Interview with Art Collector, Lou Zell
LMG: What brought you to Linda Matney, what do you like about the gallery, and what continues to attract you to the gallery? Comment on the first piece you collected.
Kent Knowles with his daughter.
Kent Knowles, Passage, 2016.
LZ: I take art classes at School School of Art in Williamsburg. My Teacher, Tina Rodriguez, invited me to go with her to the Linda Matney Gallery to view a Kent Knowles exhibit. I loved the exhibit. In fact I used his painting Reflector as and inspiration for my oil painting “Presence” for Lily Oncolology on Canvas fundraiser.
Kent Knowles, Reflector. INQUIRE
Later I bought a painting from Kent Knowles when he did a creative workshop at the Gallery. I continue to visit the artists and exhibits that come to the Linda Matney Gallery. I fell in love with the gallery on that first visit. I feel part of the Linda Matney Gallery "family" and have enjoyed the diverse exhibits and being able to meet the artists, which you don't get to do in a large museum.
Kent Knowles and Lou Zell
The Kent Knowles piece I bought was after his 8-hour painting demonstration. I learned some great painting techniques from his demo. Kent Knowles may begin with a plan in mind, but he is so free and creative during the middle of the workshop, he took the painting in an entirely different direction. So I learned about the freedom we have in painting and to take the time to step back and study your work as you go and let the painting tell you the next steps.
LMG: Comment on the work by Miles Cleveland Goodwin in your collection. What drew you to the work and the exhibit
LZ: Miles Cleveland Goodwin's work is profoundly spiritual and in touch with the "soul" of the land, people, and nature. On my 18 acre farm, there is a wolf buried on my property many years ago. "Claw" was memorialized with a granite headstone. So I was drawn to his painting "Conviction." A lone wolf howling at the moon as if backing away from something yet committed to moving forward. I also was a bit mesmerized by "Sheep." Miles painted this during the pandemic. It is haunting as one sheep looks over a dead herd and a white dog that was probably trying to protect them. It relates to how we were feeling at the time about the pandemic. Not understanding, just watching. Later I discovered "Haint." Some may consider it dark, but to me, it shows our eternal connection to nature and the land. There is a comforting feeling his works give me.
Lou Zell with her collection.
Comment on collecting photography
LZ: I have a number of photographs from the gallery including works by John Lee Matney and Glenn Shepard
American, b. 1963
Jeremy Ayers, 2020/ Image from 1990s
Archival pigment print
14 × 11 in
35.6 × 27.9 cm
Editions 1-15 of 15 + 2AP
Doll, Manu Park 2007, 2020
Archival pigment print
This work is part of a limited edition set.
Transposition Asian Cultures, 2018. PURCHASE FROM THE EXHIBIT ON ARTSY
LMG: Comment on the two shows of Chinese Art and why you supported the exhibits
LZ: I went to the Chinese Art Exhibit at the Linda Matney Gallery and in Richmond, Virginia.
I have taken two years of Chinese language at VCU. I also have adopted three dogs from the meat trade in China. So I have many friends in China and was quite interested in the artwork they would bring. The exhibit was quite diverse, from Realism to abstraction and even a running video exhibit. I enjoyed the paintings of faces by an artist that paints every day. The works seemed to have hidden messages, such as bringing to focus characters by using a bright color outside the tones of grey tones.
Also, because I work with rescues in China and work together to eliminate the dog and cat meat trade, I wanted to share the beautiful part of China's culture.
LMG: Comment on plans for art collecting
READ THE TRANSCRIPT OF SOUTHERN GROOVE: KENT KNOWLES REFLECTS ON ART ROSENBAUM, PART 1
I was excited to attend a Kent Knowles webinar focusing on another great artist at Art Rosenbaum's gallery (see above)
I encourage people to visit this amazing gallery I believe has been called a "hidden jewel" in Williamsburg. I actually hope when the work at my farm is completed, I can start oil painting again with all the inspiration I have received visiting the Linda Matney Gallery. I recently developed an appreciation for abstract art, taking a class by Khalid Thompson. He surely took me out of my "reality-driven" comfort zone. But that's what is great about art. The freedom to create whatever and however you want. Nothing is wrong with art.
LMG: Comment on Filmore Found and your work with animals.
LZ: Filmore Found has been my dream for a long time. My Father's middle name is Filmore. He himself an artist. The first oil painting I did in tenth grade, he helped me frame it, and my parents hung it in their home until they passed away, and now I have it. Filmore is also the name of a beagle I rescued years ago. He dug out and followed a Labrador Retriever into another yard, but he was found. So my Dad helped me find art and nature. Thus the name Filmore Found seems to work for my farm and my art. My farm is a dream, a sanctuary for my dogs and cats, rescued from shelters, the streets, and the meat trade in Asia. They are my inspiration as they have been through so much suffering yet never lost their ability to express love and compassion.
I should add that I took two of my dogs, Miro and Jangbi, to Capitol Hill to tell their stories and lobby for animal welfare. I also spoke at the Second Congressional Hearing to ask Congress to end the Dog and Cat Meat Trade. And on December 20, 2018, the Dog and Cat Prohibition Act was signed into law.
