Vignette: Amalia Galdona Broche

“Knotty Mountains Installation” by Amalia Galdona Broche, Fiber, 2019

Amalia Galdona Broche describes herself as, “Living in a cultural in-between.” Born in Cuba, she has lived in the United States for the last 10 years. Now 25, her time in America frames the “coming-of-age” period that is often the most formative time in the identity of an artist.

“I am interested in the relationship between nature and nurture and how our surroundings shape character and identity,” she explains. “Through the process of collecting, tearing, breaking, joining, weaving, knotting and assembling, I mimic my journey through life, constantly adapting to the experiences, places and people around me.” 

“TheScream” by Amalia Galdona Broche, Fiber and pins, 40x15x15in, 2018

“I use the cyanotype photo process to capture and present, in an abstracted manner, the way in which our environment imprints onto our identity. Currently, I explore figures through form, material, and surface treatment. The assemblage of woven structures with or created with discarded textiles creates a rich surface texture that is sometimes further altered through photo processes. By referencing the syncretizing of religious and cultural beliefs, as well as Spanish and Afro-Cuban culture in my work, I deal with the intricacies of the building and development of my own character as a product of colonization and appropriation.”

Broche’s use of the word syncretize in her statement is key. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as the ‘Attempt to amalgamate or reconcile (differing things, especially religious beliefs, cultural elements, or schools of thought),’ and the resulting tension in the work is palpable. The forms that are suggestive of human figures are colorful and vital, imbued with life and energy yet also not as open as they might be, their full identity occluded among the layers of material (“The Scream”). The more abstract constructions build atmosphere and context with the same air of muffled expression, curtains capturing a festive quality but also allowing some degree of barricade .

It may not be wrong to see a commentary of the American propensity for cultural approbation at work here, yet Broche’s statement also reinforces her own accountability in this exploration of identity.

“I find this creative process to be a meditative dance of making and building, using art and craft and their history to continue a conversation about otherness, feminism, and the global south.”  

Recent Exhibitions:

2019 Of Problems and Some Other Knots, Locker 666, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, GA
2018 Nurtured Nature, Glass Gallery, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
2017 The Art of Structure, Still Point Arts, Virtual Gallery

Hometown: Santa Clara, Cuba
Education: MFA candidate, University of Kentucky, 2021
BFA, with a concentration in Sculpture, Jacksonville University, 2016; BA, with a concentration in Art History, Jacksonville University, 2016, Departmental Honors in Art, Minor: Business Administration
Website: amaliagaldonabroche.com
Instagram: agaldonab

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“Sisters My Lady of Charity (left) and Our Lady of Regla (right)” by Amalia Galdona Broche, Fiber installation, 58x40x25in / 50x20x20in, 2018

“Sisters Our Lady of Regla” by Amalia Galdona Broche, Fiber installation, 50x20x20in, 2018

“Knots in the Times of Trouble. Amalia Galdona Broche, Fiber and wire, 70x30x30in, 2019

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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

Vignette: Sharon Weis

“Color Slice” by Sharon Weis, Oil paint on birch plywood, 13x42in, 2019, $1200

would that we could wake up to what we were
when we were ocean and before that

to when sky was earth, and animal was energy, and rock was
liquid and stars were space and space was not

at all----- nothing

-       From “Singularity” by Marie Howe

Are landscape painters drawn to nature as a subject because of a spiritual affinity, or do they discover that affinity through the act of painting nature? Such chicken and the egg queries may indeed miss the point, but we come across that relationship between nature and spirituality all the time. By quoting this Marie Howe poem, written in tribute to Stephen Hawking, Sharon Weis lets us know in no uncertain terms that her practice may be nothing less than a search for understanding about the very beginning of life. Hawking was a scientist, but Howe is a poet and Weis a painter, and both of these artists find beauty in the level of discovery in the work of the world-famous physicist. 

Weis describes her act of creation, the action of painting in language that reinforce that connection between rationality and the spiritual:

“Moved by lavish paint and painters, I love the lush, liquid stokes attainable with oil paint. I use birch plywood as it is the ideal surface to accept the viscosity of paint I work to acquire. For color and compositional rhythms, I look to the natural world for inspiration.”

“In my latest series, the sea is lush, I play with composition and perspective shifts using panoramic views, emotive color correlations, and natural rhythms set up by sea and sky to create aesthetic divisions of space. However, it is the physical texture of the paint itself, the charge of paint I push into the clouds or the clean, thick, fluid stroke added to the sea that excite me most when creating these works.”

“Sugar Fix” by Sharon Weis, Oil paint on birch plywood, 13x42in, 2019, $1200

“These paintings heighten our connection to the sea, intensifying our vast range of emotion in the form of water, land and sky.”

Weis teaches Art at Walden School. In the past two years she has exhibited at Ann Tower Gallery and New Editions Gallery in Lexington KY as well as Art Prize in Grand Rapids, MI.

Some of the work we see here is currently on public view as part of the Spring Invitational at Kleinhelter Gallery, 701 E 8th Street, New Albany. The exhibit runs May 10 through July 6.   

Weis has exhibited in the Louisville area for years, and her work was shown in two International Shows; Septemberfest International at Period Gallery in Omaha and Across the Atlantic in Dublin Ireland. 

She is included in these corporate collections:

Barnstable Brown Center for Diabetes ~ Lexington KY
Bluegrass Eye Center~ Crestwood KY
Brown Forman Corporation~ Louisville KY
Caritas Medical Center~Louisville KY
Cobalt Bravura Lofts~ Louisville KY
Commonwealth Bank and Trust~ Louisville KY
Masonic Homes~ Louisville KY
Pediatrics South~ Lexington KY
Saint Joseph Hospital~ Lexington KY
Summit One Partners~Louisville KY
Square One Offices~ Louisville KY
The Center for Women and Families ~Louisville KY
Time Warner~ Louisville KY
Turfland Medical Clinic~ Lexington KY
U of K Woodland Glen Dormitory~ Lexington KY
Ventas, Inc~ Louisville KY
Waterfront Park Place Club Room and Lobby~ Louisville KY
Woodward Hobson and Fulton~ Louisville KY

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BA, University of Louisville
Website: sharonweis.com
Gallery Representation: Kleinhelter Gallery (New Albany), New Editions Gallery (Lexington)

“Tide Pull” by Sharon Weis, Oil paint on birch plywood, 13x42in, 2019, $1200

“State of Contentment” by Sharon Weis, Oil paint on birch plywood, 13x42in, 2019, $1200

“Begin After” by Sharon Weis, Oil paint on birch plywood, 13x42in, 2019, $1200

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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

Vignette: Amy Welborn

“Summer Sunflowers” by Amy Welborn, Oil, 24x30in, 2019, $1200

Nature is often connected to divinity. Even among agnostics there is often found a deep spiritual relationship to the natural world.

The other common spiritual association is in the act of creation – the act of making art. Painter Amy Welborn sees herself as part of the centuries-old tradition of painting landscapes as an expression of religious belief. 

“My work is typically created from oils in vibrant colors and lush brushstrokes. God's creation and man's connection to the land never cease to provide inspiration for me. Everywhere I look, I find God's joy in design. When I slow down to pay attention to what I see, I find the essence of holiness; God's thumbprint in all creation is evident. Translating my awe for God's amazing planet into paint is my lifelong passion.”

An engineer by profession, Welborn began painting with oils as a hobby, but eventually was encouraged by friends to begin exhibiting in community art festivals. As do so many plein air painters, she finds order and pattern in her observations. The hand of humankind imposes some of that discipline: the occasional fence line or a field furrowed for planting. But the greater harmony emerges from the relationships between the elements: the rolling hills seen beyond the fields, and the trees that break the horizon to reach into the sky.

Although Welborn’s style is typically naturalistic, she incorporated aspects of primitivism in her mural for the Dixie Highway Kroger in Louisville, "Bird’s Eye View of Louisville".

Welborn teaches children and adult art classes through the Arts Association of Oldham County. 

Recent Exhibitions:

2017 - “Joie de Vivre”, group show with Louisville, KY artists and Dijon, France artists, Louisville Metro City Hall, KY
2017 - “Joie de Vivre”, group show, Dijon, France
2017 - Governor’s Derby Exhibit, juried exhibition, Rotunda of the Capitol, Frankfort, KY 

Amy Welborn with the Dixie Hwy Kroger Mural

“Snow & Sycamore” by Amy Welborn, Oil, 8x10in, 2018, $400

Public Collections:
Owensboro Medical Health, Henderson Clinic, Henderson, KY
Owensboro Medical Health, Madisonville Urgent Care, Madisonville, KY
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Cincinnati, OH
NICoE Camp LeJeune, Jacksonville, NC
Riverside Hospital Surgical Expansion, Newport News, VA,
Owensboro Medical Health, Henderson Clinic, Henderson, KY
Lanthier Winery. Madison, IN

Home: LaGrange, Kentucky
Education: Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering, Purdue University
Website: PaintingsbyAmyWelborn.com
Gallery Representation: Gallery 104 (LaGrange)

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“Brush of Spring” by Amy Welborn, Oil, 24x24in, 2018, $650

“Graf Farm Revisited” by Amy Welborn, Oil, 11x14in, 2018, $450

“After the Storm” by Amy Welborn, Oil, 16x20in, 2017, $800

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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

Vignette: Macel Hamilton

“Rooster” by Macei Hamilton, Acyrlic on wood, 12x18in, 2018, Private Collection

“Serious” art people are often skittish about paintings of animals; simple, straightforward, portraits of pets are the work of “hobbyists” they might say. Yet the concept that any artist’s practice draws directly from their immediate environment and experience is a common point of discussion in any critical appraisal.

Macel Hamilton resides in the knobs of Casey County, Kentucky, a rural area in in which her menagerie of12 dogs and 12 cats is not that unusual. So why shouldn’t these plaintive yet precocious subjects serve as a valid expression of Hamilton’s environment? Hamilton was raised in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, so the attachment to the land and its non-human inhabitants comes naturally to Hamilton.

A nurse by profession, Hamilton has only been painting for about 4 years, and for having painted for so brief a time, there is authoritative us of the brush in capturing the details of this “Rooster” that is compelling. Nothing is overworked. The relative lack of experience seems to have merged with the intimate understanding of subject to finish a simple, naturalistic expression of wariness in this Bantam’s face. It is as individual as any portrait of a human subject.

Hometown: Ligon, Kentucky
Facebook: Macel's art

“Dobey” by Macei Hamilton, Pastel on sanded paper, 14x10in, 2019, Private Collection

“Horse” by Macei Hamilton, Acrylic on wood, 12x10in, 2018, Private Collection

“Baby” by Macei Hamilton, Acyrlic on canvas, 16x20in, 2018, Private Collection

“Low Rider” by Macei Hamilton, Acyrlic on canvas, 12x16in, 2019, Private Collection

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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

Spotlight: The Academy at LVA Graduating Seniors, Part Two

“Birds on a Branch” by Ian Kimbell, New Albany High School, from the Academy class at IUS

On May 10, Louisville Visual Art will open the 2019 Academy Exhibition for high school students. This is the second of a two-part look at the senior students included in that exhibit.

“The Louisville Visual Art classes helped to restore the passion for art inside of me.” - Syndonia Kinderman

“Feathers Perspectives” by Ian Kimbell, New Albany High School, from the Academy class at IUS

Ian Kimbell may be the model of a modern over-achiever; National Merit finalist, Presidential Scholar finalist, National Horatio Alger Scholar, Indiana Academic All-Star, National AP Scholar, speech and research awards at the state level through the Indiana Junior Academy of Science are only the top of his list of accomplishments, but today we look at the most recent work from his eight years in Children’s Fine Art Classes and the Academy at LVA.

Kimbell’s images show an interest in pattern and texture. Even in the linear form of an elephant the understated cross-hatching suggests the rough skin we associate with the oversize mammal. More interesting is the manner in which he has fashioned a row of birds snuggles in tight formation on a tree branch. Although representational, there is an eye for the abstract foundation of organic form in how Kimbell realizes the aviary chorus.

 “I have a special spot in my heart for Dean Mistler. He saw the potential for me early on in middle school and is probably the sole reason I am still devoted to art today. He was never afraid to tell me if a line was a bit off, or if I could add more color in a certain spot, or if my texture didn’t exactly match the image. But beyond that, Mr. Mistler really did teach me how to see. Before I began taking his classes in middle school, I saw red as red, I couldn’t feel textures by looking at them, I saw shapes as only shapes in our world. Mr. Mistler gave me the joy of seeing the vibrant greens and yellows of moss in the spring, and seeing the feathers of a bird and being able to imagine brushing my hand through them just by seeing them. He taught me the design of the world and how to truly appreciate the beauty of everything around me. And, on top of this, he showed me how to express these feelings on paper, scratchboard, canvas, cardboard, mosaics, and many more. I owe everything I am as an artist to Mr. Mistler.”

Art was not all he was about. Kimbell was also Student Council President, a member of the marching band, jazz band, pep band, and the Floyd County Youth Symphony, co-President of the Latin Club, co-founder of the Dance Marathon for Riley Children’s Hospital at New Albany High School, served on the Youth Philanthropy Council, was an intern for the coordinated campaign for Joe Donnelly, did peer tutoring, and volunteered for Kentucky Science Center.

He has been accepted to Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Vanderbilt, Carnegie Mellon, Notre Dame, and Purdue for the fall, and has financial aid from all of these institutions, and is one of 106 students in the country to get the Horatio Alger national scholarship, which is $25,000.



Sydonia Kinderman took classes with LVA for 9 years at Preston Art Center (New Albany), the Louisville Water Tower, the Holy Trinity / Clifton Center, and at DuPont Manual. As an Academy student, she took Drawing and Painting 1, Drawing 2, Painting 2, Studio Art, Print Making, and Developing Concepts 1.

“Dude It's 3AM” by Sydonia Kinderman, from the Academy class at DuPont Manual

Like any young artist, you can find a range of themes and techniques in Kinderman’s work, but the images we see here explore visual darkness as a way to capture darkness in human lives. “Dude, It’s 3AM” evokes a multitude of shared memories of the lonely places available to us in the wee hours. Kinderman comes by the image honestly, but it connects to a tradition of socially conscious art, imbued with sensitivity to human psychology.

“When the art teachers at my school lost patience with me, at a time when I was struggling with health issues, they made me feel very discouraged and I began question my interest in art. Ultimately, I chose to be removed from art classes at my school. I wasn’t sure I would ever find my passion and love of art again. The Louisville Visual Art classes helped to restore that passion inside of me and inspired me to keep learning. I feel like all the teachers that I had throughout my years with the LVA have gone above and beyond what most art teachers would but if I were to single one out, it would be Wilma Bethel, for all that she taught me, both about art and about being an artist.”

Kinderman is a very active athlete, participating in the Archery team at school (Most Improved Archer, Top Female Archer, 1st Place Female Archer at the Fairdale Pre-State Shoot Out tournament, and 2nd Place at the 2018 Farnsley Spring Shoot Out Tournament), a swim team during the summer, and Mixed Martial Arts through the year. She received the Distinguished Scholars Award from Bellarmine University and also received a National Society of High School Scholars award.

Since 9th grade Kinderman has volunteered as a coach for an organization called Girls On The Run, a program for young girls to learn how to build character while also learning to be healthy and active. She also volunteered at Studio Works by Zoom Group for 2 years.

Kinderman has been accepted to Flagler, Bellarmine, WKU, EKU, U of L, UK, Moorehead State, Ohio University, Greenville, University of Indianapolis, and Long Island University. I have received some scholarships and financial aid. My projected major is psychology and art as a double major. 

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“Cerynitis” by Sydonia Kinderman, from the Academy class at DuPont Manual.

“Coercion” by Sydonia Kinderman, from the Academy class at DuPont Manual.

“Savannah Scene” by Ian Kimbell, New Albany High School, from the Academy class at US

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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