A Gallery Hop exhibit reception celebrating the multimedia artwork of Dan Dutton of Rivera-Dutton Sculpture Studios, from the series "All Blue Cats."
From artist Dan Dutton, who shares a studio with collaborator Jesse Rivera in Somerset, Ky:
"In the early 80s I dreamed that I saw a blue cat, laying contentedly underwater, in a small stream near my home.I did a painting of it, and more followed. WhenJesse Rivera and I decided to join forces and formRivera-Dutton Sculpture Studio, one of the first things that we made were Blue Cats, cutout of car hoods. Those Blue Cats paid our bills and helped us get our studio up and running.When LexArts invited us to do a show in their space downtown, the Blue Cat was the first thing that popped into mind, and we wondered what it would be like to focus on that image entirely.Thus we decided to title the show All Blue Cats. Once we began work on the concept the image opened up in unexpected and surprising ways, leading our attention back to the first civilization on this continent - the Olmecs. 3,500 years ago, the cat, the most powerful native cat, in the form of a jaguar, was at the center of art, fused with the imagery of rain, and the corn that their civilization was founded on.
When I imagine the Blue Cats, I see them as baby water jaguars - released from the rain drops to hop about on the corn blades. The ancient Olmecs well-understood the power and importance of water in our lives, how it sustains us, and the plants and animals we depend on to survive. We think of our work as being part of an emerging eco-culture - devoted to preserving, protecting and celebrating the sources of life, and the beauty that they generate."
The exhibition is on display at the LexArts Gallery at ArtsPlace from July 16- August 29.
Gallery hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10-5, Wednesday 10-8, Saturday 12-5, closed Sunday
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