Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft is pleased to announce that Wesley James, a Kentucky ceramic artist, has been named the first artist chosen to participate in the Museum’s Artist-in-Residence program. This new program is open to emerging artists and includes several benefits, such as use of studio space, tools and a computer, contact with professional artists, and exhibition entry as determined by the museum Curator. Wesley will be working in a studio on the 3rd floor of the Museum through July 1, 2008.
The Museum initiated this new program to provide the selected artist with studio space to nurture their craft and to allow Museum visitors the opportunity to see the art making process first hand. The selection criteria included quality of concept, quality of past work, and relevance of project content to other current projects at the museum. In exchange for the benefits this program provides, the artist is expected to work at least 20 hours a week in the studio and be as available as possible to meet with visitors to the Museum.
“We are always exploring new ways to support and promote Kentucky artists,” says Dane Waters, Director of Education. “We wanted to open our space and find an artist who would bring an intense energy to the building. Wesley shows immense talent and momentum in his work, so we are thrilled to showcase him as the inaugural artist in this exciting program.”
Wesley’s current works include a 48”x8”x20” “Gas Pump” created from clay with sgraffito imagery and a 36”x32”x20” “Shopping Cart” made of carved and painted wood.
“I strive for my work to be aesthetically appealing, entertaining and inquisitive in subject, and humorous at times,” said Wesley. In his tenure in the Artist in Residence program, he will work mostly in wood and clay, and he hopes to create a body of work documenting the relationship between consumers and producers of food.
Several of Wesley’s pieces can be seen in the upcoming exhibition New Blue: New and Emerging Kentucky Artists, on display at the Museum from February 23 through May 24, 2008.
About Wesley James
Wesley James was born in Murray, Kentucky, and graduated from Murray State University in December 2007, where he earned a bachelor degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Ceramics. As a young artist, Wesley has already exhibited his works at Pyro Gallery in Louisville, KY and has had a solo BFA exhibition titled Observations on the Ordinary: Clay and Wood Sculptures in Murray, KY. Wesley is currently focused on his craft and participating in the KMAC Artist in Residency Program. He has applied for graduate school admission and hopes to become an art professor of ceramics and other 3D mediums. To see more of Wesley’s work, visit his website at www.wesleyjames.net
