Vignette: Henry Chodkowski

Henry Chodkowski taught painting at the University of Louisville for 37 years (1962-1999), and how many students/artists he influenced in that time is almost literally incalculable.

As an artist, Chodkowski moved from geometric compositions and stark graphic drawings to a particularly evocative landscapes influenced by multiple journeys to Greece. Many artists express a highly developed sense of place for a special location: Van Gogh in Arles and Gauguin in Tahiti are obvious examples, men obsessed with the individual sun and atmosphere they couldn’t seem to find anywhere else.

Chodkowski's fascination with the island of Crete and the Aegean Sea may have also been about the light - the Mediterranean sun is the stuff of legends, after all, but in the paintings we see here, the formal elements of landscape have largely receded into a vigorously executed abstract field of emotional color. While we know that Chodkowski painted from direct observation, the turmoil of stormy weather he captures must also be forging a connection with the deep wealth of history and mythology inherent in that country. The organic relationship between the slate blue and flushed pink in the sky show us the dense and threatening tempest, not the saturating sunlight we find in postcards.

"Ouranos-Thalassa, 26" by Henry Chodkowski, Acrylic on paper, 103:4 x 115:8in, circa

In several pieces, such as “Ouranos Thalassa, 26”, that connection to ancient history is made explicit with impressions of ancient symbols in the paper. Chodkowski looks so far beyond the present-day culture, that the act of artistic creation merges with an intuitive sense of archaeology that borders on the mystical.

“These paintings are charged with the direct experience of actual places where earth, sea and sky are such vessels of new illumination, echoing inner expanses within us. Vast symbols hover almost unnoticed in veiled atmospheres of nascent light, as archetypal bridges to experience beyond history. The places are Aegean sites of the heroic ages, and the labyrinthian symbols speak of early Minoan forms of civilized vitalism.” - Jay Kloner

Hometown: Hartford, Connecticut
Education: Bachelors, University of Hartford, Connecticut; Masters, Yale University, Connecticut

"Ouranos-Thalassa 78" by Henry Chodkowski,  Acrylic on paper, 8 1:4x11 5:8in, circa

"Ouranos-Thalassa 115" by Henry Chodkowski, Acrylic on paper. 22x26in, circa

"Ouranos-Thalassa 122" by Henry Chodkowski, Acrylic on paper. 161:4 x 151in, circa

"Ouranos-Thalassa 71" by Henry Chodkowski,  Acrylic on paper, 8.5x12in, circa

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Vignette: Monica Barnett

"Derby Run" by Monica Barnett, Graphite, 40x30in, 2018, $750.00

Like many artists, Monica Barnett has studied and worked in various mediums throughout her career, but sometimes it is important to get back to basics.

“Recently, I have concentrated on drawing,” explains Barnett, ”specifically in graphite. My subjects: horses. I draw with a passion I hope is shown in the forms I create.”

In the quality of the drawings we find a blend of near scientific observation – in Barnett’s detailed examination of the musculature, with an idealized, almost romantic perspective – the animals are most often captured in motion, the mane extended. It is a point-of-view not unusual for an equine artist, especially one born and bred in Kentucky.

"Lippizaner" by Monica Barnett, Graphite, 30x40in, 2018, $750.00

Barnett does not restrict her choice of subjects to the thoroughbreds that are part of the identity of the Bluegrass State, her portfolio includes horses from France, Belgium, Wales, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Norway, and the Netherlands.

Barnett participated in the 2018 Spring Art Show at Mellwood Art and Entertainment Center in February, and the Stella de Luce Art and Wine Show in March.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BA, Berea College, Kentucky, 1986
Website: monicawbarnett.wordpress.com

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"French Camargue Ponies" by Monica Barnett, Graphite, 40x30in, 2018, $750.00

"Before the Race" by Monica Barnett, Graphite, 30x20in, 2018, $250.00

"Dutch Warmblood" by Monica Barnett, Graphite, 40x30in, 2018, $750.00

"Soviet Draft Horse" by Monica Barnett, Graphite, 40x30in, 2018, $750.00

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Art[squared] Spotlight: Douglas Miller

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of LVA’s “Art [squared]” event to benefit Children’s Fine Art Classes, we will feature five local artists who are contributing 24” x 24” paintings to be sold at the event through a Silent Auction. Today we highlight Douglas Miller:

Douglas Miller’s approach to art entered the Louisville consciousness subtly, evolving from handcrafted ear X-tacy signage to the mostly-dimensional animals familiar today to visitors of Cellar Door Chocolates, Copper & Kings American Brandy and Edenside Gallery, as well as gallerists from Asheville to Quebec.
 

"Miller Thesis 1 (Title 1)" by Douglas Miller, Ink, pencil, and acrylic on paper, 39X50in, 2018

His current project finds him at U of L’s Cressman Center downtown achieving success by examining failure with a new exhibition he’s calling Title (strikethrough). Miller says these drawings explore themes of “indeterminacy, failed projects, and the complications of representation. This series is informed by preliminary drawings, marginalia, and written notations that are inherent in the formulation processes of both visual and literary compositions.”

Miller was inspired by Russian author Nikolai Gogol’s unfinished 1842 novel Dead Souls “to conflate literary theories with visual representation” with his drawings. Compelled by process as a topic, Miller continues, “The Title (strikethrough) series presents fragmentary images, texts, and digressive narratives that demonstrate intermediaries between propositional states and reconciled concepts … ultimately finding interchanges between the methods of representation and what is represented, this series underscores the ruptures in the production of meaning.”

"Miller Thesis 3 (Title 3)" by Douglas Miller, Pencil and acrylic on paper, 24X30in, 2017

This literary digression is a turn down a fresh alley for Miller. He says, “Modeling this series of drawings on methodologies typically constrained to literary texts, I intend to identify parallels between generating drawings and the formations of literary texts. Central to this thesis and the series of drawings is an emphasis on the disruptions of meaning and the digressive characteristics that adversely occur in the development of projects and how these function to create a more diverse, complicated, and ultimately uncertain interpretation.”

“In this way, the Title (strikethrough) series demonstrates a fictive series of narratives that are preparatory and indeterminate in anticipation of a larger conclusive work that is never reconciled.”

Miller’s MFA exhibition Title (strikethrough) is on view April 27 through August 4, 2018 at The University of Louisville's Cressman Center, with an opening reception April 27 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. He will also have work on exhibit at Lenihan Sotheby's International Realty in May of this year.

Education: BFA, University of Louisville, 2009                              Scroll down for more images
Website: www.douglassmillerart.com
Facebook: facebook.com/douglasmillerart/
Instagram: @douglasmillerart

"Miller Thesis 5 (Title 5)" by Douglas Miller, Pencil and watercolor on paper, 18X22in, 2017

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Written by Peter Berkowitz. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Art[squared] Spotlight: Ewa Perz

To celebrate the 5th Anniversary of LVA’s Art [squared] Event to Benefit Children’s Fine Art Classes, we will feature five local artists who are contributing 24” x 24” paintings to be sold at the event through a Silent Auction. Today we highlight Ewa Perz:

"Peonies" by Ewa Perz, Oil on wood, 24x36in, 2017, $1800

Art isn’t easy. It demands commitment and effort over time - in a word: passion. When one listens to Ewa Perz talk about her studio practice, there can be no doubt that there is great drive and energy driving her work, but it also reads in the images and their sensuous color and texture. The loose applications of marks that belie the discipline underlying each decision.

“I paint for myself. I paint for my family, I paint to cope with my emotions, and I paint to fill up an empty room. But most importantly, I paint for the color. I see a world defined by its color, whereas others see it defined by shape. To me, color is what bares the essence of an object, and that is what I seek to portray. Forget about the strict lines of realism or the literal composition of reality, instead, by painting with a loose hand and abbreviated images, color is what comes forth as the main element and takes over my paintings.”

"Atlas Copy" by Ewa Perz, Oil on canvas, 60x30in, 2017, $3800

“Painting is my journey through life. It is an exhausting, exhilarating, and frustrating task. Colors have faded and gone wrong, proportions have morphed, and canvases have warped, only to be stretched again. Yet whatever I go through, whatever obstacle that comes in my way, I simply cannot stop loving it. Painting is my passion, it is my love, and it is my life.

Although Perz counts Joseph Sargent and Henri Matisse as influences, she has studied with Felo Garcia in Costa Rica and David Laffel in Santa Fe, both of whom she calls, “contemporary masters”.

Her paintings are currently on display in Revelry Gallery Boutique, Tim Faulkner’s Gallery, European Splendor, Anne Tower Gallery (Lexington), Art on the Levee (Cincinnati), and Galerie Municipale (France). Her paintings have been featured in galleries in US, as well as Mexico, and France.

Perz’s one-person show, Water Strokes, was at Revelry Gallery in November 2017. In May 2018, she will be the first artist to exhibit in the new AC Hotel when it opens in the NuLu neighborhood in Louisville.

"Silent Composition" by Ewa Perz, Oil on canvas, 24x24in, 2018, Available by Silent Auction at Art[squared]

Hometown: Gdansk, Poland
Education: Masters in Plant Physiology
Website: http://www.ewaperzgallery.com
Gallery Representation: Revelry Gallery, (Louisville) Ann Tower Gallery, (Lexington), Gallery Municipale, (Antibes, France)

 

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"Ocean Waves 1" by Ewa Perz, Oil on canvas, 36x48in, 2017, $2900

"White Roses" by Ewa Perz, Oil on panel, 48x36in, 2016, $2900

"Secret Objects" by Ewa Perz, Oil on canvas, 30x20in, 2017, $2200

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Art[squared] Spotlight: Julia Davis

To celebrate the 5th Anniversary of LVA’s Art [squared] Event to Benefit Children’s Fine Art Classes, we will feature five local artists who are contributing 24” x 24” paintings to be sold at the event through a Silent Auction. Today we feature Julia Davis:

Design for CirqueLouis event, digital illustration by Julia Davis, 2017

“As an artist and I want to be fully involved within the arts on many levels.” – Julia Davis

Besides her studio practice as a painter, Davis has also become involved with performance, working with Squallis Puppeteers for the last 18 months and becoming immersed in the world of puppetry, education, and creation all together. “I started working for these amazing people as an administrative assistant in the office then I started dipping into puppet mingling, which then lead to protest involvement, then to making puppets and performing with said puppets. I made my first puppet for Emperor's New Clothes, which is an adaptation of a Hans Christian Anderson Fairy tale using multiple animal rod puppets, which meant I had to find my voice as well. I eventually made my first backpack puppet for the performance of Peter and the Wolf (with the helping hand Squallis directors, Shawn Hennessey and Nora Christensen) that was utilized in a one-time performance with the Louisville Orchestra on March 17th, 2018.”

“I also I dip into the circus as an illustrator for CirqueLouis, and I am currently working on my 4th poster for them. Like Squallis, CirqueLouis is a non-profit organization that makes a great effort teaching the public and the youth of the public the importance of performance artwork, specifically the importance of the circus. Their most recent show, Kaleidoscope (November 2017) was a favorite of mine because it gave life to one of my most treasured studio items, the movable manikin. I was given a lot of artistic freedom and was able to develop a visual story in one frame. I truly love the relationship I have with CirqueLouis and will be designing the poster for their new show, Happy Birthday that will be performed at the Iroquois Amphitheater as part of that historic venue’s 80th birthday.” 

"Look before you leap" by Julia Davis, Oil on canvas, 24x24in, 2018, Featured Silent Auction Painting for 2018 Art[squared} Benefit

Davis remains dedicated to her studio practice for painting however, and was included in Not Just a Drawing: A Line with Intent in Chicago in March 2018. Oh, Places is a new painting that is adding on to a continuing study about the use of imagery. “My personal work contradicts realistically painted images with superimposed line work offering a question of purpose. My aim is to paint images in a realistic fashion and interrupt them with graphic line work to consistently investigate the use of imagery. The piece for "Art [Squared]", Look before you leap, is another addition to my study.” 

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BFA, University of Louisville, 2012
Website: www.JuliaDart.com
Instagram: @Julia_Davis_Art

"Peter" (for Peter and the Wolf) by Julia Davis for Squallis Puppeteers, 2018

"Pinocchia", Design for CirqueLouis poster, digital illustration by Julia Davis, 2016

"Pinocchio" (alternate), Design for Cirque Louis poster, Digital illustration by Julia Davis, 2016

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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