Artist spotlight: TD Gillispie

TD Gillispie is a local artist and has had a solo show in our library gallery. It is our opinion that she is one of the best artists in South Florida and one of the most underrepresented.  Please take a moment to explore her work. You can learn more about her at her website www.tdgillispie.com and find her in instagram @TDGILLISPIE

Artist Bio:

TD Gillispie lives and works in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and  museums including Dacia Gallery in New York City, Art Palm Beach, 101

Exhibit in Miami, Boca Raton Museum of Art, and  Whitespace: The Mordes Collection in West Palm Beach. Her work is included in the Mordes And Helander collections. Gillispie's paintings have  been featured in Studio Visit Magazine. She  was born  in Columbus, Ohio and attended Marshall University.

Artist statement:

I have always been a maker, a creator, a fixer of things. The practice of taking something in disrepair, be it furniture or a house for example, and refinishing or restoring it has always been a thrill to me and, in most cases, necessary. So, therefore, this same principle spills over into the way I create art.

I work in several different mediums but keep a cohesive look as a whole.

For each specific artwork, I choose a medium to most effectively speak the story I wish to tell. I collect vintage imagery and broken or well­worn toys from long ago for inspiration in my paintings.

I use specific recycled vintage or antique items for installation and mixed media, such as salvaged windows, doors, tv’s, church pews, lingerie, etc. These items are collected over a long period of time or thoughtfully sought out after writing a site­specific proposal for new work.

In making an installation I usually choose to create a room: a personal defined space for reflective thought with a prompted topic of inspiration.

Typically in painting, my goal is to use subject matter in which I balance sweet and sinister, or cute and creepy, by not stepping over the line in either direction.

If work is built on mistakes and corrections, I feel it gives richness and layers to the piece, thus adding a human quality as compared to the journey of our life on earth.

Photos from the Peace Cylinder Event

The Peace Cylinder Project with Raheleh Filsoofi and Linda Behar

The Peace Cylinder is a project that brings together two important stories from antiquity that have great relevance today – the Declaration of King Cyrus of Persia and the Book of Esther from the Bible. The Cyrus Cylinder is a clay cylinder that was discovered in the ancient city of Babylon in Mesopotamia, and it dates to the sixth century B.C. On it is a text in Akkadian cuneiform script issued by the King of Persia, which is regarded as the first declaration of human rights for the way in which it promotes religious tolerance and freedom. The Book of Esther is a section of The Hebrew Bible that relates the story of a Jewish girl named Esther, who became the queen of Persia and used her position to intercede with the king in order to prevent a genocidal plan against her people. The Biblical text teaches that individuals should act with the knowledge of God’s love according to the situations in which they find themselves and with respect for God’s sovereignty in all circumstances.

In this project, a ceramic replica of the cylinder with the original declaration engraved on the surface and a wooden roller covered by a polymer plate that holds the last chapter of the Book of Esther in Hebrew are used in performance to create prints on clay and paper. The ritual rolling of each device underscores the importance of the message that each text bears, and the similarity of each act of printing reflects the common themes and the universal significance that each text tells in its own way. At the end of the performance the clay and paper prints are given as gifts to members of the audience.

At all times peace is a fragile idea, but especially now as the potential for conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies. The artists, Linda Behar, a Jewish immigrant, and Raheleh T. Filsoofi, an Iranian immigrant, intend to bring diverse communities together for conversation and to send a message of tolerance and acceptance throughout the world.

You can see the artist's video of the performance here:
http://www.rahelehfilsoofi.com/#!the-peace-cylinder/k3xgy 

We had a great turnout of community and student participants. Here are some of the photos from the event. Thanks to both artists for their hard work and great project. Both are MFA graduates from the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Florida Atlantic University.

Now on display: Kuljon Pierre

The library is showing the work of Kuljon Pierre, a student from nearby William T. Dwyer High School. Come by and see it in person!

The Peace Cylinder Project with Raheleh Filsoofi and Linda Behar

The library will be hosting an interactive performance art piece by Raheleh Filsoofi and Linda Behar

April 13, 10am-3pm (all-day event)

From the artist's website:

The Peace Cylinder is a project that brings together two important stories from antiquity that have great relevance today – the Declaration of King Cyrus of Persia and the Book of Esther from the Bible. The Cyrus Cylinder is a clay cylinder that was discovered in the ancient city of Babylon in Mesopotamia, and it dates to the sixth century B.C. On it is a text in Akkadian cuneiform script issued by the King of Persia, which is regarded as the first declaration of human rights for the way in which it promotes religious tolerance and freedom. The Book of Esther is a section of The Hebrew Bible that relates the story of a Jewish girl named Esther, who became the queen of Persia and used her position to intercede with the king in order to prevent a genocidal plan against her people. The Biblical text teaches that individuals should act with the knowledge of God’s love according to the situations in which they find themselves and with respect for God’s sovereignty in all circumstances.

In this project, a ceramic replica of the cylinder with the original declaration engraved on the surface and a wooden roller covered by a polymer plate that holds the last chapter of the Book of Esther in Hebrew are used in performance to create prints on clay and paper. The ritual rolling of each device underscores the importance of the message that each text bears, and the similarity of each act of printing reflects the common themes and the universal significance that each text tells in its own way. At the end of the performance the clay and paper prints are given as gifts to members of the audience.

At all times peace is a fragile idea, but especially now as the potential for conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies. The artists, Linda Behar, a Jewish immigrant, and Raheleh T. Filsoofi, an Iranian immigrant, intend to bring diverse communities together for conversation and to send a message of tolerance and acceptance throughout the world.

You can see a video of the performance by going to this link: http://www.rahelehfilsoofi.com/#!the-peace-cylinder-/cisy

Please join us. Mark your calendar

Essay about recent Library exhibition project

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5NKbarWDliuUTJ1YVltQ2N2cWc/view?usp=sharing

Artist talk at Cornell Museum

The Cornell Art Museum presents another engaging Art Talk! This month the Museum welcomes Carin Wagner (painter) and Karla Walter (sculptor), who currently have works on display in the WILD exhibit, which runs through April 17th.

The Art Talk is Thursday, March 31st at 6 p.m. Admission is $15 and includes wine, tea, light bites and a chance to see the WILD exhibit

Carin Wagner is an award-winning South Florida artist, born in Norfolk, Virginia.  As the daughter of a Navy man, she lived in multiple states, including California and New Jersey.  Wagner works predominately in oil on canvas, with a message of environmental protection at its core.  She has exhibited throughout the U.S., including shows at the Sherry French Gallery, the Silvia Wald, Po Kim Gallery in New York, the Lawrence Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Cultural Council of Palm Beach, and the Lighthouse Center for the Arts.  Her work has been included in multiple museum shows, including the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Art, the Coral Springs Museum of Art, and the Boca Raton Museum of Art.  Her awards include the Peoples’ Choice from the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County (two consecutive times), Peoples’ Choice from Lighthouse Art Center, first place in Continuum Palm Beach, Mahlon Cline Award of Excellence, Dorothy L. Irish Memorial Award, and two time winner of the DiVincenzo Award for Life Drawing.  Her work has been featured in a chapter of the book Grand Ambition, by G. Bruce Knecht, and written about extensively in publications such as: Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Gallery and Studio, International Art Journal, Architectural Digest, Florida Design Magazine, On View Magazine, Showboats International, and others.  She is currently represented by The Lawrence Gallery AZ, and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.

Karla Walter – Artist Statement:  As an artist, it is important to recognize a message and seize that moment.  Crows are messengers, omens for change. Several personal encounters with crows have compelled me to express my personal creativity through this messenger. This body of work explores the similarities between the social interactions among crows and that of humans. To know the crow is to know ourselves. This is the journey I have taken with this body of work.  The common crow maintains a unique place in our ecosystem thanks to their intelligence and strong family values. They are social, opportunistic, vocal, visual, shrewd, and reliant on memory and individual recognition. Crows are tricksters and the wise guys of the bird world. We all know someone who has these traits. I believe that this is why we relate to them and maybe see ourselves in this intelligent black bird. My personal connection with crows has moved me to interact, grow and change.

Read more about this and other events by going to this link: Cornell Museum

Artist spotlight-Allison Kotzig

Allison Kotzig is an international conceptual, installation, mixed-media and video artist. Her challenging and often amusing 3-d pieces highlight misogynistic undercurrents in culture. Her video work addresses the dreamy interface between reality and trance and our individual connection to Infinity and the Universe. She is involved with the nomadic Public Art projects NestGen and Giants in the City, which brings monumental inflatable sculpture to cities around the world. As well, she is a co-founder of the collective Artists for Black Lives Matter. She currently splits her time between Miami and a small village in the foothills of the Slovak Carpathian Mountains, where she helps to run an Inn and organic slow food restaurant dedicated to local produce, ethical practices and DIY products

Link to artist page here

Photo by Leo di Tomaso for Irreversible Magazine

Follow this link for an in depth feature article of Allison in Art Habens Contemporary Art Review

Much more to discover here: Simons Gallery info here and Miami NewTimes Article  and Masterminds