insects

Public Radio

Artists Talk with LVA: May 7, 2026

With Insects We Share the Same Light, curated by Clare Hirn, opens at MaybeItsFate on May 9th. Clare discusses her curatorial debut with Margaret Carreiro, Professor of Biology Emerita, University of Louisville. Tune into Artists Talk with LVA on WXOX 97.1 FM at 10 AM.

Clare Hirn, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, received her Master’s in Painting and Drawing from the New York Academy of Art - Graduate School of Figurative Art. With an emphasis on strong foundational skills of drawing and painting, Hirn has largely worked realistically over the span of her 30+ year career. Always inspired by the natural world, with a focus on landscape and the human figure.

Margaret Carreiro is a plant and soil ecologist working primarily in urban and suburban areas. She studies the impacts of cities and towns on natural areas and is also involved in restoration ecology studies. She was an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at UofL.

With Insects We Share the Same Light, curated by Clare Hirn, invites viewers to deepen their appreciation for insects — Earth's most diverse organisms and ecological cornerstone for over 350 million years — and to reflect on their critical role and growing vulnerability in the Anthropocene.

With Insects We Share the Same Light, curated by Clare Hirn
Clare Hirn & Margaret Carreiro

Painting

Vignette: Devan Horton


“By questioning and altering our perceptions of beauty, these works open our minds to accept the nontraditional.” – Devan Horton


"Puff Ball Mushrooms" by Devan Horton, 24 x 24in, oil on panel (2017), $800 | BUY NOW

"Puff Ball Mushrooms" by Devan Horton, 24 x 24in, oil on panel (2017), $800 | BUY NOW

The closer we look at nature, the more it can seem alien to us. The word mushroom conjures up a simple shape, earthy in texture and pungent in aroma, with little or no color, yet Devan Horton’s paintings present a range of beauty and organic form far away from that cliché.

“Nature has always inspired my work in both concept and form, therefore the majority of my pieces are environmentally centered and are about naturally occurring phenomena and behaviors. With that said, the direction of my work has seen an evolution. Where the focus was once on live subjects such as swarms of animals, insects, and plants in order to portray an active idea, I slowly transitioned into making work about dead matter and elimination.”

Horton refers to her subject here as “dead matter,” yet there is such vibrant life in these images. However inert the reality, the artist’s viewpoint imbues the organic forms with the same living pulse that she explored in her previous work.

"Orange and Blue Mushroom" by Devan Horton, 24 x 24in, oil on panel (2017), $800 | BUY NOW

"Orange and Blue Mushroom" by Devan Horton, 24 x 24in, oil on panel (2017), $800 | BUY NOW

"Pink and Green Mushrooms" by Devan Horton, 24 x 24in, oil on panel (2017), $800 | BUY NOW

"Pink and Green Mushrooms" by Devan Horton, 24 x 24in, oil on panel (2017), $800 | BUY NOW

“Today, my work discusses themes of rebirth by portraying new life growing from the source of fallen trees. Pulchritudinous is a series of fungi paintings that displays the sheer variety of species and beautiful patterns that hail solely from our local area. Fungus has never been revered for being beautiful, but by taking a closer look at these magnificent recyclers, the viewer is forced to see the intricate patterns and wide spectrum of color that was there all along. Even the word Pulchritudinous is an ugly term at first sight, but quite literally means “something of great physical beauty”. By playing with techniques that make objects appear more attractive, all of my work revolves around a change in perspective by viewing that which we look at negatively in a new light.”

Horton currently has solo exhibition at Perennial Gallery, 625 Madison Ave, Covington, Kentucky, through August 20, 2017

Age: 23
Hometown: Covington, Kentucky
Education: BFA, Painting, Northern Kentucky University, 2016; while in school participated in a study abroad to Rome and Florence Italy.
Website: http://www.devanhorton.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hortondevan/

"Split Gill Mushroom" by Devan Horton, 24 x 24in, oil on panel (2017), $800 | BUY NOW

"Split Gill Mushroom" by Devan Horton, 24 x 24in, oil on panel (2017), $800 | BUY NOW

"Turkey Mushroom" by Devan Horton, 24 x 24in, oil on panel (2017), $800 | BUY NOW

"Turkey Mushroom" by Devan Horton, 24 x 24in, oil on panel (2017), $800 | BUY NOW

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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

Sculpture

Vignette: Lindsay Frost

A photograph of Frost in her studio. Photo by Sarah Katherine Davis For LVA (2016),

A photograph of Frost in her studio. Photo by Sarah Katherine Davis For LVA (2016),

Artists often talk about their relation ship to materials or medium. These revelations strike at the heart of why they make art at all, expressing the universality of creation through the very specific terms of their own process. Lindsay Frost works with wood, taking a material that begins as monumental and nearly unyielding and fashioning objects of great delicacy.

“My art is very personal to me,” explains Frost, “…and I want to share it with those who have never really looked at the inside of a tree the way I do. There is an amazing inner beauty hidden inside a tree. The containers I create reveal the grain and color, the different funguses, all the unique properties that are hidden from man inside a tree.”

An inside look at Lindsay Frost's studio. Photo by Sarah Katherine Davis For LVA (2016).

An inside look at Lindsay Frost's studio. Photo by Sarah Katherine Davis For LVA (2016).

"#458 (Footed Tulip Poplar Bowl)" by Lindsay Frost, wood, 4x5in (2016)

"#458 (Footed Tulip Poplar Bowl)" by Lindsay Frost, wood, 4x5in (2016)

The reverence for trees as both a form and a living entity that not only shares the earth with humankind and is essential for our very existence is a deeply spiritual sentiment that belongs to history. “That is what I try to do, to release that inner spirit so the wood can again please man. Each piece tells a tale, of the struggles in growth, success in reaching the sun, imperfections from lightning and insects, drought and fire.“

You can visit Lindsay Frost in her studio on the east side of Louisville during OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND, November 5 & 6, 2016. The event benefits scholarship programs for Louisville Visual Art and University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute and tickets may be purchased here.  She will also be a part of Art for the Senses in Jeffersontown, KY on November 11.

Hometown:  Manitowish Waters, WI, but now Louisville, KY
Education: BA in Art from Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO.
Website:  http://www.lindsayefrost.com
FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/LindsayEFrost
Gallery Representation: Edenside Gallery in Louisville & Berea Artisans Center in Berea, KY.

"Meditation Bowls" by Lindsay Forst, wood, approximately 3x1.5in, $22

"Meditation Bowls" by Lindsay Forst, wood, approximately 3x1.5in, $22

"Acorn/Lichen Buttons" by Lidsay Frost, wood, 3/4 to 1in D. x 1/4in, $4.00each

"Acorn/Lichen Buttons" by Lidsay Frost, wood, 3/4 to 1in D. x 1/4in, $4.00each

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

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2016 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

Please contact josh@louisvillevisualart.org for further information on advertising through Artebella. 

Please contact josh@louisvillevisualart.org for further information on advertising through Artebella.