The Glass
Vessel: An International Invitational
April 4 -
July 19, 2003
We
have invited a broad array of glass artists, both established and
emerging, to interpret the vessel for this international
invitational exhibition. The definition of the word vessel
has been left to its loosest interpretation to encourage the artists
to be as creative as they wish. Over 50 artists from Australia,
Japan, Sweden, Netherlands, Italy, Czech
Republic, Great Britain,
Venezuela, Latvia, and the U.S. have agreed to contribute a group of
works. Participants include studio glass artists as well as
commercial glass producers. The exhibition coincides with a major
citywide initiative, Celebration of Glass 2003. This
includes an exhibition of work by Dale Chihuly at the Glassworks
gallery, a comprehensive international stained glass show sponsored
by The Louisville Visual Art Association, and an exhibition at the
Speed
Art Museum entitled
The Light Within: Glass Sculpture from Louisville
Collections.
Rick
Beck: Sculpture
April 4 -
July 19, 2003
KACF
is proud to present a body of work by master glass artist Rick
Beck. Beck is known for his large-scale cast glass sculpture
depicting industrial, everyday objects such as screws, bolts and
clamps, objects that usually are viewed as inconsequential parts of
larger items. Beck enlarges the shapes and forms of these mundane
objects and creates fascinating and unique images of them in cast
glass. By using a fragile material, glass, to depict items usually
regarded as sturdy and nearly indestructible, Beck creates an
interesting balance and contradiction in his work.
A
Tribute to Rudy Osolnik
August 9 -
October 25, 2003
Opening
reception: Friday, August 8, 2003, 5 – 7:30 p.m.
Wood
turner Rude Osolnik was a leading figure in the contemporary craft
field. Considered to be one of the
fathers of contemporary wood turning in
America, Osolnik is something of a folk hero.
Although an
accomplished woodworker, Osolnik’s greatest impact was in
woodturning. A composer on the lathe, he first wedded classical
form and proportion to modern simplicity. In so doing, he updated a
long-practiced craft. Osolnik was widely admired as one of the
finest wood turners and educators in America. His workshops and
seminars were in demand around the world. This exhibition will
feature a selection of Osolnik’s work from private collections,
complemented by new work from more than fifty artists who were
Rude’s contemporaries or who established their careers during his
lifetime.
Participating artists include Michael
Bauermeister, Brian Boggs, Michael Brolly, Christian Burchard,
Virginia Dotson,, Joel Evans, Jack Fifield, Peter
Handler, Ted Harlan, Giles Gilson, Robyn Horn, Michael Hosaluk, Todd
Hoyer, Ray Key, Max Krimmel, Ed Moulthrop, Philip Moulthrop, George
Neel, Craig Nutt, Paul Sasso, Jon Sauer, Merryll Saylan, Mark
Sfirri, and Lynn Sweet.
Mastermakers:
Byron Temple
August 1 -
October 25, 2003
Opening
reception: Friday, August 8, 2003, 5 – 7:30 p.m.
KACF
is proud to present this retrospective of work by renowned ceramist
Byron Temple. Temple, an Indiana native, studied at the Brooklyn
Museum
Art
School and the Art
Institute of Chicago, and then from about 1958 to 1961, worked in
England as an apprentice to Bernard Leach, a legendary potter and
philosopher. Then from 1962 to 1989, Temple produced a range of
tableware at a production pottery studio that he operated in
Lambertville, New Jersey. After retiring from this
production-focused work, he moved to Louisville to pursue his
interest in making more creative vessels, which earned him a
reputation as one of the leading potters in the world. Temple’s
work, mostly small vessels, jars and boxes, has been described as
straight-forward, restrained, inviting, and stripped of details
extraneous to function. Temple’s influences include the Bauhaus
movement and Japanese pottery, and he once said, “I wish for purity
and precision in objects that extol the virtue of harmony and
proportion.”
Holidazzle 2003
November 7 –December
27, 2003
Opening
reception:
Thursday,
November 6, 2003, 5 – 7:30 p.m.
Holidazzle,
KMA+D’s annual celebration of the holiday season, will once again
wow viewers with an enticing selection of fine craft from a group of
leading American artists.
Upstairs
Gallery
2004
Self-Portraits
Friday,
January 9 – Saturday, March 27, 2004
Opening
Reception: Thursday, January 8
The
self-portrait is one of the most time-honored subjects of artistic
expression. The self-portrait is seen in all cultures, across all
recorded time, from the earliest expressions of artistic endeavor in
the caves of Lasceaux,
France to the petroglyphs of
the American Southwest. Portraits by artists such as Rembrandt, Van
Gogh, and Andy Warhol have become icons in artistic vocabulary. We
will invite artists in all media, including painting, print-making,
drawing, sculpture, photography, film and video to share their
perceptions of themselves with the world.
Master
Maker: Clifton Nicholson
Friday, April
2 – Saturday, June 19, 2004
Opening
reception: Thursday, April 1
After living
and working in New York for 28 years, artist and silversmith Clifton
Nicholson Jr. moved into “Roughwood”, the southern Indiana home that
he had designed for his parents, and turned it into his workshop and
gallery. Since 1990 he has been creating and marketing his jewelry
and sculpture across the country, including such stores as Nieman-Marcus
and Bendels. He is passionate about his work and inspired by the
beauty of nature – both its flora and fauna – and these he
reproduces in minute detail in silver, gold, bronze and precious and
semi-precious stones. This exhibition will be a retrospective look
at the career of one of the region’s most significant artists,
featuring work from his studio and the private collections of some
of his most enthusiastic and supportive collectors.
For the
Table: A Collaborative of Craft and Cuisine
Friday, July 2
– Saturday, September 18, 2004
Opening
reception: Thursday, July 1
Food and
functional crafts blend together to make the dining experience
something special. We are inviting top craft artists from the
region to create the whole range of functional objects needed to
enjoy food preparation, presentation and eating. This will include
cooking and serving dishes, stemware, silverware and serving
implements in a wide variety of materials from wood to silver to
ceramics to glass. In addition, we are planning a range of
supporting activities during the course of the exhibition that will
involve the top cooks and chefs in Louisville.
Asian-American Ceramics
Friday,
October 1 – Saturday, January 1, 2005
Opening
Reception: Thursday, September 30
Some of the
finest ceramics in the world come from the rich traditions of China
and Japan. Many of the styles of working, glazing and decorating
techniques of these traditions are the common vocabulary of modern
day ceramic artists. Contemporary American ceramic artists are
renown for the expressive inventiveness of their work. This
exhibition seeks to showcase the work of artists whose work we feel
represents blending of cultures with the end result of work that is
the best of both worlds. Starting with Kentucky’s own Fong Choo, we
have invited some two-dozen artists whose work is innovative,
challenging and well respected with their peers in the ceramics
world. We are planning a wide range of support activities that look
at many aspects of Asian-American culture in collaboration with the
University of Louisville Department of Arts and Crane House.
********
Steve
Wilson
Gallery
The
Body Adorned
Friday,
January 9 – Saturday, February 21, 2004
Opening
Reception: Thursday, January 8
Craft artists
are masters at adapting a wide range of materials for use as
clothing and jewelry in ways that express the personality of the
user and reflect the vision of the artist. From silver and gold
jewelry to hand painted silk jackets and ties, purses, shoes and
hats, this show is a perfect marriage of form and function.
An
Exploration of Polymer Clay
Friday, March
5 – Saturday, April 24, 2004
Opening
Reception: Friday, March 5
Polymer clay
has become one of the most exciting mediums in use by contemporary
craft artists. Simple in theory – a polymer based plastic that
hardens in a regular oven – its use and application is far from
simple in the hands of a creative artist. We are inviting artists
from around the world to give us work that challenges the perception
of polymer clay as a working medium and expands the vocabulary of
the art form beyond the decorative.
Bottled
Spirits
Friday, May 14
– June 19, 2004
Opening
reception: Friday, May 14
Kentucky is famous, among other
things, for its bourbon distillers and its craft artists. In 1997,
we combined the two into an exhibition called Bourbon Bottles.
Almost every year since then we have repeated the popular show, and
we changed its name to Bottled Spirits. This year we will
invite artists from across the U.S. and possibly beyond to
participate alongside our Kentucky craftspeople. Along the lines of
a "teapot" show, we are inviting artists to create bottles or
vessels in which to store and from which to dispense spirits, wine
or other liquid refreshment. Works can be purely decorative, or
they may be functional. Works included will reflect each artist’s
unique creative personality and style and approach to this subject
Tea For Two
Friday,
September 3 – Saturday, October 23, 2004
Opening
Reception: Friday, September 3
Tea for Two
conjures up a vision of relaxed, intimate conversation and cucumber
sandwiches and steaming fragrant Assam tea. Using the examples of
fine English porcelain and stoneware tea sets by designers such as
Susie Cooper, we will challenge artists to come up with their own
tea or coffee sets for two. We plan a range of activities involving
tea ceremonies and presentation from cultures around the world.
Holidazzle:
Expressions of the Season
Friday,
November 5 – Friday, December 24, 2004
Opening
Reception: Friday, November 5
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