CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE: Bottled in Louisville
March 13 - April 14, 2009

From a hovering Art Bomb, to wishful thinking, to a commemoration of this year's shattering ice storm, 13 artists, using large glass vessels, created by the U of L Hite Art Institute Glass Department, employ technology, evocative ideas and contemporary issues to construct

21st century symbols of life under pressure. An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, March 13, 6 to 8:30PM at the LVAA, 3005 River Rd.

The participating artists include: Lori Beck, John Begley, Jesse Levesque Bishop, Mary Carothers and Andy Johnson, Cheryl Chapman and Julius Friedman, Ed Hamilton, Cynthia Norton, Che Rhodes and Bryan Holden, Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, and Caroline Waite.

The artists, who work in a wide variety of styles and media, were each provided a large glass vessel and invited to interpret the objects freely. Executive Director Shannon Westerman says, "Dealing with myriad challenges of our time, they have created artful expressions of how self-imposed and environmental pressures affect our culture, socialization norms, relationships and identity."

Curator Team: Kay Grubola, Meg Higgins, and the LVAA Exhibition Committee

Examples of the work to be exhibited include:

• Lori Beck: Instant Message in a Bottle: Conversations with the Artist, Lori Beck will be accessible, via technology, during exhibition hours to take part in a dialogue with the viewer.
• Cheryl Chapman and Julius Friedman: Ice Cycles, collaboration commemorates the ice storm of 2009 and explores the duality of beauty.
• Cynthia Norton: a video-installation, using a sandblasted bottle.
• Mary Carothers and Andy Johnson: A sandblasted capsule-shaped bottle with metal fins; illuminated from inside to project a glow.
• Arturo Alonzo Sandoval: A bottle sandblasted with an image of the Louisville skyline and male and female symbols; shredded adult magazines, inside.
• Caroline Waite: Five Hundred Wishes, a vessel containing 500 WISH tickets, each with an individual, personal wish written on the back from a wide a variety of Louisville residents.