Vignette: Uhma Janus

"Alien I ZD" by Uhma Janus, Acrylic on panel, 32x24in, 2016, POR

Mexican-born artist Uhma Janus’ earliest initiation into the arts was at the age of 7 when her mother taught her introductory piano lessons. She developed into a classical musician, but pursued a degree in Physics at the University of Guanajuato and nursing degrees at the University of Louisville. When she came to feel a desire to paint, it would make perfect sense that her curiosity for the understanding of the physical world and Universe and her background with music would substantially inform her imagery.

Theoretical particles were a focus in Janus’ studies, and the busy compositions that rely on repetitive pattern express an innate sense of the unseen realities of existence.  Her early work is characterized by an exploration of the versatility of acrylic ink when tracing dots, lines, and curves in both spontaneous and controlled conditions. Later, her work delineated clearer patterns and figures that began to shift away from the abstract and, eventually, she began doing portraits. The journey reverses the more typical path from representational to abstract.

"XXXIII" by Uhma Janus, Oil on canvas, 72x48in, 2017, POR

Janus doesn’t use the words, “self-taught” when describing herself, but her intuitive approach to making visual art feels like an honest expression of her life story up until that point. “Alien I Z D” displays a kinetic energy that resembles a graphic representation of sound such as an oscillogram.

Though she started with acrylic inks, Janus has expanded her media to include acrylic and oil paint, mixed media, graphite and color pencils in the variety of her projects.

“My focus has been the authenticity of the emotionally-empowered, fully-intentional-expressive being in action. My work engenders the recognition of the merit and gravity that the most basic graphic elements (the dots, lines, and curves) have in and of themselves. This action finds its own graphic representation as a materialized emergent phenomenon only aesthetically-significant as a posteriori entity.”

When Janus talks about her work, her language is infused with intellectualism and scientific vocabulary that reflects her background in physics, but the work itself feels intuitive; emotionalism filtered through a stringent process in the manner of the Abstract Expressionists.

Her exploration for “modalities of expression” has also led her back to music, and Janus has recently taken up guitar, violin, cello, and darbuka (a goblet-shaped drum of Middle Eastern origin), all at what she calls “a beginner level. She is also composing and writing.

Hometown: Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico
Education: BS Nursing; BS Physics; AD Nursing
Website: www.behance.net/uhmajanus5dfd

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"Ms. Cursedly Expectant" by Uhma Janus, Graphite on paper, 24x18in, 2018, POR

"Abysmal Fall" by Uhma JanusOil on panel, 16x11in, 2017, POR

"Ms. Empty Hunger" by Uhma Janus, Graphite on paper, 24x18in, 2018, POR

"Broken Fly" by Uhma Janus, Acrylic and mixed media on panel. 16x16in, 2016, POR

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

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Vignette: Gayle Cerlan

"Alice in Potterland" by Gayle Cerlan, Clay, glaze, 16.5x7x6.5in, 2018, $975

Gayle Cerlan is currently working on two different bodies of work for two different exhibits. Here we see work she will be showing in Louisville with Jacque Parsley in September 2018. 

Cerlan’s pieces are ceramic sculptures that capture an aesthetic from more than a century ago but also feel of a more recent time. “Alice in Potterland” is an obvious allusion to the Lewis Carroll classic, and could almost be an artifact from the late-Victorian period in England. Yet there is also a degree of American sensibility from 100 years later, a time when Carroll’s fantastical, hallucinatory imagery found purchase in the counter-culture. And what are we to make of the small skull tucked under the arm of this unique hare?

There is ample narrative in this body of work, and it seems likely that its full effect would be best experienced seeing them as a group, so that the characters are encountered in context and the viewer may find their own story. The bemused, slightly vacant gaze in the face of “Amelia” captures a surrealistic charm that causes us to ponder whether the flowers above her head are contained within the vase or are indeed growing directly from inside this baroque lady’s skull.

This work will be included in an exhibit at Craft(s) Gallery & Mercantile with Jacque Parsley entitled, Shared Vision. The show will run September 7 through 28 with an Artist Reception September 7, 6:00-9:00PM

"Amelia" by Gayle Cerlan, Clay, glaze, paint, found objects, 10x6x6.4,5in, 2018, $850

Cerlan has been an active member of the Kentucky arts community through her involvement as the creator and director of the Cityworks exhibition (1997-1998), and as curator of the DinnerWorks exhibition (1994-1997). She has served on the boards of Louisville Visual Art and the Kentucky Museum of Art & Craft and has been an Adjunct Professor of Ceramics at Indiana University Southeast, Bellarmine College, and the University of Louisville. She founded Cerlan Gallery in Lexington, Kentucky (1997-2007) and established a fine arts school for all ages, ArtStudio (1997-2014). Cerlan has exhibited her ceramic art nationally and internationally and has won many awards and grants. Her work can be found in numerous public collections.

Hometown: Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky
Education: BFA Louisville School of Art; MA, University of Louisville; Completed coursework at Alfred University in New York. 
Gallery Representative: Kentucky Artisan Center, Gayle Cerlan Hunt Art Studio & Classes (Lexington, Kentucky)

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"Grey Evening Gloves" by Gayle Cerlan, Clay, glaze, paint, gold leaf, 10x8x6.5in, 2018, $950

"Birds of A Feather" by Gayle Cerlan, Clay, glaze, glass, gold leaf, 11x5x5in, 2018, $950

"Garden of Eden" by Gayle Cerlan, Clay, glaze, paint, gold leaf, 9.5x7x5in, 2018, $900

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

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Vignette: Robert Halliday

"Intermission" by Robert Halliday, Plexiglass, Watercolor, 28x31in, 2005, $4000

“Intermission” is an installation of images that pay tribute to the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Louisville. The series of small blocks are presented in a grid-like configuration that echoes the glass-paneled architecture as well as the audiences that congregate within. The piece neatly encapsulates the varying strains in Robert Halliday’s work: the propensity for non-representational images shot through with a sense of playfulness, contrasted with an equally developed eye for naturalism.

"Late Afternoon at Monhegan Light" by Robert Halliday, Watercolor on arches paper, 25s35in, 1997, Private Collection

Halliday takes an organic approach to medium, avoiding easy categorization and keeping a fresh and open mind. “I let each new idea dictate my medium and the form it will take,” such as watercolor for the landscape “Late Afternoon at Monhegan Light”. Halliday’s paintings in this genre earned him a place in “The Artist and the American Landscape, an Historical Overview of American Landscape Painting”, by John Driscoll & Arnold Skolnick. (Published by First Glance Books, Cobb CA, 1998).

This dedication to exploring mediums has led to a “surprisingly diverse body of art. I work in watercolor both on site and in the studio, Acrylics on canvas, and I have produced a collection of conceptual artworks in a variety of forms and media.“ In his group of blocks cataloging art trends of the 20th century, “Modernist Movement”, the pieces are ready to handle and play with as a child might with alphabet blocks. As with all of his work, balance and harmony dominate.

"Modernist Movement" by Robert Halliday, Painted Bricks, 48x48in, 2011, $18,000

Halliday is a Signature Member of both the Kentucky Watercolor Society and the Taos National Society of Watercolorists.

In 2019 Halliday will have a solo show at Kentucky Fine Art Gallery entitled "The Unexpected Landscape", and his work can be found in the following corporate collections:

PNC Bank Corp
Brown Forman Corporation
Makers Mark Distillery
Stoll, Keenon, & Park
Curtis, Baxter, Stevens, Broder, & Micoleau
Fidelity Investments
LG&E/KU

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: English and Humanities Major, University of Louisville; also attended the University of Arizona
Website: www.bobhalliday.com And www.hallidayart.com
Instagram: bobhalliday.1
Gallery Representative:  Kentucky Fine Art Gallery-Glenview Pointe, Louisville, KY

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"Bridge" by Robert Halliday, Acrylic on canvas, 36x36in, 2008, Private Collection

"Network" by Robert Halliday Acrylic on canvas, 36x48in, 2013, $11,500

"Track" by Robert Halliday Acrylic on canvas, 30x30in, 2013, $3000

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

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Vignette: James R. Southard

"Untitled" by James R. Southard, Archival digital print, 18x28in, 2018, $750

Most recently, James R. Southard has started to turn the lens around towards himself, altering his regional material gathering technique into a biographical survey of his late father’s experiences in the 1970s. The resulting work has been a digital collage of still and moving images along with life action shots building a body of work that hopes to open a dialogue with his young father and himself.

“These (untitled) images were created from the thousands of slides my father shoot 40 years ago on his return from a tour of duty during the Vietnam War. He was actually at a similar point in his career and life as I am now, so I found this material very relevant to my current studio practice.”

Although we can assume that there is some degree of manipulation in the three images included here, it is not always clear what is the separation between the elder Southard’s original and his son’s contribution. But there is an unmistakable yet subtle incongruity that demands a close inspection, drawing the viewer into a close relationship with the work. Even the magnificent, apparently natural view of a city from between two high hills may not be what we assume.

The other photographs presented here are the latest example of Southard working with small community groups in the hopes of building collaborative digital photo and video projects. Each series has been catered to the issues and concerns of each region though documenting local habits, patterns, rituals, language, history and so on. 

“In the summer of 2018, I spent a month in rural northern Vermont working with local dairy farmers. I was interested in documenting the changing state of affairs up there due to milk prices and costs of farming. Farms that have been in the family for generations are now going broke. This landscape looks to fade away soon and many of the farmers were interested in my capturing their lives before it disappears.”

"Untitled" by James R. Southard, Archival digital print, 18x12in, 2018, $500

Farms and cattle have been photographed ad infinitum, but Southard’s take is fresh and unique. Perhaps in part because the rural landscape has come to seem so foreign and removed from modern life, yet there is a delicate and irresistible tension in the cow caught in mid-turn, as if he has been arrested in the first stage of a much more dramatic action. Is he about to fall, or about to confront the photographer intruding on her haystack reverie?

In fall 2018, Southard will have a solo show at Vermont Dairy, Working Title, University of New Mexico-Taos, Taos, NM. Since 2014, he has been a Full Time Lecturer for the School of Art & Visual Studies at University of Kentucky, Lexington.

Hometown: Middletown, Kentucky
Education: BFA University of Louisville 2005
MFA Carnegie Mellon University 2011
Website: www.jamesrsouthard.com

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"Untitled" by James R. Southard, Archival digital print, 16x28in, 2018, $750

"Untitled" by James R. Southard, Archival digital print, 18x12in, 2018, $500

"Untitled" by James R. Southard, Archival digital print, 18x28in, 2018, $750

"Untitled" by James R. Southard, Archival digital print, 16x16in, 2018, $500

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

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Vignette: 2018 Hadley Prize Recipient KCJ Szwedzinski

The Community Foundation of Louisville, in partnership with Louisville Visual Art, is pleased to announce that Louisville-based multi-media artist KCJ Szwedzinski is the winner of the sixth annual Mary Alice Hadley Prize for Visual Art. The $5,000 award is an opportunity for local artists to enhance their careers through a targeted enrichment experience of their own design.

Szwedzinki’s submission outlines a series of research trips, “designed to synthesize seemingly disparate bodies of knowledge (and) archival practices for historical information and my personal inherited legacies.” Her intention is to, “broaden my ability to make work that is rooted in my own Judaic heritage, while facilitating engagement of a more universal audience.” Her itinerary is:

·      Seven days in San Francisco to visit the Jewish Contemporary Museum and The Holocaust   Center.

·      Fourteen days in Washington DC and Philadelphia to visit the United Sates Holocaust Memorial Museum and Archives (DC) and to take a six-day course, entitled “The History of Artists’ Books since 1950”, at the Rare Book School (Philadelphia).

·      Three days at the Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne Indiana

"The Klezmer Step | Glass Study" by KCJ Szwedzinski, Enamel on glass, 22x22in, 2018

Memory is a central preoccupation of art in the early years of the 21st century. Perhaps it is the turning of the century, or perhaps it is because we can now look further into our immediate past than earlier periods. The last 100 or more years have allowed a continuum of understanding and a voracious appetite for ongoing social narrative that is endlessly fed by digital technology. That continuum is important to Szwedzinski:

“Every time a story is retold it takes on a new life,” she states. “Simultaneously preventing that information from being lost to history while slowly transforming into something new altogether. These mechanisms for transmission slowly shape collective memory across time and ultimately have a huge hand in shaping personal identity. These are the tools and teachers of belief and belonging. My work reflects on belonging, displacement, and the shifting nature of narrative across time and considers the intersection of art, belief, ethics, and atrocity.”

“Printmaking, glassblowing, and kiln forming are the main processes I use in my
work. Although producing very different visual results, print and glass have
historically played a large role in the documentation of history and the passing on
of stories. From the printing press to the spreading of political propaganda,
printmaking has always disseminated information to multiple people. Glass as a
material often goes unacknowledged but plays a huge role in informing our
experience of the world, whether its creating barriers to keep us safely in or to
isolate information and objects within a museum or archive setting. I particularly
find it interesting that glass and printmaking have been silent, but active,
witnesses throughout history and as an artist concerned with legacy, these
processes both present rich and dynamic stories that support the concepts I
choose to work with.”

Szwedzinski will be interning at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma Washington for the months of July and most of August. 

Louisville Visual Art will honor KCJ Szwedzinski on Thursday, June 21, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. in their Portland gallery at 1538 Lytle Street, 40203. The reception is free and open to the public.

"Woven Debka and Klezmer Step" by KCJ Szwedzinski, Graphite on stonehenge, 50x38in, 2018

Recent exhibitions (2018):

·      Doors: A Collaborative Book Project, University of Louisville, KY

·      Blue Grass Bienniel: A Juried Exhibition of Kentucky Artists, Claypool-Young Art Gallery, Morehead, KY

·      Glass Art Society International Online Student Exhibition

·      Freeze State: Disassociating From the Here and Now, print exchange and exhibition (co-curator),
Louisville, KY (upcoming)

·      It’s Your World: Art About the Future of Community, 1619 Flux: Art + Activism, Louisville, KY (Juried)

·      What’s the Theme?, OPEN Community Arts Center, Louisville, KY (Group Show)

·      OH + 5: Ohio Border 10th Biennial, Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, OH (Juried)

Hometown: Jacksonville Florida
Education: MFA candidate. University of Louisville, Louisville, KY (expected May 2019); BA cum laude, Art History and Printmaking, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, 2009
Website: www.kcjszwedzinski.com

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"Coincidence of Opposites I" by KCJ Szwedzinski, Stonehenge paper, steel, 11x15x9in, 2018

"Coincidence of Opposites II" by KCJ Szwedzinski, Stonehenge paper, steel, 11x15x9in, 2018

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