June 7 – August 15
Kiki Karatheodoris:
“The Middle Ground: Connecting Opposing Visual Forces”
Featured on August 2nd from 5 – 7 p.m. during First Friday
Extended through August 15th
The Arts Council of Tuscaloosa will host “The Middle Ground: Connecting Opposing Visual Forces” in The Arts Council Gallery at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center June 7-August 15, 2024. Featuring works by UA Art and Art History Dept. alumnus Kiki Karatheodoris, the exhibit will feature both works on paper and paintings.
The exhibit is about bridging contrasts, oppositions, dualities, etc. visually experienced in the world around us. Contrasts in color, such as violet blue and orange or oppositions in drawing such as the straight as opposed to the curved meandering line, can be described as “opposing visual forces.” Some of the works on paper combine the opposition of the organic, curving forms and lines, with the inorganic, straight, geometric ones. Others contrast the chaotic in nature and the orderly in geometry. Some pieces have actual organic matter (grasses, petals etc.) attached and a bit hidden.
Karatheodoris has over 20 years of experience as an artist, and her work is in many individual and permanent collections. She has been exhibited locally, nationally and internationally in juried shows and invitationals. Influenced by Josef Albers’ work on color, her major interest is in color interaction and transparency. She was invited to exhibit and discuss her work in England at an international conference on color sponsored by Kingston University, UK. Her presentation was published as a book chapter in the book “Cultures of Color.” She has a second book chapter on color in the book “Hermes and Aphrodite Encounters.” She taught art courses at The University of Alabama and painting and drawing at Shelton State Community College before her employment as the registrar at The University of Alabama Honors College. She has retired from UA and works as a full-time artist. Born in Greece, she has also lived in New York and Toronto and resides in Tuscaloosa. She holds a BA degree in Sociology from City University of New York and also BFA and MFA degrees from The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
Artist’s Statement:
My work involves exploring the behavior of opposing visual forces, in painting and drawing. My thought process occupies a place between science and art, which is the overarching opposition explored in the work. My goal is to learn something new as each piece progresses. I make art to experience how the play of opposing visual forces can bring about something new, surprising, or unexpected. In the current exhibit multimedia is used in the drawings and oils, exclusively, in the paintings.
The Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center is located at 620 Greensboro Avenue in downtown Tuscaloosa. For more information about The Arts Council, Bama Theatre or CAC, patrons should like the Facebook page “The Arts Council – Bama Theatre – Cultural Arts Center” on Facebook and Instagram @tuscaloosaartscouncil. Call 205-758-5195 or visit tuscarts.org for further information.
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The Arts Council Gallery is available to artists by invitation only. The Arts Council Gallery located in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center is one of two galleries managed by The Arts Council. Meeting the demand for additional exhibit space in Tuscaloosa, the gallery hosts a variety of exhibits by artists from around Alabama and the Southeast as well as artists from our own community. Exhibits in The Arts Council Gallery at the CAC and the Junior League Gallery located in the Bama Theatre, are displayed on a rotating basis and are usually booked several months in advance.
Gallery Hours:
Weekdays from 9-4 p.m.
Professional Bar Services provided by Casual Class Bar Services
Open to artists by invitation only.