BadAss
Todd Fife
Artist Statement: “ART” is Bunk! I make lowercase art. With “ART,” one is buying a name and it is a commodity. A person is not interested in my lowercase art for my name because I do not have a name in art. Hopefully, people are interested in my lowercase art because it speaks to them on some level.
To the best of my abilities, I am a representational artist. However, that realism is twisted and plied into new visions. I want to elevate the obvious image to another level so that it can resonate with the viewer symbolically, even mythically. To that end, I go beyond snapshots of reality and often draw on esoteric and antiquated symbols and more contemporary cultural allusions that make the viewer really think about what it is they are seeing instead of just having a superficial interaction.
Originally I was going to call this show BadAss Women, but since that is a bit redundant, the title was culled down. The models/muses for all of the works included are all friends. These are regular people, but regular people who also exemplify the word BadAss. The original inspiration for the theme is a person who lost a leg in an accident and then started wrestling less than a year later! Another source of inspiration is a health care worker, a respiratory therapist no less, during this unprecedented time. But being BadAss goes beyond the obvious. One of the first pieces I completed for the show represents motherhood. What is more BadAss than a mother? Also represented are artists, a crisis intervention and suicide intervention counselor, a sex worker/advocate, a witch, a pagan, a tattooist, a person who identifies as a vampire, a successful business owner, a person who basically put her life on hold to take care of another, and finally, one friend who succumbed to debilitating health issues but lived her life to the end the way she wanted, with attitude and passion. All of these friends/muses are total BadAsses.
Artist Bio: Bowling Green (originally from Louisville), Kentucky. Husband. Father. Nullifidian. Politically progressive. Outdoor enthusiast. Avid reader. And, a person with the desire to create images that can resonate with a viewer.
After years of letting any art endeavors lay dormant, a promise to my sister has prodded me to create. And if one of my pieces can connect with someone on a level beyond the superficial, then I have truly achieved something. I received very little formal instruction in art. However, I do consider myself to be a student of art. I am forever pushing myself to learn new techniques and find new inspiration through the influence of other artists.
I have had solo shows at the Tim Faulkner Gallery in Louisville and at the Downing Museum in Bowling Green. Selected group shows include shows at the Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, Baton Rouge Gallery, the Evansville Museum, the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, MO., the Limner Gallery in Hudson, NY, as well as the Loudoun House.
To the best of my abilities, I am a representational artist. However, that realism is twisted and plied into new visions. I want to elevate the obvious image to another level so that it can resonate with the viewer symbolically, even mythically. To that end, I go beyond snapshots of reality and often draw on esoteric and antiquated symbols and more contemporary cultural allusions that make the viewer really think about what it is they are seeing instead of just having a superficial interaction.
Originally I was going to call this show BadAss Women, but since that is a bit redundant, the title was culled down. The models/muses for all of the works included are all friends. These are regular people, but regular people who also exemplify the word BadAss. The original inspiration for the theme is a person who lost a leg in an accident and then started wrestling less than a year later! Another source of inspiration is a health care worker, a respiratory therapist no less, during this unprecedented time. But being BadAss goes beyond the obvious. One of the first pieces I completed for the show represents motherhood. What is more BadAss than a mother? Also represented are artists, a crisis intervention and suicide intervention counselor, a sex worker/advocate, a witch, a pagan, a tattooist, a person who identifies as a vampire, a successful business owner, a person who basically put her life on hold to take care of another, and finally, one friend who succumbed to debilitating health issues but lived her life to the end the way she wanted, with attitude and passion. All of these friends/muses are total BadAsses.
Artist Bio: Bowling Green (originally from Louisville), Kentucky. Husband. Father. Nullifidian. Politically progressive. Outdoor enthusiast. Avid reader. And, a person with the desire to create images that can resonate with a viewer.
After years of letting any art endeavors lay dormant, a promise to my sister has prodded me to create. And if one of my pieces can connect with someone on a level beyond the superficial, then I have truly achieved something. I received very little formal instruction in art. However, I do consider myself to be a student of art. I am forever pushing myself to learn new techniques and find new inspiration through the influence of other artists.
I have had solo shows at the Tim Faulkner Gallery in Louisville and at the Downing Museum in Bowling Green. Selected group shows include shows at the Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, Baton Rouge Gallery, the Evansville Museum, the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, MO., the Limner Gallery in Hudson, NY, as well as the Loudoun House.
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Public Gallery Hours
Wednesday 12pm-5pm
Thursday 12pm-5pm Friday 12pm-5pm Saturday 12pm - 5pm Viewings also available by appointment |
The Loudoun House
209 Castlewood Dr. Lexington, Ky. 40505 Email: [email protected]
Phone 859-254-7024 |
All Lexington Art League programs are made possible through the generous support of LexArts.
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The Kentucky Arts Council, a state arts agency, provides operating support to the Lexington Art League with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support provided by Lexington Parks & Recreation.
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A yearly online giving challenge from the Bluegrass Community Foundation.
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