2008 Art Exhibits

February 25 - April 5, 2008
ADDRESS AND REDRESS: A Group Exhibition of Kentucky Women Artists

Address and Redress was an exhibition hosted by the Gloria Singletary Gallery at the Living Arts & Science Center in honor of National Women's History Month. It celebrated the 2008 theme of visionary female artists while recognizing women artists working in Kentucky. Address and Redress boasted a variety of media and revolved around representing Kentucky women, women’s roles, and their place and work that more specifically examined the relationship between gender identity, clothing, and the body. Address and Redress featured the work of Freda Fairchild, Nicole Hand, Susan King, Elizabeth Mesa-Gaido, Jamie Kuli McIntosh, Cynthia Norton, Esther Randall, and Felicia Szorad. Each of the female artists have been awarded the Kentucky Foundation for Women’s Artist Enrichment Grant and each offered a regional, yet individual take on the creative process and its link to the lives of women. They define the world and the self, questioning traditional notions of identity and giving voice to those who are otherwise not heard, via artistically innovative and socially relevant work as they “address and redress” the issues.

Special Guest Artist Presentation by Susan King, Tuesday, March 18, 2008, 6:30 – 8:30 PM

Accompanying the exhibition was a special guest presentation lead by artist, writer and Address and Redress participant, Susan King. Now living in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky, King was part of the women's art movement in California in the 1970s and studied with Judy Chicago and other artists and writers at the experimental Feminist Studio Workshop. She then became studio director of the Women’s Graphic Center at one of the major centers of activity, the Woman's Building in Los Angeles. She is also a National Museum of Women in the Arts Library and Research Center Fellow. Along with other artists participating in Address and Redress, King discussed the exhibition, her works as an artist and writer and her role in the feminist art movement.

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January 7 - February 14, 2008
H'Artful of Fun: An Evening at the Factory preview exhibition

The Living Arts & Science Center was delighted to present over seventy-five original artworks from local artists in its Gloria Singletary Gallery from January 7 – February 14, 2008. The preview exhibition lead up to the Center’s 18^th Annual H’Artful of Fun fundraiser and gave patrons a sneak peak at what would be offered at the silent auction on February 16^th. Art enthusiasts and collectors could take advantage of the preview exhibition’s “Buy It Now” feature and purchase the one-of-a-kind works directly from the gallery before the H’Artful of Fun: An Evening at the Factory event. It was a wonderful opportunity to get a jump on the bidding wars and a great way to get a glimpse of some of the most unique artworks Lexington has to offer.

Local artists and collectors contributed the one-of-a-kind works in support of the LASC’s many art and educational programs and services it offers to over 35,000 Central Kentuckians each year. The works exhibited in this years H’Artful of Fun Preview Exhibition ranged from the more traditional media such as figurative oil painting and pastel on paper to a fused glass vessel by Dan Neil Barnes, a vinyl-printed comic by Kenn Minter, and a mixed media piece incorporating studio fragments and plastic by Louisville artist Keith Linton. There were also a number of creative craft and functional items available this year such as batik pillows by Lucinda Alston Chapman, quilted evening bags by Jean Porter, and a woven leather basket by Ken Guyer, owner of the Last Genuine Leather Company.

This year’s H’Artful of Fun silent art auction also featured sixteen original prints donated by Danville art collector, Jack Hankla, by artist Rudolfo (Rudy) Ayoroa (1927-2003), an internationally known painter, sculptor and printmaker from Bolivia who lived and worked in Danville, Kentucky for over 20 years. Ayoroa is well-known locally for his later paintings and sculptural works on the American Civil War. For H’Artful of Fun the Living Arts & Science Center presented his earlier abstract prints similar to his color serigraphs in the permanent collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC.

H’Artful of Fun: An Evening at the Factory's event sponsors were Quantrell Cadillac, National City Bank, Chase Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Keeneland Association, Ball Homes, S&S Tire, Four Roses, WKYT-TV, and LM Communications.

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November 12 - December 29, 2007
KID GIANTS by John Lackey

The Gloria Singletary Gallery at The Living Arts & Science Center was pleased to offer Kid Giants, an exhibition of work by local artist John Lackey. Several years ago Lackey put aside nearly twenty years of printmaking, as well as his day job as art director at a TV station, to pursue painting full time. His landscapes are informed by two decades of carving blocks, which has resulted in a somewhat linear element to his style, and at times, a tendency to layer. Lackey’s paintings are all based on photographs taken while out hiking or driving except for those he says that are “just based on doodles.”

Lackey says about his work, “By painting landscapes of points of interest both regional and national, in a fluid language of birds and bops, these pieces strive to combine the beauty of natural structures with the energy of people and their civilizations, leaving hazy implications in the grasses and leaves, revealing the shadow of a fleeting imprint of an underlying order, only hints of which will we understand, until we see it all from a far greater perspective. Abstract patterns form. A new path along a familiar creek. Dancing leaves. Faces in the trees. We’ve all seen ‘em.”

Lackey strives to “keep his landscapes landscapes, and his abstracts abstracts, but each is drawn to the other.” Lackey himself appears to be drawn to a melding of artistic pursuits and earning a living. He still does the occasional (lately more frequent) freelance job, whether it be a birth announcement, logo design, the window of a restaurant, such as Alfalfa, or a mural, like that at Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers. He has done most of the art for the Terrapin Hill Farm Festival series and recently had the good fortune to be an art editor and art contributor to Spit In The Ocean #7, a tribute to Ken Kesey by his friends and contemporaries, edited by author Ed McClanahan. This particular project led to a book tour on the west coast aboard Kesey’s bus “Furthur”, with many members of the intrepid Merry Pranksters in tow.

In addition to his travels, freelancing, and making time for his wife and two sons, Lackey continues to produce work in his studio at Galerie Soleil in downtown Lexington and maintains an active exhibition schedule. About this exhibition, Lackey describes his work as: “Part One, in which attempts are made to fuse painting, printmaking, philosophy, poetry, music, design, nature, abstraction, video, and coffee." Wonder what he’ll do for Part Two? Throw in the kitchen sink?

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November 5 - November 29, 2007

The third annual Chairity Auction at The Living Arts & Science Center was a unique and inspired event as local artists, students, community organizations, and LASC supporters created and donated one-of-a-kind artful chairs, stools, and benches to our silent auction hosted on Thursday, November 29th. An event characterized by creativity, imagination, and a whimsical spirit, for this year’s Chairity III Auction we added a few embellishments of our own. For the first time, The LASC is opened the event to additional home and interior design furnishings and invited students and faculty from the area’s universities to show off their skills.

Dr. Bob Kelly’s second-year architectural design studio from the College of Design at the University of Kentucky designed and constructed eight chairs, two lamps, and two tables which were donated to this year’s auction. Kelly said, "I thought it would be an interesting transitional project at mid-term before we engage our next building study. It allowed my students a chance to build something at full-scale and explore the properties of materials in a hands-on way." Kelly added, "The project also contributes to a very worthwhile cause and provides the students with what is probably their first gallery exhibition. So it’s a winning situation all around."

This wasn’t the first time Bob Kelly had been involved with the LASC and the Chairity Auction. He went on to say, "I was familiar with the Living Arts and Science Center because my daughters have enjoyed a lot of really great art classes there over the last several summers. I contributed a piece to their first Chairity Auction two years ago, so when the call came out this time, I decided to involve my students."

This year, the LASC offered cash awards for Best in Show, Most Innovative, and Best Adaptive, plus Seats of Honor awards. Judging the donated chairitable items were; Pat Gerhard, well-known artist and owner of Third Street Stuff in Lexington, Richard Kimbrel and Thomas Birkman, designers and co-owners of Kimbrel Birkman Interior Design on Short Street; and local artist and friend of the LASC Fred Pizzuro.

This year, patrons also found these exceptional wares on view at some of Lexington’s most notable businesses, restaurants, and retailers. For three weeks (November 5 – November 29) leading up to the night of the auction, previews of these eye-catching auction items were found at:

Dudley Square, Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington Public Library Downtown, Talon Winery & Vineyards (Tates Creek Road), Kentucky Theatre, The Downtown Arts Center, Regency Interiors by Gail Moses (Regency Road), Kimbrel Birkman Interior Design (Short Street), Pohl Rosa Pohl Architects (Euclid Avenue), and Joseph-Beth Booksellers.

The Chairity III Auction was sponsored by Denham-Blythe and Regency Interiors by Gail Moses.

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