This Saturday and Sunday, August 25-26, is the annual art crawl for the League of Longfellow Artists (LOLA). Over 115 artists will display their work at 69 sites throughout the Longfellow neighborhood. Whether you’re interested in painting, photography, pottery, jewelry—or any other medium—LOLA is your chance to see and buy quality local art.
One stop to definitely put on your itinerary is the Greenway River Gallery. Longfellow artist Lydia Kulesov owns the gallery with her husband and art photographer Mark Douglas Stanley. They opened the gallery in 2009 to exhibit their art during special events like the LOLA Art Crawl, and by private appointment.
Lydia, a photographer and pastel painter, is currently working on a series of photographic triptyches. She arranges, side by side, three photographs of different objects that relate to one another, but it requires some thought on the part of the viewer to understand how they are related. “The triptyches don’t reveal their meaning at first glance,” Lydia said, “they require some meditation and contemplation.”
Lydia recognizes that much of her creative process is intuitive—she’s not always consciously aware of why she chooses the specific objects for her triptyches—and it’s intriguing to try and decipher these exquisite photographs. For example, the panels of one triptych contain a conch shell, a female statue, and a blooming flower. The female statue in the center panel is key. Her gesture is ambiguous—she is in the act of either placing or removing a veil around her body; of either turning inward or opening up. The gesture resembles the sensuous form and flared outer lip of the closed conch shell in the left panel; and the opening petals of the flower in the right panel.
Lydia also works with soft and oil pastels, and her landscapes are infused with rich hues and subtle layering. She has developed a process using oil pastels that involves layering, scraping and adding to produce remarkable detail and lively color. As for future projects, Lydia’s landscape work may go in an entirely new direction as she intends to use larger canvases and paint more abstractly.
Lydia Kulesov is an artist constantly experimenting with materials and techniques. To see more of her art, visit the Greenway River Gallery at 2634 West River Parkway during the LOLA Art Crawl, August 25 and 26, from 10 am to 5 pm.
For more information on LOLA, go to: www.lolaartcrawl.com
Janet Contursi is a freelance arts writer. Visit her website at: www.artsminnesota.com
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