Bill Fischer Award
for Visual Artists
Past Bill Fischer Award Recipients
2024 Bill Fischer Award Artist: Sara Olshansky
Sara Olshansky was born in Louisville, KY in 1995. Based in Louisville, she is a working artist interested in exploring the addition and erasure of imagery on a single picture plane to demonstrate alternatives to linear time, primarily through landscape painting. She also freelances as a writer for regional publications and has curated exhibitions locally. She graduated from the Hite Art Institute at the University of Louisville in 2018 with a BFA in 2D Studio Art, a BA in Art History, and a minor in Spanish Language. In 2017, she attended Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where she participated in contemporary Spanish fine art practices and engaged with international art institutions across Europe. Olshansky is represented in several public and private collections across the United States and has exhibited regionally.
When asked what this award means to her, Sara said, “It means is I’ll have freedom to experiment, to take risks without worry[ing] about wasting time or money. It means I can realize ambitious projects at a scale that wasn’t feasible before the grant. I can research, write, look at art, meet with other artists. It may mean I can even travel for my work. It allows me to put my practice at center stage for the first time ever in my career because it directly funds a full-time practice. Importantly, it signals to me that my community supports this pursuit I have, and I am honored to have been found deserving of the award.”
2023 Bill Fischer Award Artist: LaNia Roberts
LaNia Roberts was raised in Louisville, Kentucky. She is a practicing professional artist with 12 years experience. From selling her paintings while a student in LVA's CFAC program, to continuing her studies with mentors in Florence, Italy. Throughout an ongoing pandemic, LaNia has stood firm in her artistic pursuits and practice post-grad, demonstrating how serious she is to make her dreams come true to become a thriving contemporary artist. Through her artwork she aims to celebrate the complexities of Black identity and create a space where viewers can engage with and contemplate the many facets of the Black experience.
When asked what this award means to her, LaNia says, “I am beyond grateful for the belief and investment LVA has made in my art career by being selected for the Bill Fischer Award for Visual Artists! With this award, I am able to confidently and comfortably take new risks and create my best work yet. I have just begun a new series of work that I am proud of. This award will create an open door for me to further explore what I am capable of and create work for a future solo show. I hope to make everyone proud! Thank you LVA!"
2022 Bill Fischer Award Artist: Lance G. Newman II
Lance G. Newman II was raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a writer, poet, host, actor, performing, visual and teaching artist. His experience is the culmination of a 16-year career performing around the country. Under the name, SpreadLovEnterprise, he teaches his creative writing and public speaking curriculum in schools, community centers and service-providing organizations.
While Lance is more commonly known for his performance poetry and creative writing, in recent years he has taken to visual arts as a way to succinctly express concepts that may be more difficult to put into words. A recurring material in his mixed media works is the waste left behind Black and Mild cigars, a by-product of what Lance refers to as a vice he’s struggled with for years. To lessen his carbon footprint, he creatively uses these excess materials to create intricate sepia-toned artworks with a certain vintage appeal. His work explores the human experience, societal reflections and personal memories. In addition to these themes, Lance says his use of Black and Mild cigar imagery speaks to the blackness and mildness of African Americans and the African diaspora. Through his work, he hopes to bring civility and honor to those once deemed unworthy.
When asked to describe his vision as an artist, Lance says, “My artistic practice is constantly motivated by the desire to provide examples of artistic expression where there previously were none. To blaze a trail so to speak. By utilizing my multidisciplinary skills when creating art, I am able to communicate with various groups of information processors. In my vision, my art is simply a vehicle used to translate various concepts and ideas that I believe would evolve humanity.”
With this $7,000 fellowship award, Lance intends to allocate more space for his art practice. Currently working out of a small office in his home, he plans to convert his garage into a proper studio through repairs, insulation and purchasing equipment that will also allow him to build his own frames. When asked about how the Bill Fischer Award will impact his career, Lance says, “the impact of this award is far more than monetary. It comes at a time in my career where expansion is necessary and it will allow me to properly increase my capacity. Also, it feels like the city is finally seeing me, and that is a lovely feeling. Much Love.”
Recipients of the Fischer Award must show a commitment to experimentation and the creative use of materials and techniques. Lance G. Newman II not only exemplifies the kind of artist Bill Fischer intended to support; Lance hopes to inspire viewers of his artworks to evaluate and change their communities for the better.
2021 Bill Fischer Award Artist: Carlos Gamez de Francisco
Carlos Gamez de Francisco arrived in the United States from Cuba at the age of 21, with only $650 and knowing no English. After spending $600 on art supplies, he committed to learning 100 English words each day and painting each night. Today, Carlos is a full-time artist based in Louisville, Kentucky. Carlos states, “I believe hard work and perseverance are the tools to achieve any goal in life. I am a mix of Indigenous Cuban, European, and African. I have learned that we all come from the same world, and we should be respected as equals. My legacy as an artist is to create awareness about equality.”
His tireless studio practice produces vibrant artworks exploring the history of portraiture through deconstructed representations of power and opulence. For centuries, portraiture was a method for the bourgeoisie to demonstrate wealth and success. By contrast, Carlos’ work seeks to portray ordinary people from various backgrounds. Carlos says “This series is about the uncertainty of what real power means and who has it. It presents critical issues that tend to remain silent. It is about repurposing the meaning of power and constructing hope. The hope to be, the hope to succeed, and the hope of being remembered.” In addition to Western art history, Carlos’ work is also informed by his study of figurative arts via the Russian Academy in post-revolutionary Cuba.
For 15 years without a pause, solo and group exhibitions of Carlos’ work have graced local, national, and international venues. His consistently evolving work has earned him numerous awards during his career. In addition to being a committed full-time artist, he has also been an active member of Louisville Visual Art’s network of local artists, creating artwork for LVA’s Social Distancing Pads for Kentucky, and participating in events such as art [squared] and the Open Studio Series.
When asked how he will use funds from the Bill Fischer Award, Carlos says, “I would love to create a series of portraits depicting people from different races, gender, and in conditions of poverty. I would like to hear their stories and share them through my art. There is no better time to unify our country and work together for a better world. I believe art should be in every community and this series will be a great way to inspire our society for a change. I also would like to share my story as an immigrant to motivate the youngest generation to pursue their dreams and goals.”
2020 Bill Fischer Award Artist: Lori Larusso
Louisville-based artist Lori Larusso’s tireless studio practice produces vibrant images of familiar subjects, rendered with razor sharp clarity and wit. For 20 years without a pause, solo and group exhibitions of Lori’s work have graced local, national and international venues, including the inaugural KMAC Triennial in 2019. Her consistently experimental and evolving work has earned her numerous awards and residency fellowships.
A committed instructor of visual art, Lori has taught at colleges and universities since 2003, with recent stints at the Kentucky College of Art + Design, Spalding University and the University of Kentucky. She is also an active member of Louisville Visual Art’s network of local artists, regularly participating in events such as art[squared] and Open Studio Weekend.
Lori says, “The Fischer Award will allow for vital experimentation, as well as refinement of technical and conceptual aspects of my work. The timing is perfect for this award to supplement several residency fellowships I’ve been awarded for late 2020 through 2021, at which I’ll focus on my practice and discuss ideas, processes and materials with selected artists from all over the world. I’ll benefit from their critique, and connections to a broader professional network will expand my opportunities to produce and exhibit new work.”
Lori Larusso not only exemplifies the kind of practitioner Bill Fischer intended to support, her work as a teacher cultivates generations of artists studying in Louisville who may in turn win their own Fischer Awards.
The Community Foundation of Louisville and Louisville Visual Art congratulate Lori on her success and on her selection as this year’s Fischer Award Winner! We look forward to seeing the impact of the prize on her evolution as an artist.
2019 Bill Fischer Award Artist: William Duffy
Duffy has been part of the fabric of Louisville’s art scene for nearly four decades, working both as a sculptor as well as a teacher, including serving as an instructor for Louisville Visual Art’s Children’s Fine Art Classes and in the Jefferson County Public Schools.
“One of the things that my folks told me growing up was, ‘Someone helped you. Don’t you forget. You reach back and you help someone else,’” Duffy said while accepting the award. “And so, I’ve been doing that now for about 40 years or so, of reaching back into schools and the community centers and what have you. There’s more of a reward doing that than it is sometimes doing my own work. But I’m getting older now and I want to get out some of the things that’s been stirring in me for a long time.”
He'll now have that chance. The Bill Fischer Award for Visual Artists comes with a $5,000 grant, which Duffy intends to use to realize a life-long dream.
“I work small because my studio is rather small, but I always had a dream of enlarging some of these works and seeing them out in public,” Duffy said. “It’s been my dream for a long time to have one, or two pieces even, in my city. The city that I grew up in.”
2018 Bill Fischer Award Artist: Elizabeth Hardy
