Your Art Louisville - Simone Brown // Les Heinze

Public Art Location: 3435 S 7th St, Louisville, KY

Artist Statement for “Libirty”

In the painting “Libirty” Simone Brown explores the themes of activism, identity, and social justice in communities where these qualities are often stifled. The vividly crafted painting provides a depiction of the people in these areas rising in unison. The piece is intended to be thought provoking and spark discussion from viewers.

“The painting is a socially conscious depiction of life in urban communities from the perspective of women who exist in them. Growing up a black woman in a community riddled with poverty, I began exploring activism through art. This new self-awareness led me to the exploration of identity and how it correlates with society. “Libirty” was created to be a representation of a new emergence of activism throughout these communities. The brightly utilized color scheme draws from personal emotions linked to these environments. The cool cityscape being symbolic of the cold reality of life in the inner city, contrasts harmoniously with the warm tones used to depict the union of the people at bottom.”

Connect with Simone on Instagram at @simone_renae502.

Public Art Location: 519 S 6th St, Louisville, KY

BIO

Les Heinze is a mixed media artist and instructor with Verizon Innovative Learning. As a teaching artist she works to encourage middle school girls to use creative thinking with augmented and virtual reality while merging those skills with social entrepreneurship, design thinking and 3D printing. Les furthers her work as an artist by assisting community projects that help empower the youth and women of all ages through creative expression by thinking in unconventional terms that challenge them to think outside the box.

Statement

Les Heinze’s work is inspired by her observations of cultural objectification of women throughout society. She intentionally creates each piece as a character with bold colors and features that provoke themes of illusion, mystery and fantasy. Each character created portrays a role to be fulfilled within a perceived reality while reflecting the stoic feminine seeking liberation from the created societal chaos and asking the viewer to realize that the attainment of freedom is much more complex than a superficial image of role.

Connect with Les on Instagram at @lesheinzeart.

Curated by Kentucky Foundation for Women

Connect with KFW on Instagram at @kyfound4women.