Past Exhibits

The University Libraries are proud to host an exhibit of paintings, tapestries, and ceramics created by artist Dorothy Linsley of Little Rock. “Eclectic” is the first word that springs to mind when viewing this exhibit that spans more than half a century of creative output. Linsley says, “I began in 1952 to exhibit paintings after four lessons with a teacher named Clifton King.” She remembers, “Art in Arkansas was also young and exhibits were mostly one-man shows by anyone who volunteered to show,” so, she says, “[I] kept painting on my own, entering any and every show that did not require slides or fees.” In 1960 Linsley won first place in a National Regional show by Motorola, which she calls “an important boost.”

During the mid-fifties, Linsley took about two months of weekly painting lessons from Ed Brewer (son of Adrian Brewer, a noted Arkansas artist at that time). Then, in 1968 and 1969 Linsley audited two years of a BFA painting course sponsored by Winthrop Rockefeller at the Arkansas Arts Center, classes to which, Linsley says, “I give credit for the most improvement in my painting skills.” Paintings from this era demonstrate Linsley’s skill in a variety of styles, including the experimental abstraction with color found in “Bonnard’s Dog” (1970) and the realistically detailed, albeit tongue-in-cheek, “Homage to Vermeer” (1969), a self portrait styled after Vermeer’s own.

Linsley’s fascination with creative experimentation spilled over into her interest in ceramics in the early 1970s. She takes pride in the fact that she creates each ceramic piece from scratch—even making the clay and glazes herself with her own mortar and pestal. Traditional pottery items such as “Vase” (1973) and “Vase” (2000) are unusual in their glaze treatments, which Linsley notes are dependent upon the whims and quirks of the firing process. More experimental in form include the pieces “Shard Plant,” which looks like an object taken from a Dr. Seuss book, and “Armadillo” (1990), a life sized armadillo.

Also included in the exhibit are two examplesof Linsley’s tapestries, another self-taught media that she discovered in the 1980s. Linsley notes, “One of the tapestries [“Interstate Landscape” (1987)] is made entirely with square knots creating the texture.” The tapestry “American Safari” (1984) made of fiber, wood, and clay demonstrates Linsley’s habit of mixing avariety of artistic media in a single piece of art. Linsley notes of her technique in this tapestry, “No different colors are tied together, but are moved from place to place by hiding them behind other knots.”

For more information, or to inquire about items available for purchase, call Turtle Creek Pottery and Art (501) 868-5991 or Mullins Library (479) 575-6702. “50-Year Retrospective” will be on display in the main lobby area and in the Helen R. Walton Reading Room display cases in Mullins Library through the end of December.