Meet the Artist - Folklore
Meet Matthew Lord! Matt’s painting, Portrait of John Brown as an Immovable Object, is featured in our current show, “Folklore”. Matt is a Lawrence-based artist who graduated from the University of Kansas in 1999 with a BFA in illustration. So far, his career has included many solo and group exhibitions, featured editorial illustrations, lectures and workshops.
According to his personal bio, “Matthew’s artwork communicates a sense of playfulness and absurdity while incorporating elements of fantastic realism. Using his preferred media of gouache, ink and printmaking, Matthew seeks to tell thoughtful visual stories drawn from his curiosity for the natural world and a love of mythology.”
“Folklore” will be on display now through July 22. The show is available to view during our open hours, or by appointment.
Meet Kent Smith! Kent’s painting Domus Mactibilis (Monster House), is featured in our current show, “Folklore”. Kent is a Lawrence based illustrator, designer, sculptor, teacher, problem-maker, problem-solver, dimension-hopper, and mayor of Smittytown. His work can be found on everything from Star Wars toys to beer labels and woodblocks to trading cards. In all his endeavors, he celebrates how fortunate he is to spend his days making pictures and talking about art and design. Kent embraces new challenges and works in a variety of media to offer humorous solutions full of personality and unexpected connections.
Kent teaches in the design department at the University of Kansas, and works with the Lawrence Arts Center, The Percolator, VanGo, and other organizations. Kent loves superheroes, monkeys, ninjas, UFOs, cryptids, robots, ray-guns, and romance. He hopes you will stop by Smittytown whenever you need a solution to a problem, a fantastic escape, or a ridiculous adventure.
Meet Theresa Shetler Logan! Theresa’s works, Stay Off the Path and Threads of Hope, are in our current show, “Folklore”. A resident of Lawrence, Kansas, Theresa grew up playing with fabric scraps and art supplies at a young age helping her grandmother create clothes. These early experiences fostered her love for pattern, textiles, and visual art. Theresa began her college career at Moore College of Art and Design and finished at Kent State University with a BFA in textiles. She then followed this with an MA in Art History from the University of Kansas. Theresa is currently an art teacher in Topeka with a teaching certificate in Art Education form Washburn University.
Theresa enjoys working with her hands and utilizes a variety of mediums and fabric materials to create highly symbolic narrative pieces that emphasize texture, pattern, layering, and symbolism through color. Her pieces are emotional and often convey personal narratives that she hopes viewers can see and enjoy through their own eyes.
Meet Barry Fitzgerald! Barry’s pieces, Set Sail and Loch Ness are featured in our current show, “Folklore”. Barry is a Lawrence-based illustrator, artist and visual communicator. He had started out originally as a graphic designer in Washington, D.C, then moving on to work as the staff artist for the Detroit News. Barry currently is currently a illustration professor at the University of Kansas and has been working there since 1993.
Barry’s different works are very diverse in their mediums, ranging from paintings, drawings, and mixed media including collage and digital art. According to his artist biography, Barry “loves the challenge of making images that engage intellectually, emotionally, and aesthetically.”
Meet Xavier Martinez! Xavier’s piece, Nosferatu, is in our current show, “Folklore”. He is a Lawrence-based artist, originally from Topeka, Kansas. Xavier’s inspiration for this piece stems from the Spongebob episode, “The Graveyard Shift” and seeing Nosferatu in that as a child.
Xavier describes himself and his work as an “urban chicano artist, with backgrounds of street art, urban fashion, and make art full of passion.” Another place in Lawrence you can see his work is on 23rd and Massachusettes street, where there is a Black Lives Matter Mural located that won Best of Lawrence in 2021.
Meet Charlotte Larson! Charlotte’s watercolor and ink painting, Diving Loon, is featured in our current show, “Folklore”. Diving Loon is inspired by Native American folktales of the loon curing an old man’s blindness. The painting is dedicated to Charlotte’s late grandfather William; a painter who struggled with loss of eyesight later in his life.
Charlotte is a Kansas-born artist, and she has lived in Lawrence since 2012. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a BFA in design and a concentration in illustration and creative writing. Currently, Charlotte is the coordinator of Art Emergency, artist studios and arts event space.
Meet Bread Nugent! His piece, Sassquatch, is in our current show, “Folklore”. When originally apprroached about the show, he had already had the idea to do something that would work with Bigfoot/Sassquatch, but a way to make it fun and different from other portrayals.
“I would describe myself and my art as goofy and something I dont take too seriously, although art is super important to me and I am constantly making stuff” Bread Nugent had also described his art as something he was able to do stress-free and get to show others his sense of humor through his art. His gallery show in Wichita in 2017, was where he had discovered that he could pursue art as a career.
Meet Landon Merrill! Landon’s piece, Der Wolpertinger, is featured in our current show, “Folklore”. Landon is from Marysville, KS but is currently residing in Lawrence. He is currently a designer for the 88 Design Group, a creative design agency. He has also designed for Free State Brewery Company and his design’s can be seen on the “Alley-Oop Dunkel and the Hoptic Nerve IPA.
Landon’s work is “heavily inspired by tattoo art, graphic novels and street art”. While he does use a variety of different materials and techniques. His style often includes a lot of intricate and abstract patterns along with strong and bold line structure.
Meet Cassidy Fesenmeyer! Cassidy’s piece, You Can Only Save Yourself, is in our current show, “Folklore”. Cassidy is originally from Gardner, KS and is currently now living in Lawrence. Her piece is “Folklore” is inspired by her own personal life experiences and in her own words: “the figures in the piece are male and female, my intention was for anyone to look at it and see a human choosing to save themselves instead of waiting around for someone else to show up and do it.”
Cassidy describes her art/work, rather than being based on a specific thing or person, she paints moods as the subject. Using different techniques to achieve emotion. She tends to draw inspiration from the Renissance era and particularly how the lighting can affect the way an audience feels.