“Life changes have caused me to realize the importance of place.“ — Jennifer Palmer

"A Story Beyond Me" by Jennifer Palmer, 59x42in, mixed media on paper (2016), $1500 | BUY NOW — *"A Story Beyond Me" by Jennifer Palmer, 59x42in, mixed media on paper (2016), $1500 | BUY NOW*

An artist is never one thing. When last we heard from Jennifer Palmer, we were discussing her sojourn through the countryside in her prized 1951 Chevy Pickup, “Barbara Jane”, drawing and photographing along the way, a story that emphasizes the journey over the destination.

Palmer still travels in Barbara Jane in summer, but today we focus on new abstract work that carries the theme of the movement of history while still telling another entirely personal story:

“The pieces are multimedia drawings with a focus on history and creating maps out of memories. The drawings are created using layers of media and incorporating maps. Exploring is about life. It starts as soon as we enter the world we start creating maps of our surroundings. And we keep building from there. This is why maps intrigue me. I loved that the maps I used were from family trips and I could see my Dad’s handwritten notes and the highlighted route for each adventure. These memories have become even more precious since my Mother’s passing from cancer. These life changes have caused me to realize the importance of place.“

"Detail of A Story Beyond Me" by Jennifer Palmer, 59x42in, mixed media on paper (2016), $1500 | BUY NOW — *"Detail of A Story Beyond Me" by Jennifer Palmer, 59x42in, mixed media on paper (2016), $1500 | BUY NOW*

So much art is about identity, and Palmer’s quest for greater understanding of physical location is just one route to realizing self through a sense of place. In this way, the maps she incorporates into her imagery represent past, present and future. “I am searching to find a balance and peace to what has happened,” explains Palmer, “and also trying to create something beautiful out of my experiences.”

At present Palmer is an Adjunct Professor at Bellarmine University, Louisville, teaching Drawing, 2D Design, and Art Concepts.

Hometown: Simpsonville, Kentucky
Age: 36
Education: MFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design; BA in Art and Political Science, Cedar Crest College (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Website: http://jenniferpalmer.tumblr.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferlaurapalmer/

"Detail #2 of A Story Beyond Me" by Jennifer Palmer, 59x42in, mixed media on paper (2016), $1500 | BUY NOW — *"Detail #2 of A Story Beyond Me" by Jennifer Palmer, 59x42in, mixed media on paper (2016), $1500 | BUY NOW*

*"Mapping I" by Jennifer Palmer, 11x15in, mixed media on paper (2017)*

*"Mapping II" by Jennifer Palmer, 11x15in, mixed media on paper (2017)*

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

Derby Break

Josh Jenkins · May 1, 2017

*Your Weekly Digest emails will continue on May 15th.*

Painting

Vignette: Geoff Crowe

Josh Jenkins · April 28, 2017

*Artist, Geoff Crowe and his wife, Shannon.*

A Different View of Horse Racing

Some artists paint horses - in Kentucky it’s almost a requirement, but in the paintings by Geoff Crowe we see here, he is not painting horses as individual animals as much as capturing the field in a horse race as one, thundering, entity barreling through the dirt and mud directly at us.

Win, Place, & Show, hold little meaning in these compositions, in which Crowe discovers the collective form and violent motion of the Sport of Kings. At times the results are ominous and foreboding, as in “Full Field”, or “Muddy Day”, wherein the point-of-view suggests precipitous danger, the mass of horse and rider abstracted as if we were witnessing the scene through a rain-smeared windshield.

*"Muddy Day" by Geoff Crowe, 38x72in, acrylic on canvas (2016). Available at Mellwood Arts Pigment Gallery during May.*

In “Race 22” the darkness is replaced by sunlight, and the loose, drip application of some of the paint illustrates the color and kinetic energy we associate with thoroughbred racing, and in “Race 17”, Crowe comes closest to a more standard representational image, in which details of the jockey’s silks are discernable and we can glimpse the individual personality of the horse.

*"Race 17" by Geoff Crowe, 36x38in, acrylic on paper (2016). Available at Mellwood Arts Pigment Gallery during May.*

The artist began his journey in 2004 in Puerto Rico with a show of children playing soccer and today many of his works focus around ballet and horse racing, with the color and texture of the Caribbean remaining an important influence on his work. These elements also carry across to his sculptures and their organic look and feel. Space and movement play a key role in all of his art.

Crowe studied painting and sculpture in Puerto Rico at La Liga deArte and La Escuela de Artes Plásticos. His work can be found in private and corporate collections in Puerto Rico, Ireland, England, California, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, and New York. His work can be found at Gifthorse and Regalo in Louisville, and Copper Moon in New Albany.

Crowe will be opening Hoof and Earth at the Mellwood Arts Center’s Pigment Gallery Opening on May 2; there will be a closing reception on May 26th.

Hometown: Walnut Grove, California
Age: 56
Education: BS, Business Administration, Minor Finance 4 years Independent study in Art at La Liga de Arte and La Escuela de Arte Plasticas in Puerto Rico
Website: http://www.studiocrowe.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/StudioCrowe/

*"Night Race" by Geoff Crowe, 30x60in, acrylic on canvas (2015). Available at Mellwood Arts Pigment Gallery during May.*

*"Race 22" by Geoff Crowe, 36x60in, acrylic on paper (2017). Available at Mellwood Arts Pigment Gallery during May.*

*"Full Field" by Geoff Crowe, 36x30in, acrylic on canvas (2017). Available at Mellwood Arts Pigment Gallery during May.*

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*

Sculpture, Painting

Feature: William M. Duffy

Josh Jenkins · April 25, 2017

“You have to be dedicated, but also giving of yourself.” — William M. Duffy

*"African Heads" by William Duffy, prismacolor on paper*

Everybody calls him “Duffy”. You say that name to anyone in the visual art community over 30 and they immediately know whom you’re talking about. A Louisville native who earned his BFA in Painting from the Louisville School of Art during its fabled heyday in Anchorage back in the 1970’s, he turned to sculpture after chancing upon an automobile collision that freed some marble from a pillar. He was fascinated by the piece of stone and took to it with a hammer and screwdriver when he got home.

Needless to say, William M. Duffy obtained the proper tools, but the story illustrates the unpretentious, workaday touch that seems characteristic of this artist. He has distinguished himself as a sculptor ever since, and a new exhibit at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, Folks and Wee Folks: The Work of William M. Duffy, puts a long overdue spotlight on the man and his work.

Duffy was raised on Magnolia Avenue in the West End of Louisville, which, at that time, was predominantly Black, but the elementary school he attended, Virginia Ave. Elementary, was more balanced racially. “In my school, I would say it was closer to 50% White/50% Black back then,” recalls Duffy. He attended Shawnee High School, by which time he already knew he wanted to be an artist. Louisville School of Art came next, where he studied painting with Bob Barton.

But the most crucial influence in those early years was Gloucester Caliman “G.C.” Coxe (1907-1999). The most notable African American artist in Kentucky in that period, he was known as ‘the dean of Louisville’s African American artists.’ Duffy recalls, “He ran the Louisville Art Workshop on 35th Street back in the day, and we all called him, ‘the Master.” Duffy, along with Ed Hamilton, Sylvia Clay, Eddie Davis, and several others were a loose group around Coxe that eventually was given formal shape as “Montage.”

"I Fear None" by William Duffy, silk screen — *"I Fear None" by William Duffy, silk screen*

“It was difficult at that time for any of us as individuals to get a show in Louisville, so we formed Montage because we thought there would be strength in numbers. Part of it was that there was a militant, political edge in much of our work, and that seemed to make it even more difficult to be accepted by traditional galleries.” Montage exhibited as a group for several years, including at The Speed Museum, before disbanding, but this was happening at a time when several young, outspoken Black people holding a meeting could too easily arouse fear and suspicion. “Ed’s Shelby Street studio was kind of our center,” says Duffy, “and one night we emerged from a meeting there to find four police cars waiting for us with questions – ‘what kind of meeting was this?’ – that kind of thing…because the neighbors had called them; and that was in a predominantly Black neighborhood!”

The group also sought opportunities elsewhere. “G.C., Ed, and myself were in a show in Atlanta, so we drove to get to the exhibit opening, and then almost nobody came because the Falcons had a big game at the same time,” recalls Duffy, laughing at the memory. They returned to Louisville the same night driving for 8 straight hours in hammering, blinding rain.

*"A Little Bird Told Me" by William Duffy, 7.75x5x7in, alabaster sculpture (2011)*

But Louisville remained home for all three men, a commitment to the community that Duffy worries is not carrying through with younger generations of African American artists. Having taught youth art classes for over 30 years now (including with LVA), Duffy has seen a lot of talent come up through the education system only to move on to other cities that afford more opportunity. “G.C. stayed here, Ed stayed here…we came together in support of each other, and I’m not certain that is happening enough with young Black artists in Louisville right now.”

“You have to be dedicated, but also giving of yourself. I still hear young people who have the attitude, ‘This is what we need – this is how you can help us… almost never what do you need – how can we help you?” It is a different ethos from Duffy’s halcyon days with Montage. “We were always encouraging each other, always working to help each other out. I built the turntable in Ed Hamilton’s studio that he still uses today. We always did for each other.”

Duffy speaks about his life with self-effacing ease, yet not without a sure sense of his place in the history of African American artists in Louisville. While arguably not as celebrated as some of his contemporaries, his legacy of teaching ensures a lasting influence on the past, present, and future of the Louisville arts community.

Duffy’s work can be found in numerous private, corporate, and public collections, including Phillip Morris USA, Brown-Forman Corporation, Kentucky Fried Chicken (now YUM! Brands, Inc.), Humana Inc., The Louisville Orchestra, and The Speed Art Museum.

*"At Rest" by William Duffy, 6.5x11.6.5in, bronze sculpture (2011)*

Folks and Wee Folks

April 3- May 25, 2017

Monday – Friday, 10:00am-4:00pm

Kentucky Center for African American Heritage
1701 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard
Louisville, KY 40203
502-583-4100
kcaah.org

Hometown: Louisville, KY
Age: 63
Education: BFA in Painting, Louisville School of Art
Gallery Representative: E&S Gallery (Louisville, KY)
Website: http://www.wmduffy.com/

*"Queen for a Day" by William Duffy, alabaster sculpture on wood block*

*Artist, Duffy with his wife Sherrolyn. Photo by Jason Harris.*

Vignette: Jennifer Palmer