Internationally known artist artist Nancy Noel opens exhibit in Zionsville

When famed painter Nancy Noel was just getting started, she was represented by CV Art and Frame in Zionsville. Eventually, the artist opened her own space and sold her work there. Now, more than a year after her passing, CV Art and Frame is home to a diverse exhibition of Noel’s work. Once again lining her gallery with Noel’s work has been a labor of love for gallery owner, Barbara Jennings.

“I think the things that speak to me personally are the things I haven’t seen before,” Jennings said as she stood beside a director’s chair and pallette from Noel’s studio. “So, it’s almost the parts of Nancy I didn’t know.”

Although the gallery isn’t an expansive space, the placing of the paintings transport visitors on a visual journey filled with authenticity. It is an opportunity to learn about a strong, exceedingly talented woman who did things her own way.

“She built the farm that she wanted. She had the studio where she would paint above her horses,” said Noel’s son Michael Noel-Kosene as he stood beside a rendering of his mother’s beloved Arabian horse. “She woke up every day and did exactly what she wanted to do. So not only were we seeing amazing art being created, we also saw somebody who every day lived a very fulfilling life, exactly the way she wanted to do it.”

Gallery visitors will get an opportunity to hear the artist in her own voice. Michael’s brother, Alex, created a video in which he interviewed his mother about art, life, inspiration, and more. The video will play on a loop in the gallery. A large part of that video focuses on Noel’s love of animals.

“I think animals teach you a lot,” the artist says in the video. “If you’re really looking.”

“Animals gave her inspiration,” Michael said. “They gave her peace. They truly showed her the definition of unconditional love.”

Nancy Noel’s work is hanging now in the gallery at CV Art and Frame.

For more information, visit cvartandframe.com.