Montgomery, ALA – The Alabama State Council on the Arts is showcasing the work of seven (7) Kentuck artists in the Georgine Clarke Alabama Artists Gallery. The exhibition highlights the work of resident studio artists at the Kentuck Art Center and Museum in Northport, Alabama. The displayed art ranges from raku-fired ceramics to abstract paintings and large scale metal sculptures.
The gallery is located in the RSA Tower, 201 Monroe Street, first floor, Suite 110. A closing reception is scheduled for Sunday, October 14, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. with artist talks happening between 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public. The gallery is open M-F from 8 a.m. - 5p.m.
The Kentuck Studio Artist Program allows visitors on any given day to watch a ceramic bowl emerge from a lump of clay, or see a weathervane grow from hammered metal in our blacksmith’s forge. Kentuck Art Center rents studio space to local full-time artists for below market value to help them make a living doing what they love. Kentuck’s Studio Artist Program fulfills two important facets of of Kentuck’s mission statement: perpetuate the arts and empower the artist. In turn, the artists help Kentuck fulfill its third part of their mission statement: to engage the community. Kentuck currently has seven studio artists in residence.
These seven artists are featured in this exhibition.
• Steve Davis
• Sydney Gruber
• Kerry Kennedy
• Lorrie Lane
• Daniel Livingston
• Scott McQueen
• Terrell Taylor
Steve Davis is a self-taught metalsmith who brings to life ferrous and non-ferrous metals using a variety of contemporary and traditional techniques. After receiving a B.S. degree from Ohio State University, he worked as a potter, carpenter, and welder. His work includes gates, signs, and kinetic garden sculptures on display in many locations in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Visit: sunheartmetalsworks.com
Sydney Gruber is an artist who specializes in collaborating with her clients’ décor and interior atmospheres to create sublime works of new life through restoration and rejuvenation. Sydney crafts a signature style as her artwork embodies the recognition of the underlying beauty of layers as she sees the potential within vibrant hues that encourage joy within the home environment. Visit: sydneygruber.com
Kerry Kennedy’s first love is pottery and sculptural ceramics. She has thrown pottery for over ten years and primarily makes functional pieces. As a student, she was deeply interested in sculptural works that fused thrown forms with organic aesthetics. These ideas are always influencing the most everyday shapes of mugs and bowls. Visit: https://www.facebook.com/Fire-Horse-Pottery-145644042153203
Lorrie Lane is an improvisational realist painter. Subjects include flowers, birds’ nests, garden landscapes, and portraits. Lorrie is represented by many galleries in the Southeast. She has participated in shows such as Artsclamation! in Knoxville and during the Huntsville Art Museum Galas. She has had solo exhibits in Northport, Birmingham, Nashville, and upstate New York. Visit: lorrielaneart.com
Daniel Livingston is a resident artist at the Kentuck Art Center. His creations range from stained glass to painting, but ceramics is where he channels most of his energy with his main focus on Japanese raku. Livingston’s love for the Japanese style of pottery known as raku is a challenge, and yet offers many rewards. Raku has inherent problems with its process including breakage. One can work on a piece for days and literally five minutes before it is completed it can blow up for whatever reason. Unlike traditional forms that go through a long process of shaping, drying, glazing and kilning, raku pottery uses the shock of going from the fire to immediately cooling, and uses glazing that gives it a unique shine and coloration. Visit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/biz/Raku-by-Daniel-Livingston-1702005250033766/
Scott McQueen is an accomplished artist who was first exposed to folk art at a young age, watching both Jimmy Lee Sudduth and Brother Ben Perkins create works of art in his hometown of Fayette, Alabama. McQueen is a full-time resident Kentuck artist. He breathes new life into old barnwood, rusty tin, car tags, barbed wire and the like. He believes his creation process is a mirror reflecting his life, which is shaped and formed through his faith in God. Some of Scott’s earliest work was inspired by Brother Ben, as well as by Edwin H. McQueen, Scott’s father and accomplished landscape artist. Visit: http://www.kentuck.org/scott-mcqueen/
Terrell Taylor has a background in anthropology and archaeology, and a passion for art education. Terrell’s work is just as eclectic as her interests. Using a variety of media from paint to bronze to textiles, and a variety of techniques including collage, assemblage, painting, and printmaking, Terrell explores conceptual and cultural issues in her work. When she’s not creating art, she passes along her passion to students at Meridian Community College in Meridian, MS. Visit: terrellarts.com
For Additional information, please contact: Elliot A. Knight, Ph.D., Visual Arts Program Manager and Director of the Georgine Clarke Alabama Artists Gallery. (334) 242-4076 Ext. 227 or by email: elliot.knight@arts.alabama.gov.