Chez Moi: Courtesy of chez moi art gallery This photograph by Michael Skrentny is just one in the show “Flight of Angles,†on exhibit at Chez Moi Art Gallery.
Art can be quite moving, and as close to religion as some people get. The abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko once said, “The people who weep before my pictures are having the same religious experience I had when I painted them.”
Two small shows that will remove you from the holiday rush are “Seeking the Light” and “Spirituality: An Exhibition.” The former will be up from Dec. 2-Jan. 30 at Shepherding Images, the studio and gallery of artist Glynis McManamon, a.k.a. Sister Glynis Mary, who specializes in multicultural and female-related art. Shepherding Images, along with other galleries and shops, will be open during the evening of Saturday, Dec. 2 for Bardstown Aglow. The Patio Gallery at the Jewish Community Center will show “Spirituality: An Exhibition” till Jan. 2.
But I am a realist: I know your shopping list is beginning to burn in your brain and you might not be able to take the time to see art. Then how about buying art? Venues that market creative gifts are in overdrive during this time of year.
Some locations have found great success with their holiday sales and events, so they return annually. The biggest is “Holidazzle” at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, which will be up until Dec. 30. It will indeed dazzle your holiday with work from more than 75 craftspeople. KMAC spotlights its exhibit with its “Martinis & Mistletoe” holiday cocktail party, on Thursday, Dec. 7, from 5-8 p.m. (free for museum members, $10 for non-members).
Creation of Light: Courtesy of shepherding images “The Creation of Light,†by Glynis Mary McManamon, is part of next month’s exhibit at Shepherding Images.
Ed Branson: Courtesy of kentucky museum of art and craft Vases by Ed Branson are part of “Holidazzle†at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft.
Other annual events include the Christmas open house at B. Deemer Gallery on Saturday, Dec. 2, during the Olde Tyme Christmas festivities on Frankfort Avenue (other galleries and shops along the route will also have open houses); the Clifton Center’s 31st Annual Potter’s Show & Sale on Saturday, Nov. 25, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (including work by area artists that has been featured in numerous group and solo art exhibitions and exhibited at national galleries); and the 16th Annual Holiday Open House at E&S Gallery on Saturday Nov. 18 from 2-4 p.m.
The ornament show at Swanson Reed Gallery during the entire month of December is especially huge. This year the gallery, which is well known for the unique, hand-blown glass ornaments it carries, will have more than 500 ornaments by more than 30 national artists.
After seeing the success more established galleries have had with holiday sales, Louisville’s new galleries are trying their hands at it. Chez Moi Art Gallery presents a Holiday Auction on Dec. 15; the gallery also has the exhibition “Flight of Angels” on view from Nov. 17-Dec. 14. Gallery Janjobe in the Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center has started a gift registry where shoppers make up a wish list, then add a few well-chosen names who they hope will buy the selected items. They also will show wearable art and textiles by Laverne Zabielski during the Nov. 24 F.A.T. Friday Trolley Hop.
KMAC Holiday: Courtesy of kentucky museum of art and craft Revelers at last year’s “Martinis & Mistletoe†cocktail part at The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. This year’s party is scheduled for Dec. 7.
The Speed presents “It’s Snow Surprise” by the Madcap Puppet Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 26 at 1 and 3 p.m. (members: $7 for adults, $6 for children, non-members: $8 for adults, $7 for children). In this tale, the Ice Goblin has kidnapped the Snow Makers, depriving everyone of holiday snow. What are the children to do without snowmen and sled rides? Maybe we should ask kids in Florida.
“Fire and Ice — Contemporary Nordic Jewelry,” is on display from Nov. 17-Jan. 10 at Objects of Desire. It’s owner Julia Comer’s way of “avoiding the commercial clichés” and focusing on “the land from which much of the narrative about Christmas comes from.”
So you can see, art can be a holiday forethought — and not an afterthought.
Contact the writer at [email protected]
Visual Art: Go to guide
For galleries, museums and events referenced in the article
Holidazzle: Courtesy of kentucky museum of art and craft This untitled vessel by is Janet & Jay O’Rourke is part of the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft’s 2006 “Holidazzle.â€
B. Deemer Gallery — 2650 Frankfort Ave.; www.bdeemer.com, 896-6687
Chez Moi Art Gallery — 974 Barret Ave.; www.geocities.com/chezmoiartgallery, 561-6206
E&S Gallery — 108 S. 10th St.; www.eandsgallery.com, 568-2005
Gallery Janjobe — 1860 Mellwood Ave.; 899-9293
Glassworks — 815 W. Market St.; www.louisvilleglassworks.com,
992-3056
Objects of Desire Gallery — 1503 Bardstown Road; www.objectsofdesiregallery.com, 458-4164
Patio Gallery at the Jewish Community Center — 3600 Dutchmans Lane; www.jccoflouisville.org,
459-0660
Shepherding Images — 1910 Bardstown Road; www.shepherdingimages.com, 645-6909
Swanson Reed Gallery — 1377 Bardstown Road; 452-2904
(For more information about Louisville galleries, visit www.looklouisvilleart.com, the Web page of LOOK, a consortium of fine art galleries in Louisville, Bardstown and Southern Indiana.)
Museums
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft — 715 W. Main St.; www.kentuckyarts.org, 589-0102
Speed Art Museum — 2035 S. Third St.; www.speedmuseum.org, 634-2960
Other locations
Clifton Center — 2117 Payne St.; www.cliftoncenter.org, 896-8480
Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center — 1860 Mellwood Ave.; www.mellwoodartcenter.com,
895-3650
Events
Bardstown Aglow — www.bardstownroadaglow.com, 585-5727
F.A.T. Friday Trolley Hop — www.fatfridayhop.org, 296-0091
First Friday Gallery Hop — www.galleryhop.org
Olde Tyme Christmas — www.frankfortave.com; 896-4706 (Margaret’s Consignment & Collectibles)
