Over the Moon: The Eclectic Art of Ann Farnsley
November 3, 2022-January 7, 2023
The Carnegie Center is pleased to announce an exhibition showcasing a lifetime of art created by Vevay, Indiana artist Ann Farnsley. The exhibition Over the Moon: The Eclectic Art of Ann Farnsley opens Saturday, September 10, 2022 at the Community Art Center of Switzerland County, followed by exhibition at the Carnegie Center for Art and History November 3, 2022 through January 7, 2023.
A Louisville, KY native, Ann moved to Vevay, IN in 1970 after living in Germany and New York City.
“I just fell in love with the place,” Ann told The Courier-Journal writer Joan Kay in 1986. “It was the opposite of New York. Just a small country town, no industry, rural. It’s just a peaceful place.”
Ann resided in Vevay until her death in October 2021. She worked in a variety of media with images of not just what she saw, but what she imagined.
Over the Moon features over 100 works of Farnsley art, many created in her home studio on Vevay’s West Market Street. During her career, Ann painted and sketched stunning landscapes, portraits and abstracts. Using discarded objects and wood found on the Ohio Riverbank, she produced unique three-dimensional ceramic and assemblage pieces.
Ann created an art form she named spacescapes. These abstract fantasies brought whimsical people, animals and angels to life on canvas, ceramic, fabric and paper. Ann’s artistic output was prodigious and constant; a painting in progress perched on her easel at the time of her death.
While Ann’s works are among the collections at The Filson Historical Society and the University of Louisville, most of her art is held by private collectors. A committee of Ann’s friends and family formed in December 2021 to locate her art and connect with the owners.
“We found close to 250 pieces of art and met more than 50 art owners,” says Ann’s youngest brother Doug Farnsley who chairs the Over the Moon Committee. “I was always close to Ann, but working on the exhibition I came to know her in a deeper and more meaningful way.”
Retired professor of curatorial studies at the University of Louisville Hite Institute of Art and Design John Begley was tapped to curate Over the Moon and select work that illustrates the breadth of Ann’s creative output.
“Ann saw her art as a window into a world of imagination and fantasy, but also a way to claim her identity and reveal her inner self,” Begley said. “As her career develops, Ann’s work becomes more confident in her independent path. It truly moves Over the Moon, a celestial plane of her own making.”
Over the Moon: The Eclectic Art of Ann Farnsley will be exhibited in the Second Floor Gallery of the Community Art Center of Switzerland County, 217 Ferry Street, Vevay, IN through October 10. Hours are noon to 4 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Over the Moon travels to the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, IN, for a nine-week exhibition November 3, 2022, to January 7, 2023. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 8 p.m. on Thursday.
At both venues admission is free and open to the public.
For more Ann Farnsley art, visit https://www.facebook.com/annfarnsleyart and https://www.instagram.com/annfarnsleyart/
Images: Ann Farnsley, 2016 (L); Ann Farnsley, Horse with Cat Companion, oil on canvas (R)