Artists Talk with LVA: March 12, 2026

The 2026 LVA Honors is on March 20th, and two of the honorees, Robyn Gibson & Tom Pfannerstill, join us in the studio. Tune into Artists Talk with LVA on WXOX 97.1 FM at 10 AM every Thursday.

Robyn Gibson is an emerging artist, curator, and podcaster living and working in Louisville, KY. After she started boxing in 2016, Gibson began incorporating it into her art practice. Larger-than-life-sized bold, gestural charcoal figures on canvas, a lyrical writing style meant to pack a punch, and voluptuous ceramic vessels inspired by her own curves all convey the movement and force important to her work and inspired by her boxing practice. The act of taking up space and claiming ownership of it is important to her work. As a Black artist focused on self-portraiture and the exploration of her trauma, Gibson grapples with Black identity, the depiction, perception, and value of Black bodies, and what it means to be authentic. She is also the host of the podcast, WheelHouse Art’s Art by Volume, presented by the Wine Room. 

For nearly four decades as a full-time studio artist, Tom Pfannerstill has transformed overlooked everyday objects—trash, food, clothing, paintbrushes, and waste—into astonishing hyper-realistic sculptures. His work challenges viewers to reconsider consumerism and the byproducts of human consumption, often requiring a second glance to distinguish art from reality. Tom has exhibited nationally since 1990 and is the recipient of a prestigious Kentucky Arts Council fellowship. His work is held in major collections including the Flint Institute of Arts, Bellarmine University, and the Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences. Based in Louisville, his enduring practice continues to influence generations of artists.

Artists Talk with LVA: August 7, 2025

Louisville-based fiber artist Debra Harley discusses her first solo exhibition at Capacity Contemporary Exchange Gallery in Louisville. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com at 10 am each Thursday to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Debra Harley is a Louisville-based fiber artist. She devoted over 35 years of her professional career to education, curriculum development, and teacher training in New Orleans, LA. After retirement, she became certified as a Personal Trainer and Aquatic Fitness Instructor. A former U. S. Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya and Fulbright Scholar in Zimbabwe, her focus on fiber arts comes after over 40 years of practicing various textile arts. 

Her first solo exhibition Kairos/Chronos, Experience in Fiber. The work of Debra Harley is currently on display at Capacity Contemporary Exchange Gallery in Louisville.

Artists Talk with LVA: July 10, 2025

This week, we talked with Licia Priest, the winner of the 2025 Bill Fischer Award for Visual Art. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Licia Priest: I Am We Crafting Community in Paper Tole is at KMAC Museum through August 17th, 2025

Priest is a bold interdisciplinary artist whose work blends painting, photography, digital media, sculpture, and even scent and sound. Rooted in personal reflection and cultural reclamation, her vibrant, layered pieces draw on childhood memories, travels to Zimbabwe, and a deep connection to textiles.

This body of work is an ongoing investigation into identifying and analyzing African & African-American cultural similarities & differences due to the African Diaspora.  Priest’s artistic practice explores perceived views versus the realities of Africa. Through an onsite immersion in African culture, similarities & differences are captured through photography.

Intrigued by traditional “craft” techniques, Priest utilizes them to express ideas, feelings and vision thereby creating “fine art” that appeals to the mind and touches the emotions . African art does not draw such a clear delineation & thus she, of African roots seems more drawn inherently to that way of viewing art, despite being a product of African-American heritage.

The process used in this body of art is called, Paper Tole. First comes  photographs, then manipulation of the imagery through color changes, merging imagery, altering line, space & shape. Next duplicates of the image & use of up to 40 layers occurs, cutting each layer out by hand , stacking shaping & coloring the edges & then assembling the work. This is a fresh new approach to a very old “craft”,  to create a level of depth & complexity in the work that echoes the depth & complexities of African & African-American cultural norms.

Artists Talk with LVA: June 5, 2025

Elmer Lucille Allen and Sandra Charles join us to talk about their exhibit, “Echoes of the Ages,” which opens on June 7th at the Bourne-Schweitzer Gallery. Tune in to WXOXm 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Sandra Charles & Elmer Lucille Allen are here to talk about their exhibit Echoes of the Ages, which opens June 7th at Bourne-Schweitzer Gallery with a reception from 1 - 3 pm. There will also be an artist's talk on July 10th

Sandra Charles is an oil painter who believes you should never give up on your dreams.  Her work focuses on the culture, history, and social issues that affect African American women.  Sandra has painted all her life, but began her career as a batik fiber artist.  She returned to school in 2011 and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Art Degree in painting from the University of Louisville.  After graduation, she realized painting was her passion and retired to concentrate on her art. 

Elmer Lucille Allen is a ceramic and fiber artist and chemist who graduated from Nazareth College (now Spalding University) in 1953. Both her father and brother were named Elmer, and the family chose to name her Elmer Lucille. She became the first African-American chemist at Brown-Forman in 1966. After retiring, she began studying art at the University of Louisville, where she received her Master of Creative Arts degree with a focus on ceramics and fiber in 2002. Allen's textile work incorporates shibori dyeing techniques.

Artists Talk with LVA: May 8, 2025

Louisville native and U of L grad Robyn Gibson is a Black artist focused on self-portraiture and the exploration of her trauma, grappling with Black identity, the depiction, perception and value of Black bodies, and what it means to be authentic. She joins us in the studio this week to talk about that and more. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Robyn Gibson is an emerging artist and curator living and working in Louisville, KY.

She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Louisville in 2014, earning a BFA in Painting and a BSBA in Marketing. Since receiving her MFA in 2018 from the New York Academy of Art, Gibson has been developing her multidisciplinary art practice.

After she started boxing in 2016, Gibson began incorporating it into her art practice. Larger-than-life-sized bold, gestural charcoal figures on canvas, a lyrical writing style meant to pack a punch, and voluptuous vessels inspired by her own curves all convey the movement and force important to her work and inspired by her boxing practice. The act of taking up space and claiming ownership of it is important to her work. As a Black artist focused on self-portraiture and the exploration of her trauma, Gibson grapples with Black identity, the depiction, perception and value of Black bodies, and what it means to be authentic.