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SPOTLIGHT
ON THE ARTS - April 2001 by Deanna Mascle The Kentucky
Experience For many, the Kentucky Derby personifies the ultimate Kentucky experience. However, this fleeting event that occurs only one day each year is not the only representation of the Commonwealth – there are other, more permanent reminders that the Kentucky experience is much more than one day. One such reminder is the annual Kentucky Visions art exhibit. “The arts play an important role in Kentucky,” says Judi Patton, Kentucky’s First Lady. “They enrich our lives, expand our horizons, and provide a common language with which to communicate. It is a pleasure to invite the people of the Commonwealth to join in this celebration of the visual arts.”
Mrs. Patton says the exhibit has become an important part of the special activities surrounding the Derby. This is because the event allows Kentuckians and their guests to discover the wide variety offered by the Commonwealth’s wide variety of visual artists. “As the people of the Commonwealth and guests visit the Governor’s Mansion during this time, it is an honor to offer them the opportunity to discover the rich diversity of visual artists found throughout Kentucky,” she says. “The artists exhibiting works in Kentucky Visions allow us to see the Commonwealth in a fresh way… through their eyes. They intrigue and inspire us, inviting us to use our imaginations. The scenes, images and ideas portrayed in these works weave a colorful, intricate tapestry of Kentucky.” The exhibit opens April 27 and will be available for viewing at the Kentucky Governor’s Mansion through May 8. The exhibit is displayed in the Mansion Ballroom and usually includes about 40 pieces due to the limited display space. The artist can choose to offer the selected piece for sale. Last year, eight of the 45 displayed pieces were sold during the event. One piece of art will be purchased from the exhibit to become part of the Kentucky Arts Council’s collection. This tradition began last year with the purchase of a piece by artist Kim Huber of Louisville. Started in 1997 as part of the Derby celebrations, the event was called “Landscapes and Still Lifes” during its first year, but has been called Kentucky Visions for each successive year. “The call for entries is open to any Kentucky artist, and we have an outside juror make the selections,” she says. “The Kentucky Arts Council coordinates the entries and the actual exhibit, working with the Governor’s Mansion, where the exhibit is held.” The Mansion itself, completed in 1914 and designed in the Beaux Arts style by C.C. and E.A. Weber of Fort Thomas, was modeled after the Petit Trianon, Queen Marie Antoinette's villa near the Palace of Versailles in France. Saturated with generations of furnishings and historic events, it serves as a unique aesthetic environment in which to savor the art on display. Kentucky’s First Lady is not the only one to believe that this unique exhibit offers a view into the Kentucky experience. “There is a certain spirit, a distinct air of being ‘Kentuckian’ that haunts the work of every artist in this exhibit. There are references to the overt culture and heritage of the state: horses, bluegrass, folk art forms, etc., but there is also an air of gentility and quiet depth which goes beyond the scope of words,” says Denise Burge, associate professor of art at the University of Cincinnati and a former Kentucky Visions juror. “Though there is a huge variety of stylistic and conceptual approaches represented, what the works have in common are an integrity of materiality and form, and a certain richness of imagery – some distinct, with split-second clarity, others containing a compacted mystery, dense and layered.” Juried selections had
not been made at press time. Last year, Liliane Francuz,
Visual Arts Program Manager for the Wyoming Arts Council,
served as juror for the show, which featured works by
such artists as David Bartlett, Robert Hill, Hoyt Spence,
Linda Cundiff, Carleton Wing and Robert Franzini. Deanna Mascle is a
staff writer for The Lane Report. |
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Copyright 1996-2001, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content is
copyright 2001, Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
This year
Gov. and Mrs. Paul E. Patton will host the fifth annual
Kentucky Visions art exhibit. The event, coordinated by
the Kentucky Arts Council, is an art exhibit held in
conjunction with the Kentucky Derby. The works selected
for this exhibit will be viewed by about 5,000 guests
during special Derby events held at the Governor’s
Mansion. Only the recent work of Kentucky visual artists
is included in the juried exhibit. All works must depict
or represent Kentucky in some way.