Life is full of dichotomies. Good and evil, love and hate, and war and peace are just a few of the dualities that we know by heart. Lexington artist couple Steve Armstrong and Diane Kahlo explore the dichotomy of light and dark with their show, “Chiaroscuro: A Life of Light and Shadow,” on display at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center through the end of the month. Though both members of the couple have been included in a number of group shows, after 24 years together, this is the first show fully dedicated to the blending of their individual bodies of work.
Chiaroscuro — an artistic technique that uses strong contrasts between light and dark to create volume and dimension — is the word that they use to describe the thread that runs through the show.
“Light and shadow,” Armstrong said. “Both of those play heavily in our work. And then it’s also a metaphor for us. We’ve had to endure both the light and darkness of life, as most people have.”
Armstrong, a woodworker known for carving intricate kinetic sculptures and automatons, said, “When I got started with wood, I discovered folk art and began making clunky wooden mechanical pieces that I sold at flea markets. I wondered if there was a way to do what I was doing — pieces that move — but a more fine-art version.
“The pieces I originally made were purposely crude and clunky, but as I got into the work I started polishing the figures, sanding the wood, and I noticed a wonderful light and dark quality in the wood, and that the pieces are enhanced when hit by light and shadow, so I focused on that even more,” he continued.
Kahlo, whose original artistic focus was painting, wanted to add something to her paintings to make them more expressive of her ideas. Through experimentation, she began creating multi-level paintings, cutting wood into various shapes that added depth to her work. This unique style will be on display, as well as several mandalas, which she creates from recycled items, trash and other unique found items, from plastic bottles to vintage costume jewelry — “stuff that ends up in landfills and never goes away,” she says.
“Tibetan monks make mandalas and then blow them away, but I’m making the same image out of something that will never go away. That plastic is not going to decompose. I’m trying to take the darkness of garbage and turn it into something that represents the cycle of life, death and rebirth,” she said.
For this show, Kahlo has also incorporated bullet shells into her mandalas, as a way to talk about gun violence.
“There are more guns than people in our country, and for women and children, guns are a leading cause of death in situations of intimate partner and domestic violence,” she explained. “Ironically, many bullets are intrinsically beautiful and feminine. This thing that destroys bodies has a beautiful feminine shape. I like the dichotomy that it represents — good and bad, light and darkness.”
Kahlo creates large scale mandalas out of found or recycled items. Many of her new works feature bullet shell casings in addition to other materials. Photo by Mick Jeffries
The theme of light and dark is especially poignant for the couple, who faced a personal tragedy late last year when Kahlo’s daughter, Anna Kolokotsas, died from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run accident. An artist herself, Anna, created greeting cards that were sold at Third Street Stuff & Coffee before she was old enough to have a job. Later, she worked in the shop as both an artist and a barista. Anna will be present in this show through a small collection of work dedicated to her, featuring several local artists — people who were significant in her life, like Armstrong’s daughter-in-law Michelle Armstrong and Third Street Stuff owner Pat Gerhard.
“There will also be some pieces that are ‘memento mori.’ Even though it’s hard to make art at times, it gives me an outlet for my grief,” Kahlo said, referring to the Latin phrase that serves as an a reminder of our inevitable mortality. “But I also want my work to also have joy, because another part of memento mori is ‘memento vivere’ — remember you must die, but remember you must live.”
Of their creative partnership, Armstrong said that while the couple’s work is very different, they often acknowledge how much they have influenced each other.
“We can’t help but rub off on each other,” he said. “I’ve dabbled in a lot of different things, but I never really had a good understanding of color. I’ve learned a lot about color from Diane.
Kahlo, whose original artistic focus was painting, has more recently been creating multi-level paintings to add depth to her work and make them more expressive of her ideas. Photo by Mick Jeffries
Armstrong added that Kahlo had been incorporating woodworking into her paintings long before they became a couple, but that he has helped her expand her knowledge and skill in that area as well.
“Of course we trust each other,” he added. “I can ask her questions about what I’m doing and she can ask me questions about what she’s doing. I don’t want her to do it my way, but sometimes you need somebody to bounce things off of.”
The two also acknowledge that they feel lucky to have been able to live so much of their lives as working artists.
“I’ve been a full-time artist for about 20 years. I got a degree in painting and drawing 50 years ago, and I always knew I wanted to be an artist. But life takes you on different journeys,” Kahlo said. “I’ve had many lives.”
Armstrong, who’s been a full-time artist for just over 30 years, said, “It’s amazing that we’ve been doing it this long. I always said if I can’t make a living, I’ll find something else to do, but somehow we’ve been able to eke out enough. That’s all we want. Just to be able to keep doing what we love.”
Kahlo and Armstrong's upcoming show is the first to be fully dedicated to the blending of their individual bodies of work. Photo by Mick Jeffries
“Chiaroscuro: A Life of Light and Shadow”
On display at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center through Feb. 1
Gallery Hop reception Jan. 17