Celebrating African American history and culture through the arts, Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Gallery presents the 19th Annual African American Art Exhibition on display from January 7 – February 17, 2013. Featuring an exuberant array of works by 22 artists from around the nation and attracting more than 20,000 theatre and arts patrons, the exhibition has become a popular highlight of the region’s visual arts season. There will be a reception honoring the artists on February 1, 2013. The exhibition will run concurrent with the theatrical production of The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez, directed by Actors Theatre’s Associate Artistic Director, Meredith McDonough, in the Pamela Brown Auditorium.
On February 1, 2013, awards will be presented at the opening reception honoring artists in conjunction with Republic Bank First Friday Trolley Hop. The awards include a Brown-Forman Corporation purchase award as well as merit prizes.
Artists showing this year are: Rhonda Bristol, William Buchanan, Aukram Burton, Ricky Calloway, Eugene W. R. Campbell Jr., Rex R. Deloney, Bud Dorsey, T.B. Jackson-Williams, LaVerne Kemp, Anthony Lanier, Lionel Lofton, Christina Long, Viktor Le, Ken Obasi Leslie, Ramona Lindsey, Asia Matos, Solomon Okpurukhre, Craig Screven, Erin Smith-Glenn, Delorez M. Walls, Samuel O. Williams and Kevin D. Willis.
The juror for this year’s exhibition is Kevin Cole. Mr. Colereceived his B.S. from University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, an M.A. in Art Education from University of Illinois at Urbana and an M.F.A. from Northern Illinois University. In the last twenty five years Cole has received 74 awards for his art work and his teaching, including 21 grants, 14 fellowships, 59 awards in art and 41 teaching awards. His artwork has been featured in over 450 exhibitions throughout the United States within the last 25 years. His current exhibition Kevin Cole: Straight from the Soul, a 25 Year traveling survey show is currently in Cincinnati at the Weston Gallery. Mr. Cole’s artwork is included in over 1,500 public, private and corporate collections through the United States including: the Smithsonian Museum, Washington, D.C.; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven; The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans and The Georgia Museum of Contemporary Art, Atlanta.
Opening Reception and Awards Presentation
Friday, February 1 at 5:30 p.m. – FREE
(In conjunction with Republic Bank First Friday Trolley Hop)
Come and meet the artists and enjoy complimentary appetizers.
Listing Information
Actors Theatre Gallery
Jan. 7 – Feb. 17, 2013
316 W. Main Street, Louisville KY
African American Art Exhibition
Trolley Hop & Public Reception — February 1, 2013
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: 1 p.m. – 10 p.m.
ActorsTheatre.org
Performances:
The Whipping Man previews January 8 and 9, opens January 10 and runs through February 2. Tickets are on sale now priced from $30 and can be purchased by calling the Actors Theatre Box Office at 502-584-1205 or online at ActorsTheatre.org.
ARTIST BIOS
Rhonda Bristol earned her B.F.A. from Boston University School of the Arts and her M.A. from Montclair State University. Bristol is most comfortable when surrounded by others and has travelled extensively for her work. Disciplined, hard-working and proud, Bristol sees herself as an artistic ‘pixie’ documenting life through her world-wise lenses using paint and clay.
William Buchanan received his B.A. in fine arts from LeMoyne Owen College in Memphis, Tenn. Buchanan also attended Jackson State University and studied painting, drawing and design at the Peninsula School of Arts, an extension of the University of Wisconsin. Buchanan’s work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the nation including Atlanta Life Insurance Co., City Gallery East and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, in Atlanta, Ga., the National Black Fine Art Show in New York, N.Y., and the M. Hanks Gallery in Santa Monica, Calif.
Aukram Burton is an educator, media artist and media producer. Burton received his B.A. in art from the New England School of Photography, and a M.Ed. in instructional design from the University of Massachusetts. Other educational credits include a research fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Visual Studies. Burton is the 1991 American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Crystal Award recipient. He is also the recipient of the 1998 Regional Artists Project Grant from the Arts and Science Council in Charlotte, N.C. African American Art Exhibition awards include theBrown Forman Purchase Awardin 2005 and the Reverend George and Brunhilda CurringtonMerit Awardin 2011.
Ricky Calloway was reared in Opelika; Ala. Calloway specializes in drawing, painting and serigraphy. Calloway received his B.A. in graphic art from Alabama State University and his M.F.A. in drawing and painting from Florida State University. Calloway is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Fort Valley State University.
Eugene W. R. Campbell, Jr.’s natural talent for art was first acknowledged by his elementary school teachers. Campbell continued to draw occasionally throughout elementary and high School for fun, but it was not until his sophomore year in college that he realized his passion for art and decided to nurture his creative talent. Campbell aggressively pursued an art degree at Albany State University and graduated with the distinguish honor of Cum Laude.
Rex Deloney’s colorful, vibrant artwork conveys the messages of hope, faith and the everyday joys and struggles of life. Deloney’s work is reflective of his life, past and present, a life that has been enriched with the love and desire to create art that tells a story and evokes memories for anyone that views his work. Deloney’s artworks are created from spiritual themes and meaningful, thought-provoking expressions of humanity as it relates to the African American experience. Today, Rex Deloney is an art instructor and Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., guiding a new generation of creative minds as they seek to tell their own stories through imagery.
Bud Dorsey has more than 30 years of experience and is a sought after photojournalist who has developed his own techniques through various experiments photographing high action sports, nature and photojournalism. Dorsey’s work reflects personality, sensitivity and professionalism. Dorsey’s inspiration comes from other African American Louisville photographers, on whose shoulders he stands. Dorsey’s unique style and technique is timeless, elegant and conveys the personality of his subjects whether still, moving or multi-dimensional, with perfect technical execution. The works of Bud Dorsey have been published in various media outlets.
T. B. Jackson-Williams studied at Parson’s School of Design. Jackson-Williams has worked in various mediums for more than 27 years. Her work includes graphic art, illustrations and fine art. Jackson-Williams now resides in Louisville with her daughter.
LaVerne Kemp is a weaver, fiber artist and teacher from Pittsburgh, Pa. Kemp received her B.F.A. in art from the Childhood Development California University of Pennsylvania and is a University of Pittsburgh M.Ed. Candidate. Her award-winning work has been featured nationally through exhibitions, fairs, selected invitationals and one woman shows. Her artwork has also been highlighted in numerous publications, including theUPMC Health Journal, Pittsburgh City PaperandColumbus Dispatch,Columbus, Ohio.Kemp considers her art her passion.
Anthony Lanier received his B.F.A. from Western Kentucky University in 1980. Lanier’s career includes fifteen years in journalism at newspapers in Louisville and outside Boston, Mass. Since 2000, Lanier works in his studio producing art unique to his vision.
Lionel Lofton is a native of Houston, Texas and has been interested in Art since childhood. Lofton formally studied at Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M and University of Houston, Clear Lake. The imager of Lionel Lofton often illustrates the concepts of inner strength, spirituality, beauty, family and children. Lofton paints and draws his everyday life’s abstract techniques to create the various images. Lofton works with acrylics, watercolor, collage, mixed media and printmaking and his work can be found in many public and private collections. Solo and Group Exhibitions have included the University of Arkansas, 22nd Carroll Harris Simms Art competition and exhibition, African American Museum, Dallas, Texas. His artwork can be found at the National Black Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA, The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas and the SAN Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas.
Christina Long is an M.F.A. 2012 graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Long continues to commute between Detroit and Chicago, the cities of her childhood, in order to connect with family and develop her art practice. She has been featured in events such as Red Bull Curates Chicago ’12 and the Lollapalooza Perry Stage Muralists ’12.
Viktor Le is a contemporary artist on the rise. A recent Fisk University graduate, Le is currently developing a multimedia Art conduit. Le has a passionate interest in unpacking and decentralizing the perspective of Colored male identity(ies) and invites audiences to share in his interrogation through performance, collage, video and installation art practices. As a candidate for Graduate study at the Maryland Institute College of Arts M.F.A. program for Community Art and Education Studies, Le has his sights set on developing the Help Wanted Art Institute for Social media and design, an epicenter for men of color to become more actively engaged in positive methods of artistic expression. Le hopes that his vision matches his concern for his fellow brother men of color.
Kenneth Obasi Leslie, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, is known for his vivid collage works using a combination of images from magazines, wood, found objects and paint to visual imageries full of color and rhythm. Leslie has incorporated his love of music in his work. Leslie is a musician who has attended the University of Cincinnati and Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark. and majored in music and fine arts.
Ramona Lindsey’s art was introduced in Chicago, Ill. in 2011. Lindsey has exhibited at various galleries and festivals throughout Illinois. In 2012, Lindsey’s mixed media textile art earned 1st Place Best in Show – South Fourth Street Association in the prestigiousSt. James Court Art Show. She currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky.
Asia Matos is an emerging artist from Atlanta, Ga., who specializes in beautifully rendered figures with textured and abstracted environments. She received her B.F.A. in fine art from Kennesaw State University and continues to exhibit her work in galleries. Matos comes from a mixed identity — African American and Peruvian.
Solomon Okpurukhreis the founder of the SARTO Art Agency in Waidhofen/Ybbs, Austria. A native of Lago, Nigeria, Okpurukhre has inspired many international and regional artists to create numerous works by inviting them to participate in one of many theme-related art exhibitions. Iran, Bulgaria, Austria, Czech Republic, USA, Republic of Congo, India, China, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Slovakia and Italy are just some of the countries of origin of artists who have exhibited at the SARTO Gallery. Over the years, Okpurukhre has brought in a lot of color, vitality and creativity in the areas of “art for the economy” and “Modern Christian Art.”
Craig Screven is a graduate of The Ohio State University. Screven is the owner and curator of Silent Presence Gallery. He has exhibited his artwork in Ohio, Kentucky, Nevada, New York and online.
Erin Smith-Glenn is an art instructor and alumnus of Central State University. She holds an M.F.A. from the University of Cincinnati with 2D studio art as her concentration from both institutions. Since her brief yet intense study in Italy (2008), she has exhibited works in Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively.
Delorez M. Walls grew up in Los Angeles, California. Walls has traveled extensively on four continents; Africa, The Americas, Australia and Asia, observing the arts and cultures of the world. Walls was one of the first solo exhibitors at Actors Theatre of Louisville and exhibited in the first three years of the African American Art Exhibition. Her work has also been seen in the Speed Museum’s annual art auction fundraiser. In 2011, she was commissioned to do the cover art for author David Adedjouma’sThe Dirty Side of Midnight.
Samuel O. Williams is a native of Tuskegee Institute, Ala., Dancer, choreographer, painter, sculptor, actors and poet, Williams has been called a “Man of the (Harlem) Renaissance” by some of his peers. He was educated in both the public and private colleges and universities of Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, New York and Wisconsin.
Kevin Willis studied black and white and colored film processes at North Carolina A&T State University. From 1978 to 2000 Willis focused on black and white and color photography. In 2000, Willis changed his emphasis to digital photography and has been working digitally since then. Willis’ work represents specific architectural structures, cityscapes and landscapes. Willis’ work has been shown nationally.
