FRANKFORT, Ky. — Visitors to the Capitol during the Derby season will have the opportunity to see the work of Kentucky artists in the Governor’s Derby Exhibit, April 24-May 16, 2012, in the Rotunda. The show of paintings, drawings and photographs is the result of an open call to artists coordinated by the Kentucky Arts Council on behalf of Gov. Steve Beshear and First Lady Jane Beshear as a part of the Governor’s Derby Celebration.

Mrs. Beshear will officially open the show at 2 p.m., April 24, with an opportunity for the public and the media to meet the artists, whose exhibited work features different perspectives on the theme of Kentucky landscapes.

The 22 pieces of artwork in the show, by 15 artists, were selected from 131 entries. Versailles artist Debbie Graviss served as the independent juror. Graviss, a professional artist working in pastels, earned a Bachelor of Arts in interior design from the University of Kentucky and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design and illustration from the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

Artwork by the following artists was selected to be in the Governor’s Derby Exhibit:

Sharon Asher, Beattyville
Roger Ballard, Versailles
Carolyn Bentley Adams, Morehead
Bettye Brookfield, Springfield
Anthony Chapman, Ashland
Dean Hill, West Liberty
Clare Hirn, Louisville
Lisa Hurst, Cynthiana
David Iacovazzi-Pau, Louisville
Tom Lamp, Danville
Michael Thomas McCardwell, Shelbyville
Michael Moore, Versailles
Melissa Rae Nesselrode, Frankfort
Wayne Stacy, Frankfort
David Toczko, Elizabethtown

Visitors can view the exhibit at the Capitol during public visiting hours, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and during the Governor’s Derby Celebration, Saturday, May 5.
To view an online slideshow of the exhibit, go to http://slidesha.re/GovDerbyExhibit.
Twitter users visiting the exhibit are encouraged to tweet comments using #govderbyart.

Earlier this month, Governor and Mrs. Beshear announced that the 76th annual Governor’s Derby Celebration will be held in historic downtown Frankfort for the second year in a row. This year’s celebration will be held on Kentucky Derby Day, Saturday, May 5, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information on the celebration, please visit http://governor.ky.gov/derbycelebration.

The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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