New Studio Forges Ahead
Award-winning artists open art studio, metal shop in downtown Lexington

The Atelier. According to Webster’s, an atelier is an artist’s studio or workshop. That is precisely what downtown Lexington’s newest business is – an artists’ workshop. However, The Atelier, located on Saunier Avenue behind the Lexington Opera House, is much more than that.

Lexington artists Michael Maxson and Stacey R. Chinn have created a combined artist’s studio, metal shop and gallery, which makes the enterprise unique for the community. The work they offer through The Atelier will be just as unique. While Maxson and Chinn create contemporary sculpture of metal, wood and fiber, they also make custom metalwork including furniture, gates and trellises.

This makes the location of The Atelier just as appropriate as its name because Saunier Avenue has a long tradition of serving as a home for metalworking. This tradition extends back to the 1800s, according to Chinn.

Although The Atelier officially opened April 20, both artists have a wealth of experience to bring to the venture. It seems that Maxson was born to build beautiful creations and Chinn to design them.

A Lexington native, Maxson has a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a master of fine arts. His work has appeared at a number of national, juried outdoor sculpture exhibitions and is on permanent display at several institutions and art museums. He has taught sculpture at the University of Kentucky, Transylvania University, and Georgetown College and previously owned Red Iron Studio.

“I work mostly in metal, combining my educational background in architecture with abstract sculptural forms. My works vary in size, from small, freestanding pieces to large-scale outdoor works,” he says.

Also a native of Lexington, Chinn has bachelor of fine arts and master of fine arts degrees. She has exhibited her award-winning work in venues around the country including Chicago, St. Louis and Dallas. She has lectured in Illinois and taught at Eastern Kentucky University. She previously maintained a modest studio in her apartment.

“I work primarily in metal, such as steel, bronze, iron and aluminum; and in fibers like hemp, leather, wool, sisal and cotton,” she said. “My creative energies focus on the combination of materials and the countless possibilities that those efforts afford. My sculptures vary in scale, from small wall pieces to large indoor and outdoor works.”

And both artists are drawn to demonstrating their artistic ability with both grand scale and tiny detail depending on the work and form. “We choose to make sculpture for many different reasons; namely the challenges inherent in, not only the processes of making them and the materials, but the mental scrutiny it demands, as well as the theoretical aspects of three-dimensional space, form, line, color, balance, weight, etcetera,” Chinn says.

For both artists, their work created a demand for change. “The Atelier was started out of hunger,” Chinn says. “Not because we were starving for food, but because two artists craved the best of both worlds – a place to make sculpture and metalwork and a place of our own to exhibit it.”

However, the artists hope The Atelier offers something to the community as well. “We wanted to bring something new to the area – a metal studio and gallery space in one, where visitors and clients can not only see the final products, but the place where it all happens and how the things get made,” she says.

“We also wanted to offer Lexington an alternative,” Chinn says “Because we work in both contemporary sculpture and custom metalwork, we bring new insight into the design, materials, and methods not common to the local metalworking industry. Our works respect tradition, but find inspiration in modernism.

“We want people to know that there is an alternative and they can have something unique and creative while still meeting a particular function or need,” she says.

“We also hope to raise local awareness about art and the industry as a whole,” she says. “We’re hoping our efforts will somehow increase interest in the fine arts and custom-made objects, and prove how important it is culturally, not only to Lexington, but to life, to history, to civilization. We believe strongly in the value of creativity and the importance for artistic expression, and we hope others will, too.”

Whether their impact is specific to their art or touching the larger art community, Maxson and Chinn hope their creative legacy will be as enduring as the material they use to craft it.
 

Deanna Mascle is a staff writer for The Lane Report.
editorial@lanereport.com

Back to Spotlight on the Arts Index

Back to June Issue

 

Copyright 1996-2001, by Kentucky Business Online.  All rights reserved.

Editorial content is copyright 2001, Lane Communications Group
All editorial material is fully protected and must not be reproduced in any manner without prior permission.

The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.