The process of creating art is just one half of the journey an artist takes. The second half, and the half that is the scariest and most challenging, is communicating that art to others. It is roughly akin to walking naked through Times Square at noon but also extremely rewarding. I love/hate the exhibit process and find myself participating in both solo and group exhibits on a regular basis. As a friend of mine said to me once, when I was being recalcitrant about participating in an exhibit, “Art kept in a closet does no one any good”.
UPCOMING EXHIBITS
May-June 2025. “Ties That Bind”. A group exhibit of the Lexington Fiber Guild. Downtown Arts Center; Lexington, Kentucky
Oct-Nov 2025. “Rematerialize”. An invitational exhibit in Morlan Art Gallery at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky
SELECTED PAST SOLO EXHIBITS
PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
NEW EDITIONS GALLERY
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
MAY-JULY 2024
In 1874, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the composer Modest Mussorgsky composed a suite for piano based upon his reaction to a retrospective exhibit of paintings and drawings done by his late friend, Viktor Hartmann who had died unexpectedly just months before. This suite, “Pictures at an Exhibition” ,is comprised of ten movements, each of which is based upon a painting or drawing seen in the exhibit. These ten movements are connected with five promenades, movements meant to depict Mussorgsky walking into and through the exhibit. The suite has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists and has been widely performed both as a piano solo and as adapted for orchestras. Maurice Revel’s 1922 adaptation for orchestra is perhaps the best known. This suite is considered by many to be Mussorgsky’s greatest work. The final movement, “The Great Gate of Kiev”, is widely considered to be his greatest single composition. In creating the work for this exhibit, I basically did what Mussorgsky did but in reverse. Mussorgsky composed music inspired by his reaction to pieces of visual art. I created visual art inspired by Mussorgsky’s piano suite.
NOT BEIGE
NEW EDITIONS GALLERY
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
MAY-JULY 2022
ASIAN FUSION
LEXINGTON ART LEAGUE
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
JAN-MAR. 2022
The eastern world, sometimes referred to as the Far East, is a geographical region that includes the Russian Far East and Eastern and Southeastern Asia. Significantly, the term evokes cultural as well as geographical separation. Not only is the eastern world geographically distant but its culture is, in many ways, exotically different from that of the western world. The richness and sensuality of this culture form the basis for the work in this exhibit. This exhibit contains pieces depicting cultural icons, symbols, colors and myths from Japan, Korea, China, India and Vietnam. In researching and preparing the work for this exhibit, I have become convinced that all people, east or west, north or south, face the same challenges and crave the same things—love, peace, beauty, prosperity, health, and spiritual satisfaction. These themes were repeated throughout the materials I researched for this exhibit and found their way into the work created for this exhibit.
The challenge in creating this work has been to integrate the icons and richness of the culture depicted with the more western abstract aesthetic. Abstractions of jumping koi, cranes, kimonos, lanterns, lotus as well as ancient themes and myths are all included in this work—each piece completed in fiber collage with a contemporary treatment.
This exhibit is a “fusion” in two ways. First, the work derives from influences from various Asian countries and these influences have been fused into one exhibit of work. Second, the work involves a fusion of ancient icons and cultural themes with contemporary art principles.
Throughout the process of preparing this work, I have endeavored to produce work that is, in whole, a homage to the cultures depicted. I have attempted to be sensitive to the nuances of these cultures and to avoid disparaging or disrespectful representations. If I have failed, that failure was unintentional.
GO BIG OR GO HOME
GATEWAY REGIONAL ART CENTER
MT. STERLING, KENTUCKY
AUGUST 2016
”Go Big or Go Home” continued my exploration of my favorite themes of color and texture in my preferred large formats. The title of the exhibit was a quote from a dear friend of mine who always extorted us to “go big or go home”.
HOLY LUTES
CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
FEBRUARY 2013
CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIV.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
OCTOBER 2O11
“Holy Lutes” was a body of over 60 paintings and mixed media pieces that I exhibited first at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee and subsequently at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington, Kentucky. The works were inspired by my reading of sacred poetry across time and religious tradition. I found myself absorbed in ancient poems and 20th century works. Each of the poems I selected inspired me to create a painting. The paintings were abstractions painted intuitively and based upon my reactions to the meaning of the poem.