Exhibition for artist and community arts advocate Bill Ford opens at WKCTC's Paducah School of Art and Design September 26

Gallery at PSAD named for Ford

Paducah, KY (09/18/2019) — West Kentucky Community and Technical College's Paducah School of Art and Design will open Beaux Ties and the Art of Bill Ford with a reception September 26 from 5-6:30 p.m. The exhibition will be on display in the Bill Ford Gallery, which was named for the artist and community arts advocate. The gallery is located in the art school's 2D ad Graphic Design Building at 905 Harrison Street. The reception is free and open to the public.

Beaux Ties and the Art of Bill Ford is a mini retrospective that showcases a selection of works representing Ford's work as an artist from decades past to the present. The title of the exhibition is a play on words for the bow ties Ford is well-known for wearing.

Born in Memphis and having launched his career there after majoring in art at Memphis State University, Ford has also worked as an interior and set designer in Birmingham. Alabama, before moving to Paducah in 1989. Since that time, he has established himself as a noted interior designer and continued his work as a visual artist.

Ford's love of and service to his community is widely recognized. The main exhibition space at Paducah School of Art and Design is named in his honor through a major gift and naming request from the Carson-Meier Foundation during the fundraising campaign for construction of PSAD's 2D and Graphic Design Building in 2015.

"PSAD is pleased to present this overview of Bill's work as an artist and a creative professional," says art school director Paul Aho. "While his drawings and paintings certainly merit this recognition on their own accord, we are also delighted for the opportunity to recognize Bill's support of all things creative in Paducah, and the time and effort he has invested in this community and its growing success."

The exhibition will remain on display through October 26. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

West Kentucky Community and Technical College's PSAD offers an associate in fine arts degree in visual art and an associate in applied science degree and certificate programs in visual communication: multimedia, as well as studio art classes for students of all levels and disciplines. Classes are offered on WKCTC's campus; at 905 Harrison Street; and at 919 Madison Street.

For more information, call (270) 534.3901.

Media Attachments

These Butterflies are Not Free, mixed media on paper, 14” x 18”

Reverend Martin Luther King, ink drawing, 8.5” x 11”

Untitled, mixed media on paper, 20” x 15” 2013