‘Sanctuary’ comes to UK’s Niles Gallery

The next Little/Gaines Artist Series presentation will explore the meaning behind subconscious symbols and themes in the arts.

“Sanctuary,” featuring the artwork of local visual artist and UK alumna Christine Kuhn and music by vocalist and UK alumna Tina Rodgers, will begin at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Niles Gallery, located in University of Kentucky’s Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center.

As part of the Little/Gaines Artists Series, Kentucky artists team up with one or two collaborators in visual, literary, musical or dramatic arts to stage unique exhibitions.

“Sanctuary” will feature five paintings from Kuhn accompanied by performances by Rodgers singing “O Magnum Mysterium” by Tomás Luis de Victoria; “Amarilli Mia Bella” by Giulio Caccini; Symphony No. 3 First Movement “Sorrowful Songs” by Henryk Górecki; and “Après un Rêve” by Gabriel Fauré.

Little/Gaines Artist Kuhn used her PEMA technique to create the paintings for “Sanctuary.”

“PEMA paintings are not pre-planned, they arise spontaneously and instinctively, the image gradually emerging from the many layers of a richly textured and colored abstract background,” Kuhn said. “These images are developed subtractively, by painting the ground in around the figures. Each layer brings new and sometimes surprising developments.”

Kuhn is a visual artist, art instructor and world traveler. She holds degrees in biology, chemistry and diplomacy and has used her chemistry education to create her own medium, which combines mixed media, and drawing and painting techniques with cast epoxy resins. Kuhn’s artwork has exhibited in the U.S., Bulgaria and Ecuador. She has received grants from the Kentucky Arts Council, LexArts, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, and the Kentucky Foundation for Women. In addition to being an artist, Kuhn works with children and adults, helping them discover themselves through the creative process.

Vocalist Tina Rodgers, of Frankfort, holds a bachelor’s degree in music from UK. In addition to singing, she is an eco-wearable art designer and owner of Rebirth Recycling.

The Little/Gaines Artist Series is presented by the Little Fine Arts Library and the Gaines Center for the Humanities. All Little/Gaines Artist Series programs will take place on Tuesdays in the Niles Gallery of the Little Fine Arts Library. Each program will last approximately an hour and a half and will include a reception.

For more information on the Little/Gaines Artist Series or on Christine Kuhn and Tina Rodgers’ presentation, contact Gail Kennedy, director of Little Fine Arts Library, at 859-257-4631 or Lisa Broome-Price, associate director of the Gaines Center, at 859-257-1537, or visit the series on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LittleGainesArtistSeries.