SUNSET HILLS, Mo. – A pair of brand-new exhibits have opened up at Laumeier Sculpture Park, showing new styles from three artists in south St. Louis County.

Even the heavy rain couldn’t get in the way of the three artists -Vaughn Davis Jr., Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis – as they displayed their hard work to the public Saturday.

“I want to create a work in the painting genre that has never been seen before,” said Davis.

Two displays are being shown at the park to demonstrate their respective specialties.
Inside the Aronson Fine Arts Center, several paintings were put up with their own special features.

“I want to think about what a piece of art can look like,” said Davis. “Is it unfinished? Is it complete?”

Davis showed FOX 2 an exhibit called “The Fabric of Our Time.” It features paintings that have been torn in various ways. He says he lays canvases on the floor, and drenches them.

“I like to give homage to the working class in my practice,” said Davis. “I use sponges, I use mops brooms, brushes, anything that I can typically find to make this body of work.”

At the second exhibit, the work of Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis shows 29 kites resting in a tree outside, as part of an exhibit called “29 Tragedies.”

“We’ve all flown kites before,” said Clayton. “It’s a very familiar part of being a human. You’ve flown a kite as a kid, or seen someone fly kites, so it’s something we can all connect with.”

The kites are actually made out of aluminum with hand-made tails. They are carefully placed at separate parts of the tree. Lewis calls the exhibit a blurring of art and life.

“There was a string and a tail and a piece of a kite that was stuck in the tree from sometime, so it’s a logical thing that happens in life,” said Lewis.

These creators are clearly demonstrating the motivation to distinguish themselves from other artists.

“I want this work to be synonymous with my name,” said Davis.

Laumeier Sculpture Park is hosting a program called “Art and Artists in Nature” on Sunday.
You can get your own look at these exhibits, and more, plus meet the people behind these abstract concepts, Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information on upcoming events at Laumeier Sculpture Park, click here.