Lebanon Artist Susan Crum-Cox to hold first art exhibit of semester at Campbellsville University

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Lebanon artist Susan Crum-Cox will show art work at Campbellsville University Aug. 25-Sept. 11.

CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY (08/20/2015)(readMedia)-- A Closer Look at Home: Recent Paintings" is the name of the art exhibit by Susan Crum-Cox, a visual artist from Lebanon, Ky., who will show works at Campbellsville University's Pence-Chowning Art Gallery, 205 University Drive, Campbellsville, Ky., Aug. 25-Sept. 11.

An opening reception for Crum-Cox will be from 3:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27 at the gallery. Everyone is invited. This is her second exhibit at Campbellsville; her first was in 1989 when she exhibited clay work.

Crum-Cox retired in May from teaching art at Marion County High School where she was head of the arts and humanities department. She taught there from 1995 until her retirement.

"My impasto landscape and still life paintings reflect the world in which I live, the modest rural areas of central Kentucky," she said.

"Painting was my first love, but in college it was soon replaced by a love of clay. Stoneware jewelry and pit-fired vessels showed relief textures and earthy stains. Once again I am exploring painting, and that love of texture is still a dominant force in my work."

Crum-Cox said, "Rich impasto surfaces created with acrylic paint and applied with the palette knife can be seen and felt on my canvas, reflecting the land that surrounds my home of over 60 years. I am influenced by Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists, as well as the Fauves and their extravagant use of color."

She said her process involves taking black and white photos of home landscape and still life, and creating a palette of colors of her own that better describes her subject.

"More than a photographic recreation, I convey the spirit, emotion and vitality of this beautiful place and the serenity of living here," she said.

Crum-Cox also taught at St. Catharine College from 1980 until 1995 where she was professor of art and humanities department chair.

Crum-Cox is a native of Marion County and is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University where she earned both her bachelor and master degrees.

Having recently retired, she has returned to her first artistic love -- painting. Today she lives on the farm where she grew up in New Market with her husband, David.

She has additional study at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky.; Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, Penn.; Memphis College of Art in Memphis, Tenn.; Watkins College of Art in School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Ill.; Haystack Mountain School in Deer Isle, Maine; Watkins College of Art in Nashville, Tenn.; Taft Educational Center in Watertown, Conn.; Kentucky Arts Academy; and yearly art workshops at Arrowmont School.

She received the Campbellsville University Excellence in Teaching Award in 2000-01.

Crum-Cox designed a one-of-a-kind Christmas ornament for display in the East Room for President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in 1986. She also had a jewelry collection for Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins in 1987.

She has exhibited at Starting Small in New York, New York; Opera House Gallery in Springfield, Ky.; St. James Court Art Show in Louisville, Ky.; Berea Arts and Crafts Fair in Berea, Ky.; Fall Arts and Crafts Fair at St. Catharine College; Artique in Lexington, Ky.; Evanston Arts and Crafts Show in Evanston, Ill.; Handcrafted Jewelry Show in Cape May, N.J.; Governor's Breakfast in Frankfort, Ky.; Kentucky Arts and Crafts Foundation Gallery Shop and Potpourri for the Arts, both in Louisville.

She has also been a Kentucky Crafts Market Juried Exhibitor, exhibiting jewelry in Kentucky Crafts Markets in Lexington and Louisville.

The Pence-Chowning Art Gallery hours will be set when student employees' schedules are gathered for the fall semester after classes begin Aug. 25.

To see the exhibit, go the Art Building behind the gallery and see an art professor or call (270) 789-5268.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.

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