Lex Hade is a BFA painting candidate at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Hade characterizes her youth as similar to ones described in children’s books. This quintessential American upbringing guides the choice of subject matter in her paintings today. Objects, such as a classic Drinkmaster Drink Mixer or an old football helmet, call forth memories from the past for the artist and for the works’ viewers. Hade says, “One of the great things about being an artist is that I can spend hours studying these collected objects and allow my subconscious to reflect. It’s a privilege to be able to do that and in doing so to appreciate the fundamental aspects of reality.” That said, her observational skills and technical mastery are tools at the service of her happy ideas. And yet, Hade’s work comments wryly on the processes of painting itself. As she fools around with its raw materials of surface, color, and scale, she succeeds in imbuing her objects with an inner life without restoring to extreme particularity.

Hade is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, such as the Nancy N. Lewis Endowed Scholarship for both her portfolio and academics. She will return to Savannah, Georgia this summer to complete her studies in painting and art history. In November, she will be a presenter for “Seeing is Believing: Art Outside the Classroom” a session of the 2011 Annual Southeastern College Art Conference.