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Wednesday, January 24, 2001 Scene    ART    Bare skin focus of art exhibit   Nude people: The Lexington Art League presents more than 90 works of art   Amanda Thompson DIALOGUE CO-EDITOR   Snow laced the ground as a rush of warm wind from the swinging door of the Loudoun House Gallery brushes across my face. I stand thawing in the warm foyer of the Gothic-style building.   One of the five remaining Gothic structures left in the nation, Loudoun House sits on Castlewood Drive as home to a non-profit organization known as the Lexington Art League. It is here that The Nude 2001 celebrates its 15th annual juried exhibition with over 90 works in various mediums currently available to view.   I walked through the differing rooms filled with multiple manipulations of the human figure and could not help but feel overwhelmed by the amazing amount of talent as clearly defined on the white, plaster walls. The choices made by the jury were by far and away tough to make but definitely worth the effort.   Polly Singer, business executive director of Lexington Art League, when asked of the jury selections said, "the big thing they focused on was the play of light as well as the whimsical elements of the work."   From oil painting to bronze casting, each piece develops. Some pieces drew inspiration from such artists as Claude Monet, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso while others focused more on the classical elements of defining the space involved with the human form. However most works were focused on traditional methods of constructing the form and composition due to such issues as submissions being limited to selecting works via traditional elements in order to narrow down the vast number of applicants.   I came to realize a trend in the use of the pregnant nude. Although I found myself enjoying each work immensely I could not help but notice the consistent use of the female body over the display of the male nude. When asked about this, Singer stated that, "out of 598 submissions, only 15 to 20 were males."   One of the most intriguing works is Catherine Edlinger-Kunze's "Traumseit, The Dreaming." It appears removed from traditional styles while still retaining the elegance and movement of space so often seen in older works. This piece combines the mediums of acrylic and charcoal on linen which go onto define the form as simply breathtaking.   Even still other pieces such as Ross Zirkle's waterless lithography entitled "Wind Form" find themselves immersed in a world laden with heavy lines, sporadically placed to create the nude form as well as the roaming space created in the composition.   The show in its entirety is absolutely one of the best this year. It just so happens that this show will also be the exhibition for "the Alternative Happy Hour," better known to others as Fourth Friday. While the year is still young, The Nude 2001 is one exhibition no one should miss.   Current Headlines Scene

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