Exonerated Painting

By contrast, Kris’ works are gritty — both literally and figuratively — gray and layered, his subjects are centrally focused over a massaged background. Born out of necessity, he engineered what was available for a base. Practiced over time and throughout many paintings this strategy became his style — matching subject matter to canvas and frame. Used cardboard, worn and tattered tarps stapled to one-by-fours, boxes and dismantled furniture are just a few of the starting points for a Kris Gebhardt “paintumentary.” Each one tells a story about someone he has met, worked with and known — whether that is an actual person, the archetype of a being or himself. His inspiration comes from a variety of places like the Greatest Generation, friends, employers and his own non-artistic career. Gebhardt is proficient at portraying Every Man and his struggles. On Exhibit @ Red Dot Miami 2019 Each December, the art world shines a warm, bright spotlight on Miami Art Week. Art Basel, Switzerland’s premier event for modern and contemporary art, has had a satellite exhibition in the “Magic City” since 2002. Sixteen years later, Miami has dozens of venues for art, beyond the hundreds of international galleries at Art Basel, additional vendors and individual artists are represented at Spectrum, Red Dot, and others. Award-winning, Indiana artists Kris and Angela Gebhardt, for the sixth year in a row, are in good company at Red Dot. Kris is a 2003 Indiana Business Journal “Top 40 Under 40” alumnus, author and fitness consultant who worked with Indiana icons John Mellencamp and Bill Cook. He and Angela co-owned Envy Design Salon and Hair Care line in Broad Ripple. And in conjunction with a multi-million dollar restoration project, both Kris and Angela restored the Spas at French Lick to their former prestige and beyond. Together they have parlayed success into visual expression through mixed-media impressionist and contemporary paintings, adding internationally acclaimed artist to their respective résumés. As for Angela, only she knows what truly inspires her mixed-media pieces. She layers images, numbers, words and shapes in acrylic, charcoal, oil, chalk, graphite, paper and more to form her “auto-paint-ographies”— which hang in some of the most elegant homes from Carmel to the Atlantic Ocean, overlooking spectacular scenery like New York City’s Central Park. According to Kris, “Attendees, collectors are energized with shows like Spectrum/Red Dot that feature new artists and cutting edge work.” He followed up with “[patrons] repeatedly tell us how sick and tired they are of having Warhols shoved down their throats.” The art world at large is in love with the Gebhardts’ large-format freedom of expression. During Miami Art Week one can purchase a Warhol if they want, but when there is so much unusual and creative work from all over the world, who would want to? This year’s Art Basel and Miami Art Week takes place ‪December‬ with displays all over the Miami, Miami Beach and Wynwood Arts District areas. See how much of the show you can cover in a week, walk among the paintings, view famous works of art, and don’t forget to people-watch.