LEXINGTON, Ky.—Five married couples with dual art careers contribute their work to this exhibition, “To Have & To Hold,” which opens January 12 and runs through February 23. The exhibit draws its name from traditional wedding vows.
Artist couples include Transylvania art professor Kurt Gohde and Kate Sprengenether, Steve Armstrong and Diane Kahlo, Gary and Elizabeth Mesa-Gaido, Peter Bodnar III and Lida Gordon, and Brian and Sara Turner.
The idea for the show came from the observations and curiosity of Morlan Gallery director Andrea Fisher.
“I was interested in the day-to-day lives of married artists,” she said. “How do these couples navigate the division of labor in their home lives and their professional lives? Who does the laundry, who writes the grants and who remembers to pay the bills? And how do these couples deal with the jealously and competitive feelings that would most certainly arise in their professional lives?”
A gallery “artzine” with artist interviews conducted by Transylvania art history professor Nancy Wolsk will look at how these artists navigate their professional and domestic responsibilities. The publication will include photographs of the artists and original temporary tattoos designed by each couple as a Valentine’s Day gift from the gallery.
The Morlan Gallery is open weekdays, noon to 5 p.m., and by special appointment. The gallery will be closed Monday, January 15 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The gallery is a stop on the Lexington Gallery Hop Friday, February 16, from 5-8 p.m. This exhibition is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Andrea Fisher, director of the Morlan Gallery, at (859) 233-8142.