As The Eyes Close We Lose Sight – from Michael McCardwell’s “The Death Snake.”

"The Death Snake" by Michael McCardwell, 18x24in, ink and colored pencils (2017), $350 | BUY NOW — *"The Death Snake" by Michael McCardwell, 18x24in, ink and colored pencils (2017), $350 | BUY NOW*

Michael McCardwell’s drawings are dense in their collective linear construction yet loose enough to clearly communicate the fantastical imagery. The artist plays with our expectations by drafting forms that are highly suggestive of spaceships – science fiction forms from a bygone era in which stalwart heroes with bulbous ray guns occupied the galaxy. His forms conjoin to form larger, interconnected spaces, and at times, a long, snake-like shape. It all seems very playful.

Yet can we be absolutely certain of what McCardwell has on his mind? The use of clearly defined line and shape in virtually every square inch of the field is also a formal academic exercise in composition, and in “The Death Snake,” his statement considers mortality in stages reminiscent of Shakespeare or Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. Either way, there is an almost giddy emotional quality to these pieces, and perhaps the one certainty is that, even in the darker themes, this artist seems to find joy in his work.

"Orange Cross" by Michael McCardwell, 18x24in, ink and colored pencils (2017), $350 | BUY NOW — *"Orange Cross" by Michael McCardwell, 18x24in, ink and colored pencils (2017), $350 | BUY NOW*

Besides being a studio art and humanities teacher for 27 years at Henry County High School, McCardwell has taught art at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System campus in Shelbyville, Spalding University in Louisville, at the former Shelbyville branch of Lindsey Wilson College, and taught basic skills such as reading, math and English at the Kentucky State Reformatory in La Grange. He was twice a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow.

McCardwell has work in private collections in the United States, Europe and Japan, and has been accepted into juried shows in California, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Hometown: Shelbyville, Kentucky
Education: BFA Murray State University, Kentucky, 1971; MA (Drawing), Morehead State University, Kentucky, 1974

"Shadow" by Michael McCardwell, 18x24in, ink and colored pencils (2017), $350 | BUY NOW — *"Shadow" by Michael McCardwell, 18x24in, ink and colored pencils (2017), $350 | BUY NOW*

"YHWA" by Michael McCardwell, 18x24in, ink and colored pencils (2017), $350 | BUY NOW — *"YHWA" by Michael McCardwell, 18x24in, ink and colored pencils (2017), $350 | BUY NOW*

"Picture" by Michael McCardwell, 18x24in, ink and colored pencils (2017), $350 | BUY NOW — *"Picture" by Michael McCardwell, 18x24in, ink and colored pencils (2017), $350 | BUY NOW*

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Photography

Vignette: Brett Sutton

Josh Jenkins · June 9, 2017

“The natural world is truly remarkable and we are an intimate part of this environment.” — Brett Sutton

"Neighborhood Runoff" by Brett Sutton, size made to order, film photography (2016), from $85 and up | BUY NOW — *"Neighborhood Runoff" by Brett Sutton, size made to order, film photography (2016),* from $85 and up | BUY NOW

Even a casual study of these photographs from Brett Sutton reveal the common thread of patterns in nature. The black & white images of the city illustrate humankind’s imprint of construction on the urban landscape, the latticework reinforcement of a fire escape and the shadows cast by the late afternoon sun. Sutton crops the main support of the structure out of frame, lending it an unexpected tension.

“While working at Luna Lodge, an eco-lodge retreat on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, I was granted the opportunity to truly connect with the landscape, flora and fauna. The natural world is truly remarkable and we are an intimate part of this environment.”

Sutton’s images of the natural world share that same fascination with pattern, but the color places a greater emphasis on texture, and there is a more epic sense of composition in many of the pictures. He also seeks out unique vantage points; as he explains: “(they can be) hugely important when considering how one connects to and interprets reality, location, and relationship.” He achieves some mystery through abstraction, just as he cropped the fire escape, we here see two runners moving across a mercurial landscape that we can’t quite place, a scene bisected by an indefinable graphic element that visually appears to stop the joggers in their tracks.

"Costa Rican Leaf Cutter Ants" by Brett Sutton, size made to order, film photography (2017), from $85 and up | BUY NOW — *"Costa Rican Leaf Cutter Ants" by Brett Sutton, size made to order, film photography (2017), from $85 and up | BUY NOW*

“Not only is my zest for life and vitality enhanced through my creative pursuits but to my connections with others…location, and the environment as well. Whether working in film or digital photography, oil paint, or collages of the bark of decaying trees, I attempt to deliver messages of local-ism, connection to the land, and textural nuance.”

Hometown: Covington, Kentucky
Age: 29
Education: BA, History & Fine Arts from Xavier University (Cincinnati)
Website: https://brettmsutton.wordpress.com

"White Sands National Monument" by Brett Sutton, size made to order, film photography (2017), from $85 and up | BUY NOW — *"White Sands National Monument" by Brett Sutton, size made to order, film photography (2017), from $85 and up | BUY NOW*

"Fire Escape" by Brett Sutton, size made to order, film photography (2017), from $85 and up | BUY NOW — *"Fire Escape" by Brett Sutton, size made to order, film photography (2017), from $85 and up | BUY NOW*

Photography

Vignette: Kevin Warth

Josh Jenkins · April 26, 2017

“Resisting normative constructions of time, I examine moments in which the past, present, and future collapse upon each other.” — Kevin Warth

When one says “digital” it tends to suggest clean, polished audio and visual product - the pristine clarity of the CD, or the magical ability to animate entire worlds in your favorite blockbuster movie. Yet there are legions devoted to the warmth and subdued crackle of analog technologies. Vinyl, for example is still first choice for many.

Kevin Warth’s photographs here are exposed and confessional self-portraits that have the feel of x-rays. The intentionally distressed images seem furtive and from a by-gone time, recalling vintage pornography and early experiments in multiple exposure techniques, so that we find Warth delivering a suitable marriage of theme and technique.

“My work explores temporality, memory, and the body through self-portraiture. Resisting normative constructions of time, I examine moments in which the past, present, and future collapse upon each other. My body becomes a vehicle for memory as the past haunts the present. These images are tangible yet insubstantial. I use alternative and historic photographic processes alongside current digital methods of image making to further complicate and queer linear time. Moments are not discrete or bound to sequential time; rather, they bleed into other timelines in unexpected, jarring ways.”

"Echoes" by Kevin Warth, dimensions variable, photo transfer on glass (2016), $500 | BUY NOW — *"Echoes" by Kevin Warth, dimensions variable, photo transfer on glass (2016), $500 | BUY NOW*

"I Am Consumed By Specters" by Kevin Warth, 16x20in, kallitype (2015), $400 | BUY NOW — *"I Am Consumed By Specters" by Kevin Warth, 16x20in, kallitype (2015), $400 | BUY NOW*

Warth is a recent graduate of the University of Louisville’s Allen R. Hite Institute, where he had received the Mary Spencer Nay Memorial Scholarship, the Allen R. Hite Scholarship, the Barbara Bullitt Christian Memorial Scholarship in Photography, and the Allen Memorial Prize in Creative Art.

On May 4th, Warth will be participating in Rainbows & Roses, a benefit show to raise money for Louisville's future LGBTQ+ Community Center. On June 2, he will organize/participate in Queer Voices, another charity show to be held at OPEN Community Arts Center in which a percentage of the work sold will be donated to a local LGBTQ charity in remembrance of those lost in the Orlando nightclub shooting.

Hometown: New Albany, Indiana
Age: 24
Education: BFA in 2D Studios and BA in Art History, University of Louisville, 2016
Website: http://www.kevinwarth.com
Gallery Representation: garner narrative contemporary

"Un" by by Kevin Warth, 7x7in, ambrotype (2015), $750 | BUY NOW — *"Un" by by Kevin Warth, 7x7in, ambrotype (2015), $750 | BUY NOW*

"I Am Consumed By Him" by Kevin Warth, 16x20in, kallitype (2015), $400 | BUY NOW — *"I Am Consumed By Him" by Kevin Warth, 16x20in, kallitype (2015), $400 | BUY NOW*

"Deux" by Kevin Warth, 7x7in, ambrotype (2015), $750 | BUY NOW — *"Deux" by Kevin Warth, 7x7in, ambrotype (2015), $750 | BUY NOW*

Painting

Vignette: Barbara Tyson Mosley

Josh Jenkins · March 2, 2017

"Awakening - Rise and Embrace the Morning" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 24x48in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $1500 | BUY NOW — *"Awakening - Rise and Embrace the Morning" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 24x48in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $1500 | BUY NOW*

We have observed that quite often fiber artists work like painters, but Barbara Tyler Mosley is a painter whose work might put you in mind of some fiber artists. Of course, the comparison assumes the intuitive manipulation of plastic medium is, while not unique to the act of painting, at least a defining characteristic. Mosley’s mark-making application is both organic and highly structured.

Her abstract landscapes are vibrant with color. “These works harmoniously emphasize the relationship between earth, sea, and sky,” it states in Mosley’s Artist’s Statement. “As she quickly works on canvas manipulating the paint to reflect light and color changes, the viewer’s eye sees a playground of color and movement as she expands the scale of color and line.”

In the tightly constructed layers of that color and line we can see the echo of the hand stitching of a textile artist, allowing repetition of the mark to create visual texture in the manner of thread stitched through fabric. This repetition carries through the strict, 12” x 12” dimensions of the individual paintings in the series, so that a perspective from a distance puts us in mind of quilt construction.

"Moonlight is Yellow" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW — *"Moonlight is Yellow" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW*

But Mosley is still, determinedly, a painter, boasting a highly developed point-of-view on the integration of representational and abstract.

Mosley’s current exhibit, "12 x 12 Plus" will be at KORE Gallery at the Mellwood Art Center in Louisville through February 28, 2017. She will then be showing more of the 12 x 12 paintings at the New Edition Gallery in Lexington, KY through the month of March. This fall, she will be exhibiting with Tomisha Allen in September and October of 2017 at the Wayside Expressions Gallery, Louisville, KY.

"Evening Calm" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW — *"Evening Calm" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW*

Permanent Collections:
PNC Bank Tower, Contemporary Ethnic Dolls, Pittsburgh, PA
Heritage Art Center Gallery, Lexington, KY
The University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, VA
The Corcoran Gallery of Art (Evans-Tibbs Collection), Washington, DC
The Fine Arts Institute, San Bernardino Museum of Art, Redlands, CA
The International Multicultural Fine Arts Exchange Foundation, Washington, DC

Hometown: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Education: BA, Studio Art, Painting, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, 1985; MA in Liberal Studies Degree (Humanities; 20th Century Art History) Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 1990; MFA Candidate, Design George Washington University, Washington, DC, 2002-2004

"In the Night" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW — *"In the Night" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 12x12in, acrylic on canvas (2016), $500 | BUY NOW*

"Morning Coffee and Caramel Tea" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 24x36in, acrylic on canvas (2014), $650 | BUY NOW — *"Morning Coffee and Caramel Tea" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 24x36in, acrylic on canvas (2014), $650 | BUY NOW*

"The 13th of Friday" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 36x48in, acrylic on canvas (2013), $2500 | BUY NOW — *"The 13th of Friday" by Barbara Tyson Mosley, 36x48in, acrylic on canvas (2013), $2500 | BUY NOW*

Mixed Media, Sculpture

Vignette: Zehui Ni

Josh Jenkins · November 30, 2016

“I don’t let the passion become overprotective. I want to be always exploring and learning.”
– Zehui Ni

We expect an artist to create out of passion, and even at the tender age of 18, Zehui Ni exemplifies that commitment with an impressive display of technique and accomplishment. Ni doesn’t have a TV in her living space, because she would rather spend her time sculpting, which she describes as, “the ultimate form of entertainment.” She started sculpting seven years ago and hasn’t stopped, spending eight hours a day making art.

Ni is clear about the attraction of the medium, and she talks about, “…clay’s soft and forgiving qualities when moist, the dried dusty surfaces, the small pieces falling and piling up on the floor from a ribbon tool, to its cracking, crumbling, and collapsing…I find my life’s passion in in the cold, smooth, and moist blocks of clay; the high fire that dries white on my palms, the raven stoneware brown that hides deep between my fingernails, or the terracotta stains on my feet after wedging. But I don’t let the passion become overprotective. I want to be always exploring and learning. Marbleize, matte, china paint, each new technique excites me. I embrace it all.”

"One In Four" by Zehui Ni, 20x12x10in, clay, glaze | Price available upon request — *"One In Four" by Zehui Ni, 20x12x10in, clay, glaze | Price available upon request*

Her work in clay is highly detailed, with a level of development that only comes from such single-minded dedication, but there is also an assured embrace of the conceptual that drives her work outside of that medium, as in the mixed media constructions of “Porcelain Nights (Lantern Piece)”, or ”Red Birds on Violin”.

"Porcelain Nights" by Zehui Ni, 40x10x20in, lights, battery, fishing lines, paper, marker, spray paint, mat board, bamboo cane|  | Price available upon request — *"Porcelain Nights" by Zehui Ni, 40x10x20in, lights, battery, fishing lines, paper, marker, spray paint, mat board, bamboo cane| | Price available upon request*

Ni explores fearlessly, a nascent artist whose work shows limitless potential, and we can see her overtly acknowledging her influences. Her use of Asian motifs ties a reverential attitude to nature to a contemporary aesthetic that extends to multi-media installation. Yet Ni’s relationship to her work is far from academic; she expresses almost a symbiotic connection with the clay, describing her process in nurturing terms that equate brushing water onto the clay with bathing an infant. It is an elemental, empathetic understanding of medium that borders on the spiritual.

"Yellow Squares And Black Lines" by Zehui Ni, 12x1x12in, acrylic paint, foam board | Price available upon request — *"Yellow Squares And Black Lines" by Zehui Ni, 12x1x12in, acrylic paint, foam board | Price available upon request*

Zehui Ni is Member of Louisville Visual Art and The National Council On Education For The Ceramic Arts. She is currently traveling outside of the U.S, but will be entering the Art Center College of Design in Chicago in January 2017

Exhibition History:
2016 – Sharron Art Center Gallery “Charity Art Exhibition” South Brunswick, NJ. USA.
2016 – Norma E. Brown Gallery “Aurora” Louisville, KY. USA.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 18
Education: Alumni LVA Children’s Fine Art Classes, graduated from duPont Manual High School's Visual Art Magnet.
Website: http://zehuini.weebly.com/

"Inside Out Red Dot" by Zehui Ni, 18x9x26in, wood, acrylic paint | Price available upon request — *"Inside Out Red Dot" by Zehui Ni, 18x9x26in, wood, acrylic paint | Price available upon request*

*"Red birds on Violin" by Zehui Ni, 26x22x55in, wood, string, acrylic paint, tape, metal, paper, found branches | Price available upon request*

"Golden Peacocks" by Zehui Ni, 16x11x14in, paperclay, found wood, paint, rub n buff | Price available upon request | Price available upon request — *"Golden Peacocks" by Zehui Ni, 16x11x14in, paperclay, found wood, paint, rub n buff | Price available upon request | Price available upon request*

construction

Vignette: Michael McCardwell