Artists Talk with LVA: December 18, 2025

This week Vian Sora joined us to discuss Vian Sora: Outerworlds which is now on exhibit at The Speed Museum. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Vian Sora: Outerworlds is part of Current Speed, a series of contemporary art exhibitions that introduce the Kentuckiana community to new and emerging artists as well as celebrated mid-career artists previously underrecognized in the region. Current Speed exhibitions are open to the public and included with general museum admission. The series is initiated and organized by Tyler Blackwell, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Speed Art Museum.

Born in Baghdad, Iraq, and now based in Louisville, artist Vian Sora (b. 1976) creates dazzlingly layered abstractions that channel the turbulence of history, memory, and the natural world. Outerworlds—her first solo museum exhibition in the United States—assembles major works from the past ten years, charting her transformation into one of today’s most distinctive voices in painting.

Sora’s practice emerges directly from lived experience. Having grown up amid the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, she witnessed the devastation of her homeland firsthand. Forced to leave Iraq, she eventually resettled in Louisville, Kentucky, where her practice has flourished.

Vignette: Patricia Standard

“Explosive Volcano” by Patricia Standard, Acrylic on canvas, 11x14in, $45.00

“Rolling River” by Patricia Standard, Acrylic on canvas, 11x14in, $45.00

How an artist applies medium to a given substrate has grown over time to a state of freedom that allows virtually any approach – anything goes. Action Painting is, in fact, a rather old-fashioned method, “…a technique and style of abstract painting in which paint is randomly splashed, thrown, or poured on the canvas. It was made famous by Jackson Pollock, and formed part of the more general movement of abstract expressionism.”

Patricia Standard pours acrylic paint onto her canvas surfaces, and the control comes from color choice and a careful, tenuous manipulation of the canvas. It is a particularly intuitive process, and we can imagine no small amount of risk in the unexpected nature of this approach. Perhaps more importantly for Standard, there is a sense of discovery: “I never go into the studio with a plan, but respond to the spontaneous interaction with the colors.” 

“As I use acrylic paint on canvas, wood, or glass, I can create unplanned and fascinating colors on different material.” The naïve aspect of her practice can be received as a cross between a folk art aesthetic and a reconnection to the pure joy of making art as a child, before all of the roadblocks to creativity collectively known as adulthood get in the way.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: Associate in Fashion Design from Academy of Arts University working towards BFA
Instagram: standardpatricia

Scroll down for more images

“Roaring River” by Patricia Standard, Acrylic on canvas, 14x18in, $55.00

“Creeping Willow” by Patricia Standard, Acrylic on canvas, 8x10in, $35.00

---

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

 Are you interested in being on Artebella? Click here to learn more.