The show is well put together. Art Envoy is a great end to a long
relationship between LVAA and the Louisville Water Tower and a fresh look at
the future of visual art in Louisville.
Art Envoy will be on display through October 7.
Louisville
Visual Art Association
3005
River Road, Louisville KY 40207
502-896-2146
No comments:
Post a Comment