From the beginning of October through December, local artist Ann Kulpa’s artwork will be featured on the first floor of OzSBI, 408 Washington Ave. in West Plains.
The West Plains Council on the Arts and Ozarks Small Business Incubator have partnered to bring quarterly art displays to the incubator. Visitors may view the display at the incubator during OzSBI’s business hours, anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
“Ann Kulpa gives the viewer multiple layers in her collages,” said WPCA Coordinator Janey Hale, describing the works. “It’s worth your time to pause and explore the various media, textural components, and use of color to create nonrepresentational art.”
Kulpa is a self-taught creative who has been working on her art since she was a child. She has lived in Cabool for 20 years with her husband, and lived in Colorado for many years before moving to the Ozarks.
In Colorado, Kulpa competed in juried art shows earning numerous awards and accepting commission work as a portrait artist and mural painter. While living in Cabool she discovered the creative process of digital art painting. She became very involved in digital work for years while continuing her work in photography, pencil and pen-and-ink drawings on the side. Using these media, she has won awards in juried art shows locally.
Because of her interest in the process of creating intuitively, in 2022, Kulpa returned to the form of abstract art that she loved to create as a child. In the last two years, she has enrolled in several educational courses which she says she is using as a springboard in creating her multimedia, multilayered, intuitive artwork. As she develops this art form, she hopes to introduce portraiture into her work.
“I am enjoying this challenging process which is much like working a creative puzzle,” says Kulpa. “The intuitive nature of creating in this way means I am always surprised throughout the process.
A meet-the-artist event will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 19 in OzSBI’s lobby. The public is invited to attend, meet Kulpa and view and discuss the pieces on display.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Madison Sutterfield madisonsutterfield@ozsbi.com or Hale at jhale2129@gmail.com.
