November Final Friday
November 29th - January 26th
For a very special Black Friday edition of Final Friday we are pleased offer 2 of Lawrence’s top artists! Join us on Friday on November 29th from 6 to 9 pm at the Phoenix Gallery where a unique and visually stunning show awaits! Our Phoenix Underground Gallery features local and national favorite artist Louis Copt with his new exhibition, Ad Astra. Known for his burning Flint Hills paintings, Louis’ show will feature pieces specially curated by the artist. Louis’ exhibit will be up until the end of January 2025, so plenty of time to visit with any out-of-town guests and a great opportunity to find a gift!
Louis will be in attendance to offer insight into his newest exhibition.
Featured in our Phoenix West Gallery is Bri Ladwig’s series titled Couldn’t Drag Me Away. A collection of beautiful ink painted horses; Bri’s show is a perfect complement for Louis’ Kansas-focused artwork. Be sure to stop by opening night to have the pleasure of viewing them together and to get a chance to talk to Bri about her artwork!
Opening night music will be provided by fan favorite local musicians Frydman and Harris.
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Louis Copt
Lawrence, KS
Artist Louis Copt was born January 29, 1949, in Emporia, Kansas. Spending time on a farm as a child and growing up near the Kansas Flint Hills had a profound effect on Copt and has translated into his passion for landscape painting.
He graduated from Emporia State University in 1971, with a degree in art. Copt began his career as a full-time artist in 1985, after returning from a summer of study at the Art Students League in New York City. He has worked with some of Kansas’ most notable artists including Jim Brothers, Robert Sudlow, Robert Green, Robert Brawley and Stan Herd.
Louis’ current work focuses on the prairie in just about every season, but particularly the annual spring burn-off in the Flint Hills. His primary medium is oil on canvas which allows him to work on a larger scale and provides the depth and color that best translates his particular vision. He is fascinated by the challenge of capturing the force of nature as the fires race across the prairie renewing the landscape for yet another season.
Through painting, Copt inspires viewers to see the landscape in ways they may not think about. By isolating images often taken for granted, viewers see the landscape in new and different ways and find new appreciation for what surrounds them.
In 2016, Louis was the featured artist in the Lawrence Arts Center’s Annual Benefit Auction. His one-person exhibition showcased a series of new works featuring contemporary paintings and cast glass sculptures of Kansas barns. He has recently completed several large scale outdoor murals in Lawrence and Manhattan, Kansas.
Louis’ work has been featured three times in The Artist’s Magazine, and three times he has won its award for Top Finalist in the Landscape Division. He has also been featured in American Artist Magazine. His work has also been featured in the scholarly publication American Art Review. In 2011, he was named Kansas Governor’s Artist. His work is owned by private collectors nationally, and he has executed several regional, public commissions as well as having his work included in the Kansas State University’s Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, and the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas.
Louis has taught at the Lawrence Arts Center for over 25 years and has led travel and painting workshops to France, Spain and Italy. He occasionally teaches drawing and painting classes at the University of Kansas. Louis has served on many arts organizations boards and is active in several community service projects.
You can find Louis’ exhibit in the Phoenix Underground Gallery.
To view pieces online or to purchase, please click here
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Bri Ladwig
Lawrence, KS
“Couldn’t Drag Me Away is a collection of ink
paintings of horses that tell a story or wildness,
desire, rage, exuberance, and freedom.”
Bri Ladwig is a Black mixed-race queer mama, illustrator, and doula whose work centers around Black Joy, Pleasure, Liberation, decolonizing storytelling, generational healing, and Afrofuturism. In 2023, she self-published “Couldn’t Drag Me Away”, a collection of original watercolor illustrations and poetry. Published in 2020, “Love Stretches” is a heartfelt exploration of how contemporary families hold onto big love in challenging circumstances. In 2024, she illustrated “Ordinary Time”, published by Tilted House Books. She is also the creator and curator of Honey Fair Magazine, a liberated art magazine. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas where she has built a home on love, freedom, and belonging for her two children, Zsa Zsa and Aiden.
You can find Bri’s exhibit in the Phoenix Gallery's Upper West Gallery and her portfolio, merch shop, doula services, and more on BriLadwig.com.
She is on Instagram as @briladwigillustration.
To view pieces online or to purchase, please click here
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Frydman and Harris are an award winning folk duo from Lawrence. They have had original songs selected as winners at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, at the Kerrville, Texas Folk Festival and have won first place in the Ensemble Folk Singing contest at the Kansas Fiddlers and Pickers Championship in Lawrence.
They sing original Americana-style folk and country songs and also do cover songs by the likes of John Prine, Woody Guthrie, and Bob Dylan.
Frydman and Harris have one CD. It’s called “So Long Facebook”. You can listen to them on YouTube.
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This exhibit will be in the Phoenix Underground Gallery, with our featured artists stopping by on opening night to discuss and promote their artwork. Be sure to like and follow our Facebook before the show so you can be kept up to date on events involving the Final Friday November exhibition.