a figure study kicks off the new year by exploring the self

Resolving to grow in self-confidence and awareness is a wonderful way to start the new year. This is exactly what the first exhibition of 2016 will focus on. Entitled Artist: Body, artists and the audience will examine themselves through the world of self-portraiture in contemporary art. The art and experience will allow them to step back and analyze their own images.
 
To kick off Artist: Body, the first event is called Fourth Friday: A Figure Study. This event will be held on January 22nd and will include an evening-long painting demonstration and participatory drawing classes, all accompanied by the live music of The Swells.
 
Sheldon Tapley, an artist and Professor at Centre College known for his still-life paintings, will lead the painting demonstration. His work has been shown in places such as Louisville, Sacramento and New York. According to his biography, Tapley works alongside his students, drawing or painting from a model. His focus on the figure makes him a great artist for A Figure Study.
 
Martin Beck will lead the participatory drawing classes. He focuses on the figure in many of his collections, including one called Modern Romance. Jerry Stein from the Cincinnati Post commented on his work by saying, “In some of his pictures, figures seem to be coming out of the paintings to join the living.”
 
The audience will turn into the artists in the Miriam Woolfolk gallery. Mirrors will cover the room and guests will have the opportunity to create self-portraits of themselves.  
 
Audience interaction will continue with selfie sticks that will be available near the band. These bring the idea of self-portraiture into the technology world and open up another layer of self-exploration.
 
The Swells is a band from Lexington known for taking their listeners to another time and place. Attendees at A Figure Study will hear the band’s blues, jazz and swing sounds float through the Loudoun House as they explore the different eras and mediums of self-portraiture. The Swells’ latest album, called Public Domain, covers music by Mississippi John Hurt, Erroll Garner, Marty Robbins, and many others.
 
These artists, as well as a cash bar and appetizers provided by Bella Notte will make A Figure Study a night to remember.
 
Come out to experience A Figure Study on January 22nd from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Loudoun House. 

Written by Blair Johnson, LAL Intern, University of Kentucky Journalism student 

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