Memphis Material

Born and raised in a lower middle class neighborhood fixed between the Mississippi border, the Memphis city limits and the well off suburbia; Lawrence Matthews’ early life was lived in places, ignored, forgotten and in the liminal interiors of southern family homes and spaces. His life and work exist as an extension of the southern gothic voices with whom he is aligned. He emerges as somewhat of a Morrisonian beloved ghost, a child who desired more. Now, fully grown as a manifestation of his environment’s love and bitterness intertwined. With a BFA from The University of Memphis and a decade long career exhibiting, performing and working with various arts nonprofits, his work in nearly every area of the arts is an amalgamation of his whole life. Visually inspired by Parks, Eggleston, and the regionalistic mythology of Paul Thomas Anderson and early Spike Lee; Matthews’ own visuals weave African spirituality with the Christian mythology that permeates the region. While working as a musician he’d create with the rap, soul and alternative rock references he’d come in contact with through his upbringing. His artistic practice highlights the deep relationship between the often maligned spiritual connections Black people have explored for generations, creating a hauntingly familiar but surreal experience.

Patricia Lee Daigle is Chief Curator at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art (MBMA), where she leads the curatorial department and specializes in modern and contemporary art. Prior to this role, she served as MBMA Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art between 2021 and 2025. At MBMA, she has curated numerous exhibitions including Suchitra Mattai: with abundance we meet (2025), Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative (2023), and Tommy Kha: Eye is Another (2023). She has also served as site curator for traveling exhibitions such as Christian Siriano: People Are People (organized by SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film) and Black American Portraits (organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). From 2015-2020, Patricia was Director of The Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art at The University of Memphis, organizing solo exhibitions featuring the work of Virginia Overton, Jefferson Pinder, Umar Rashid, and others. She has also held curatorial positions at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Patricia has written for numerous exhibition catalogues and other publications. She holds a Ph.D. in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a specialization in race and representation in twentieth-century American art.

Patricia Lee Daigle is Chief Curator at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art (MBMA), where she leads the curatorial department and specializes in modern and contemporary art. Prior to this role, she served as MBMA Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art between 2021 and 2025. At MBMA, she has curated numerous exhibitions including Suchitra Mattai: with abundance we meet (2025), Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative (2023), and Tommy Kha: Eye is Another (2023). She has also served as site curator for traveling exhibitions such as Christian Siriano: People Are People (organized by SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film) and Black American Portraits (organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). From 2015-2020, Patricia was Director of The Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art at The University of Memphis, organizing solo exhibitions featuring the work of Virginia Overton, Jefferson Pinder, Umar Rashid, and others. She has also held curatorial positions at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Patricia has written for numerous exhibition catalogues and other publications. She holds a Ph.D. in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a specialization in race and representation in twentieth-century American art.

Tracy Lauritzen Wright is Chief Operating Officer at ARTSmemphis, a Local Arts Agency supporting the arts to strengthen the community.  She administers $3.4M+ in grants to 90 arts organizations and artists annually.  She has 25 years’ experience in museums and cultural organizations, including 14 years at the National Civil Rights Museum.  She served as Executive Director of Delta Axis, a contemporary art and film organization, was a founding board member for Indie Memphis Film Festival and served on the Board of the Tennessee Association of Museums.  Her current focus is on strengthening local communities through the arts, by expanding ARTSmemphis support to more artists and organizations, and connecting community partners with arts organizations.

Tracy Lauritzen Wright is Chief Operating Officer at ARTSmemphis, a Local Arts Agency supporting the arts to strengthen the community.  She administers $3.4M+ in grants to 90 arts organizations and artists annually.  She has 25 years’ experience in museums and cultural organizations, including 14 years at the National Civil Rights Museum.  She served as Executive Director of Delta Axis, a contemporary art and film organization, was a founding board member for Indie Memphis Film Festival and served on the Board of the Tennessee Association of Museums.  Her current focus is on strengthening local communities through the arts, by expanding ARTSmemphis support to more artists and organizations, and connecting community partners with arts organizations.

From Paula Kovarik’s amazing website: Paula Kovarik creates art with stitch and fabric. Her intuitive line work travels the surface of her work as if a meditation has become solid. Inward thoughts become outwardly apparent through slow and studied attention to detail. Kovarik’s award-winning fiber art has been recognized by Quilt National, Quilts=Art=Quilts, World of Threads, and FiberArt Now Excellence in Fibers exhibitions. She has been profiled in American CraftandFiberArt Nowmagazines. Her work is featured inArt Quilts Unfolding – 50 Years of InnovationandArt Quilts International Abstract & Geometric.Kovarik shares her ideas and techniques in workshops and in her book,At Play in the Garden of Stitch. Her work has been collected by the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, NE and the International Airport in Memphis, TN as well as several private collections. Kovarik lives and works in Memphis, TN.

From Niles Wallace’s webiste: I was born in Western Pennsylvania in 1948.  My serious interest in Art began in high school and extended to college.  I graduated from Edinboro State University of Pennsylvania in 1970 with a degree in Art Education.  At Edinboro I became interested in Ceramics and subsequently attended graduate school at Alfred University, Alfred, NY, where I studied under Val Cushing, Daniel Rhodes, Robert Turner, Ted Randall, and Wayne Higby.  I received my MFA in Ceramics in 1974.  After short teaching stints at The Philadelphia College of Art, and The State University of New York at Albany, I began teaching Ceramics at Memphis State University, which later became The University of Memphis. For the past fifteen years my work has focused on mixed media sculpture.  Since 2012 I have focused on Stoneware ceramic bowls as paintings. My work has been exhibited nationally and is included in many private and corporate collections. My parents were divorced when I was quite young and my older sister and I lived with my Mother and my Grandparents. My Grandfather was a barber who never seemed able to adapt to changing hairstyles. He insisted on cutting men’s hair in the 1960’s the same way he did in the 1940’s. Consequently his clientele was dying out and he never made much money.  He was a devout Union man and active Democrat who vehemently railed against inequalities for the workingman.  He was cantankerous and hard to live with. His shop was attached to our house so he was always home. My Grandmother worked at home as a seamstress to make extra money.  She was warm and loving, baked bread once a week, canned vegetables, and always drank one beer before going to bed.  Here I was exposed to the fruits and frustrations of people who worked with their hands. My Mother worked as a Presbyterian church secretary for over twenty years. Though she often struggled with self-doubt, her faith and her belief in her children seemed to enable her to move ahead.  I now find it amazing that she was able to be the main provider for a family of five on a secretary’s salary, and still send two children to college.  She was a beautiful woman who always looked twenty years younger than her true age.  Though she dated and loved dancing, she never remarried until she was in her seventies. My sister is four years older than I.  She is outgoing, smart, popular, feisty, and was the homecoming queen.   Strong women, the motivation of faith, the ability to work with what was available, and not to waste anything, have been recurring influences in my life and work. In college I learned that materials have a life of their own.  I became familiar with pottery vessels and the importance of what is inside and not seen.  The object is you, and it is that idea. Concept gives meaning.  We all must believe that things will get better; that we will find what we are looking for, that our dreams have importance, that all things will converge on the horizon.  It is this faith that I try to address as I work.

From Niles Wallace’s webiste: I was born in Western Pennsylvania in 1948.  My serious interest in Art began in high school and extended to college.  I graduated from Edinboro State University of Pennsylvania in 1970 with a degree in Art Education.  At Edinboro I became interested in Ceramics and subsequently attended graduate school at Alfred University, Alfred, NY, where I studied under Val Cushing, Daniel Rhodes, Robert Turner, Ted Randall, and Wayne Higby.  I received my MFA in Ceramics in 1974.  After short teaching stints at The Philadelphia College of Art, and The State University of New York at Albany, I began teaching Ceramics at Memphis State University, which later became The University of Memphis. For the past fifteen years my work has focused on mixed media sculpture.  Since 2012 I have focused on Stoneware ceramic bowls as paintings. My work has been exhibited nationally and is included in many private and corporate collections. My parents were divorced when I was quite young and my older sister and I lived with my Mother and my Grandparents. My Grandfather was a barber who never seemed able to adapt to changing hairstyles. He insisted on cutting men’s hair in the 1960’s the same way he did in the 1940’s. Consequently his clientele was dying out and he never made much money.  He was a devout Union man and active Democrat who vehemently railed against inequalities for the workingman.  He was cantankerous and hard to live with. His shop was attached to our house so he was always home. My Grandmother worked at home as a seamstress to make extra money.  She was warm and loving, baked bread once a week, canned vegetables, and always drank one beer before going to bed.  Here I was exposed to the fruits and frustrations of people who worked with their hands. My Mother worked as a Presbyterian church secretary for over twenty years. Though she often struggled with self-doubt, her faith and her belief in her children seemed to enable her to move ahead.  I now find it amazing that she was able to be the main provider for a family of five on a secretary’s salary, and still send two children to college.  She was a beautiful woman who always looked twenty years younger than her true age.  Though she dated and loved dancing, she never remarried until she was in her seventies. My sister is four years older than I.  She is outgoing, smart, popular, feisty, and was the homecoming queen.   Strong women, the motivation of faith, the ability to work with what was available, and not to waste anything, have been recurring influences in my life and work. In college I learned that materials have a life of their own.  I became familiar with pottery vessels and the importance of what is inside and not seen.  The object is you, and it is that idea. Concept gives meaning.  We all must believe that things will get better; that we will find what we are looking for, that our dreams have importance, that all things will converge on the horizon.  It is this faith that I try to address as I work.

Fred Burton is a painter/printmaker born in Diablo Heights, Panama, Central America. His career began in the 1970s as both a working artist and educator. Travels and various artist residencies have influenced his personal vision and approach to art-making. Burton distills his life experiences into a visual diary, drawing inspiration from diverse sources including the Book of Kells in Trinity College, Dublin; exploration of the ruins of ancient Carthage in Tunisia;  bird forms experienced on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean; the vastness of the cosmos as well as star charts,  architectural elements, especially particular shapes and spatial arrangements Burton has exhibited his paintings and prints in  Paris, London, New York City, Chicago, Houston, and Orlando, Florida. Artist residencies include The Edward Albee Foundation, Montauk, Long Island; The Michael Karolyi Foundation, Vence, France; Altos de Chavon in the Dominican Republic; The Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig, Newbliss, Ireland; Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, California; Millay Colony for the Arts, Steepletop, Austerliz, New York; Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois; Woodstock School of Art, Woodstock, New York; The Morris Graves Foundation in Loleta, California and the Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont. Currently Burton is a professor emeritus residing in Memphis, Tennessee.

From the amazing UrbanArt Commission’s Movable Collection site: Frank D. Robinson Jr. is a Memphis-based visual artist with a primary focus on narratives and the transformation of discarded objects from everyday life, such as packaging, cereal boxes, fast food papers, glass, and keys, into exquisite jewels for his large-scale mixed-media artworks. He holds a BFA from the University of Memphis and a Masters in Painting from the Art Institute of Chicago. His artwork can be found in numerous private collections and is also a part of the collection at the University of Illinois. Robinson is best known for his Trash to Treasure Portraits, which delve into the beauty of life’s struggles, the ability to turn adversity into positivity, and the overarching theme of caring for humanity. Over the course of two decades, he has faced personal challenges related to diabetes and dialysis, and these experiences have significantly influenced his creative work, incorporating elements from his health journey. In his efforts to inspire young artists and art teachers, Robinson offers the following advice: “Dream big, use kind words, express love, embrace laughter, and find joy in silliness. Share your talents, remember to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ practice gratitude, lend a helping hand, and always keep your promises. Avoid complaining, be open to new experiences, take moments to breathe, stay composed and carry on, and, most importantly, don’t forget to laugh out loud.”

From Birdcap’s amazing website: Birdcap is a myth-making muralist and comic artist whose work drifts between folklore and philosophy. With roots in street culture and a mind full of ghosts, he creates poetic narratives about impermanence, rebellion, and the strange joy of continuing on.

From Birdcap’s amazing website: Birdcap is a myth-making muralist and comic artist whose work drifts between folklore and philosophy. With roots in street culture and a mind full of ghosts, he creates poetic narratives about impermanence, rebellion, and the strange joy of continuing on.

From Paul’s amazing website: Paul Behnke (b. Memphis, Tenn.) is an American painter whose practice is grounded in contemporary abstraction, with a sustained engagement in chromatic intensity, gestural mark-making, and the formal possibilities of non-objective painting. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting from the Memphis College of Art. Behnke’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions in New York City, Philadelphia, Heidelberg, Saint Augustine, and Memphis, and included in numerous curated group exhibitions in San Francisco, Honolulu, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Paphos, the Netherlands, Cernay-lès-Reims, and New York. His paintings have garnered critical attention in publications such as Hyperallergic Weekend, The New Criterion, and The New Republic, where his work has been situated within ongoing discourses around abstraction and contemporary painterly practice. In addition to his studio output, Behnke contributes to the field as a writer and editor. His essays and critical reflections have appeared in AbCrit: A Forum for Debate on Abstract Art, Painters’ Table, Gamut, and No. Magazine. He served as co-editor of Shad Runn, an independent art zine based in Memphis, and has maintained Structure and Imagery, a blog dedicated to contemporary painting and visual culture, since 2011. From 2015 to 2017, he co-directed Stout Projects, an artist-run exhibition initiative in Bushwick, Brooklyn, focused on emerging and mid-career artists. Following a three-year residency in Taos, New Mexico, Behnke currently lives and maintains a studio practice in Memphis, Tennessee.

From Paul’s amazing website: Paul Behnke (b. Memphis, Tenn.) is an American painter whose practice is grounded in contemporary abstraction, with a sustained engagement in chromatic intensity, gestural mark-making, and the formal possibilities of non-objective painting. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting from the Memphis College of Art. Behnke’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions in New York City, Philadelphia, Heidelberg, Saint Augustine, and Memphis, and included in numerous curated group exhibitions in San Francisco, Honolulu, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Paphos, the Netherlands, Cernay-lès-Reims, and New York. His paintings have garnered critical attention in publications such as Hyperallergic Weekend, The New Criterion, and The New Republic, where his work has been situated within ongoing discourses around abstraction and contemporary painterly practice. In addition to his studio output, Behnke contributes to the field as a writer and editor. His essays and critical reflections have appeared in AbCrit: A Forum for Debate on Abstract Art, Painters’ Table, Gamut, and No. Magazine. He served as co-editor of Shad Runn, an independent art zine based in Memphis, and has maintained Structure and Imagery, a blog dedicated to contemporary painting and visual culture, since 2011. From 2015 to 2017, he co-directed Stout Projects, an artist-run exhibition initiative in Bushwick, Brooklyn, focused on emerging and mid-career artists. Following a three-year residency in Taos, New Mexico, Behnke currently lives and maintains a studio practice in Memphis, Tennessee.

Don Estes is known for harmonious, dimensional abstractions of the landscape of the American South. He focuses on geological formations, river bluffs, coastlines, and horizons- places where water, land, and light interact and change through the passage of time. In a range of intensities and textures, he layers dry pigment, pastel, and gesso in horizontal and vertical bands, narrow stripes, wide blocks, and translucent washes onto raw canvas or panel. His works share the same dualities and subtle complexities of the environments he interprets: solid yet temporal, monumental yet vulnerable, present and grounded yet untethered. Like fossils, they reveal hidden dimensions and histories through their shape, form, and texture. Don Estes received his BFA and MFA from the University of Memphis. Estes has participated in exhibitions in Boston, New York, Nashville, Austin, and Amsterdam. He was an original founder of Number: A Quarterly of the Visual Arts, as well as a pioneer of the South Main Arts District. His Second Floor Contemporary Gallery (1999-2005) was an important non-commercial art space for new work by regional and national artists.

Don Estes is known for harmonious, dimensional abstractions of the landscape of the American South. He focuses on geological formations, river bluffs, coastlines, and horizons- places where water, land, and light interact and change through the passage of time. In a range of intensities and textures, he layers dry pigment, pastel, and gesso in horizontal and vertical bands, narrow stripes, wide blocks, and translucent washes onto raw canvas or panel. His works share the same dualities and subtle complexities of the environments he interprets: solid yet temporal, monumental yet vulnerable, present and grounded yet untethered. Like fossils, they reveal hidden dimensions and histories through their shape, form, and texture. Don Estes received his BFA and MFA from the University of Memphis. Estes has participated in exhibitions in Boston, New York, Nashville, Austin, and Amsterdam. He was an original founder of Number: A Quarterly of the Visual Arts, as well as a pioneer of the South Main Arts District. His Second Floor Contemporary Gallery (1999-2005) was an important non-commercial art space for new work by regional and national artists.

From a text message from Tom Lee after I asked for a brief bio: “born somewhere in texas, i ain’t sayin, moved a bit with preacher dad, sweetest mom, too many sibs to admit to, some strangers to me and mine, texas education, say what you will, understand you’re being a skeptic, i do, higher ed tho, land of grizzlies, bozeman and all, lotta nice and smart folks, artists all, highest ed, the old miss, ha! tolerable, took me where i went, mca, a haven and heaven to who i am deep, no longer tho, still lying and talking shit to friends unwilling to say ‘enough, bob’ (got called bob a lot, wtf), miss all the ones i grew to treasure, some the ones i thought i wouldn’t, i keep sayin, “i don’t wanna die in mississippi”, but here i be until i ent… art forever, honeys, and goodnite.”

From a text message from Tom Lee after I asked for a brief bio: “born somewhere in texas, i ain’t sayin, moved a bit with preacher dad, sweetest mom, too many sibs to admit to, some strangers to me and mine, texas education, say what you will, understand you’re being a skeptic, i do, higher ed tho, land of grizzlies, bozeman and all, lotta nice and smart folks, artists all, highest ed, the old miss, ha! tolerable, took me where i went, mca, a haven and heaven to who i am deep, no longer tho, still lying and talking shit to friends unwilling to say ‘enough, bob’ (got called bob a lot, wtf), miss all the ones i grew to treasure, some the ones i thought i wouldn’t, i keep sayin, “i don’t wanna die in mississippi”, but here i be until i ent… art forever, honeys, and goodnite.”

From a text message from Tom Lee after I asked for a brief bio: “born somewhere in texas, i ain’t sayin, moved a bit with preacher dad, sweetest mom, too many sibs to admit to, some strangers to me and mine, texas education, say what you will, understand you’re being a skeptic, i do, higher ed tho, land of grizzlies, bozeman and all, lotta nice and smart folks, artists all, highest ed, the old miss, ha! tolerable, took me where i went, mca, a haven and heaven to who i am deep, no longer tho, still lying and talking shit to friends unwilling to say ‘enough, bob’ (got called bob a lot, wtf), miss all the ones i grew to treasure, some the ones i thought i wouldn’t, i keep sayin, “i don’t wanna die in mississippi”, but here i be until i ent… art forever, honeys, and goodnite.”

Brittney Boyd Bullock is a visual artist living and working in Memphis, Tennessee. As an artist working in fiber, mixed media, and abstraction, her practice explores the power and connection felt when we slow down to reimagine and reframe the observable world. Outside of her studio practice, she is a non-profit arts consultant, educator, and arts advocate. She has been awarded grants and fellowships for her work as an artist working in communities, including the Americans for the Arts Public Art Scholarship and Robert E. Gard Award, The Kresge Foundation, and the Assisi Foundation. In 2022, she was awarded the Crosstown Arts artist residency and was a recipient of the 2022 Current Art Fund grant from Tri-Star Arts. Boyd Bullock describes creativity as a “conduit for our well-being” and a bridge that connects us to the voices of artists and people from the past. She invites us all to sit in a place of inquiry and redefine how, why, and for what purposes we create.

Brittney Boyd Bullock is a visual artist living and working in Memphis, Tennessee. As an artist working in fiber, mixed media, and abstraction, her practice explores the power and connection felt when we slow down to reimagine and reframe the observable world. Outside of her studio practice, she is a non-profit arts consultant, educator, and arts advocate. She has been awarded grants and fellowships for her work as an artist working in communities, including the Americans for the Arts Public Art Scholarship and Robert E. Gard Award, The Kresge Foundation, and the Assisi Foundation. In 2022, she was awarded the Crosstown Arts artist residency and was a recipient of the 2022 Current Art Fund grant from Tri-Star Arts. Boyd Bullock describes creativity as a “conduit for our well-being” and a bridge that connects us to the voices of artists and people from the past. She invites us all to sit in a place of inquiry and redefine how, why, and for what purposes we create.

Brittney Boyd Bullock is a visual artist living and working in Memphis, Tennessee. As an artist working in fiber, mixed media, and abstraction, her practice explores the power and connection felt when we slow down to reimagine and reframe the observable world. Outside of her studio practice, she is a non-profit arts consultant, educator, and arts advocate. She has been awarded grants and fellowships for her work as an artist working in communities, including the Americans for the Arts Public Art Scholarship and Robert E. Gard Award, The Kresge Foundation, and the Assisi Foundation. In 2022, she was awarded the Crosstown Arts artist residency and was a recipient of the 2022 Current Art Fund grant from Tri-Star Arts. Boyd Bullock describes creativity as a “conduit for our well-being” and a bridge that connects us to the voices of artists and people from the past. She invites us all to sit in a place of inquiry and redefine how, why, and for what purposes we create.

Nancy Cheairs is a Memphis-based American  painter known for creating symbolic, luminous works inspired by nature, folk art, and literature. She holds a BFA from the Memphis College of Art and an MFA from the University of Memphis.  She founded Flicker Street Studio, an art school in Memphis, Tn. in 2010.   Nancy  has exhibited extensively in the U.S., with her work in numerous collections, including the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the Tennessee State Museum.

Nancy Cheairs is a Memphis-based American  painter known for creating symbolic, luminous works inspired by nature, folk art, and literature. She holds a BFA from the Memphis College of Art and an MFA from the University of Memphis.  She founded Flicker Street Studio, an art school in Memphis, Tn. in 2010.   Nancy  has exhibited extensively in the U.S., with her work in numerous collections, including the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the Tennessee State Museum.

Fredric Koeppel was the art writer and reviewer for The Commercial Appeal newspaper from 1987 to 2017. He also wrote about restaurants, books and classical music recordings. He has had poems, stories and novel excerpts published in a variety of literary journals. He writes the wine review website biggerthanyourhead.substack.com.

Fredric Koeppel was the art writer and reviewer for The Commercial Appeal newspaper from 1987 to 2017. He also wrote about restaurants, books and classical music recordings. He has had poems, stories and novel excerpts published in a variety of literary journals. He writes the wine review website biggerthanyourhead.substack.com.

Lauren Kennedy grew up in Little Rock, then suburban Dallas, then came to study at Rhodes College where she graduated with a degree in Art History in 2008.  She returned to Dallas to work at the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Dallas Art Fair.  Kennedy returned to Memphis to work for Ballet Memphis and she ran South Fork, an alternative art space that showed dozens of local and national artists.  She became the director of the UrbanArt Commission in 2015 where she oversaw and facilitated great growth in the organization for over eight years, including the massive expansion of the Memphis International Airport.  She founded the vibrant and award winning Sheet Cake Gallery in 2024. This is the first of what we hope to be many, many conversations with Lauren Kennedy.  For now though, this is the only one in the series.

From the artist’s website: Mary K VanGieson is an artist, educator, storyteller and sometime writer.  She received my BAE from Oklahoma State University and her MFA from the University of Memphis. She discovered early on that educating high school people in the visual arts is a completely rewarding career. Her work delves into themes of Cover, Cloak, Shadow, Loss and Erosion.  The practice encompasses drawing, painting, book arts, printmaking and alternative media sculpture and has been exhibited throughout the United States. “I am what I have learned. I remember to light the candles. I never regret. If the horse dies I get off. I don’t postpone joy. I know that grief lasts forever, and that life should abrade.” VanGieson lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee In this episode I mention Mary Oliver’s appearance on On Being.  

From the artist’s website: Mary K VanGieson is an artist, educator, storyteller and sometime writer.  She received my BAE from Oklahoma State University and her MFA from the University of Memphis. She discovered early on that educating high school people in the visual arts is a completely rewarding career. Her work delves into themes of Cover, Cloak, Shadow, Loss and Erosion.  The practice encompasses drawing, painting, book arts, printmaking and alternative media sculpture and has been exhibited throughout the United States. “I am what I have learned. I remember to light the candles. I never regret. If the horse dies I get off. I don’t postpone joy. I know that grief lasts forever, and that life should abrade.” VanGieson lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee

Coe Lapossy is an interdisciplinary visual artist educator committed to collaboration. Lapossy centers erased histories and marginalized labor. Revisiting artifacts —things forgotten, messages that ‘flew under the radar’. The resulting work is a meditation on what bodies we value, how we memorialize, and what/who survives under the conditions we create. Lapossy (b. 1980, Medina, OH) has created site-specific works for Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Clough-Hanson Gallery (Rhodes College), Track 16 Gallery (Los Angeles, CA) Dimensions Variable (Miami, FL), Elsewhere Living Museum (Greensboro, NC), the Howard Art Project (Boston, MA), and The Boston Center for Arts.

Dr. Lisa M. Williamson is a writer and artist in Memphis, TN. She received her MFA in painting from the Memphis College of Art and her PhD in aesthetic theory from the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. Williamson’s practice begins with observations of psychological time-keeping, and responds with immediacy to the urgency of the contemporary moment. Upon returning from the Arctic Circle Residency, her work shifted to focus on the collective anger and grief she experienced while studying the climate crisis. As a Professor of Practice at the University of Memphis, Williamson teaches both undergrad and grad students. She is also a co-founder of Shapeshifter Art School and Gallery, scheduled to begin hosting art classes in January 2026.

Dr. Lisa M. Williamson is a writer and artist in Memphis, TN. She received her MFA in painting from the Memphis College of Art and her PhD in aesthetic theory from the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. Williamson’s practice begins with observations of psychological time-keeping, and responds with immediacy to the urgency of the contemporary moment. Upon returning from the Arctic Circle Residency, her work shifted to focus on the collective anger and grief she experienced while studying the climate crisis. As a Professor of Practice at the University of Memphis, Williamson teaches both undergrad and grad students. She is also a co-founder of Shapeshifter Art School and Gallery, scheduled to begin hosting art classes in January 2026.

Lester Julian Merriweather (b.1978) is a Memphis-based visual artist. He attended the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. He holds an MFA from Memphis College of Art and a BA from Jackson State University. Merriweather has exhibited extensively throughout the U.S. at various venues such as the Studio Museum in Harlem, NYC, CAM St. Louis, TOPS Gallery, CrosstownArts and Powerhouse Memphis, Diverseworks in Houston, Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans, and the Atlanta Contemporary. He has also exhibited internationally at the Zacheta National Gallery in Warsaw, Poland. Merriweather served as the first Curatorial Director of the Jones Gallery & the Martha & Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art at the University of Memphis from 2010-2016. He worked on the Board of Directors for Number, Inc. independent journal where he created the Art of the South Exhibition Series. He is a founding member of the ArtsMemphis Artist Advisory Council and the artsAccelerator Grant Panel. Merriweather served as the Curatorial Consultant for the PPF Contemporary Art Collection in Memphis, Tennessee. Merriweather most recently participated in Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage. Originating at The Frist Art Museum, the exhibition travels to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston & The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

Lester Julian Merriweather (b.1978) is a Memphis-based visual artist. He attended the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. He holds an MFA from Memphis College of Art and a BA from Jackson State University. Merriweather has exhibited extensively throughout the U.S. at various venues such as the Studio Museum in Harlem, NYC, CAM St. Louis, TOPS Gallery, CrosstownArts and Powerhouse Memphis, Diverseworks in Houston, Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans, and the Atlanta Contemporary. He has also exhibited internationally at the Zacheta National Gallery in Warsaw, Poland. Merriweather served as the first Curatorial Director of the Jones Gallery & the Martha & Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art at the University of Memphis from 2010-2016. He worked on the Board of Directors for Number, Inc. independent journal where he created the Art of the South Exhibition Series. He is a founding member of the ArtsMemphis Artist Advisory Council and the artsAccelerator Grant Panel. Merriweather served as the Curatorial Consultant for the PPF Contemporary Art Collection in Memphis, Tennessee. Merriweather most recently participated in Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage. Originating at The Frist Art Museum, the exhibition travels to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston & The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

Terri Jones lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee. She received her BFA from Atlanta College of Art, Georgia in 1985.  In 1992, she was awarded a Southern Arts Federation/National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Award for Works on Paper. In the summer of 2004, Power House, a DeltaAxis initiative, in Memphis asked Terri to respond to their landmark building.  For that exhibition, Drawing A Line 1993-2004, Jones’ response included planting red zinnias and melting red wax in four installations created specifically for the space(s) as well as an exhibition of ten years of work. Since 1993 Jones has lived and worked in that same area, the South Main Historical District–bordered by the Lorraine Motel and the Mississippi River. Today, her work continues to address the objecthood of drawing through her multi-disciplinary approach to art-making and site-specific installations.

Terri Jones lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee. She received her BFA from Atlanta College of Art, Georgia in 1985.  In 1992, she was awarded a Southern Arts Federation/National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Award for Works on Paper. In the summer of 2004, Power House, a DeltaAxis initiative, in Memphis asked Terri to respond to their landmark building.  For that exhibition, Drawing A Line 1993-2004, Jones’ response included planting red zinnias and melting red wax in four installations created specifically for the space(s) as well as an exhibition of ten years of work. Since 1993 Jones has lived and worked in that same area, the South Main Historical District–bordered by the Lorraine Motel and the Mississippi River. Today, her work continues to address the objecthood of drawing through her multi-disciplinary approach to art-making and site-specific installations.

From the Dixon Gallery and Gardens website about her amazing show there in 2023.  Jeanne Seagle’s perceptive drawings portray the landscapes surrounding Memphis with a remarkable precision. Delicately rendering the trees and swamps of Dacus Lake along the Mississippi River, Seagle captures the subtle effects of light and atmosphere on the varied textures of the natural world. A longtime Memphis resident and graduate of Memphis College of Art, Seagle’s oeuvre includes public art projects for LeBonheur Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as well as illustrations for the Memphis Flyer. In Of This Place, Seagle turns a careful eye to her surroundings. The works in this exhibition reflect significant time spent observing the landscape. Seagle draws from photographs that she takes during camping trips in nearby Arkansas, depicting the wilderness of the Mid-South. Back in her Cooper-Young studio, Seagle painstakingly translates her photographs and sketches into large-scale, photorealistic drawings. Depicting scenery that is only a twenty-minute drive from downtown Memphis, yet seemingly a world away, these detailed charcoal drawings celebrate the natural forms of our own community.

From the Dixon Gallery and Gardens website about her amazing show there in 2023.  Jeanne Seagle’s perceptive drawings portray the landscapes surrounding Memphis with a remarkable precision. Delicately rendering the trees and swamps of Dacus Lake along the Mississippi River, Seagle captures the subtle effects of light and atmosphere on the varied textures of the natural world. A longtime Memphis resident and graduate of Memphis College of Art, Seagle’s oeuvre includes public art projects for LeBonheur Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as well as illustrations for the Memphis Flyer. In Of This Place, Seagle turns a careful eye to her surroundings. The works in this exhibition reflect significant time spent observing the landscape. Seagle draws from photographs that she takes during camping trips in nearby Arkansas, depicting the wilderness of the Mid-South. Back in her Cooper-Young studio, Seagle painstakingly translates her photographs and sketches into large-scale, photorealistic drawings. Depicting scenery that is only a twenty-minute drive from downtown Memphis, yet seemingly a world away, these detailed charcoal drawings celebrate the natural forms of our own community.

Melissa Dunn’s studio is in her house in Memphis, Tennessee, where she was born and has lived most of her life.  She spent her early years immersed in the city’s music scene, splitting her time between playing with bands and making visual art.  Her abstract-based work is the landing pad where stream of consciousness and the world meet, telling stories that shapes and color carry, either over a lifetime or through a passing thought.  She has exhibited her work extensively over the last twenty-five years and is a teaching artist with a focus on continuing art education for adults.  She shows her work at Sheetcake Gallery and is a cofounder of Shapeshifter Art School and Gallery

Melissa Dunn’s studio is in her house in Memphis, Tennessee, where she was born and has lived most of her life.  She spent her early years immersed in the city’s music scene, splitting her time between playing with bands and making visual art.  Her abstract-based work is the landing pad where stream of consciousness and the world meet, telling stories that shapes and color carry, either over a lifetime or through a passing thought.  She has exhibited her work extensively over the last twenty-five years and is a teaching artist with a focus on continuing art education for adults.  She shows her work at Sheetcake Gallery and is a cofounder of Shapeshifter Art School and Gallery

This interview with Jamie Harmon was recorded on March 1, 2024. From his amazing Amurica website: “I use photography and found objects to tell stories and give glimpses into individuals’ characters and their responses to each other and to their environments. In this way, I consider myself a sort of “visual anthropologist,” making observations in communities by driving around, meeting people, listening to their stories and collaborating intellectually on how to use my media as a platform for revealing a type of truth. “It’s a human-driven approach, for which sometimes the art can be one solution to a problem—a shared emotion caught in a photograph can profoundly impact a viewer and a community. I like to create a feeling of frankness in my photos—a sense of authenticity even in surreal settings or playfully staged drama. “I don’t like labels, so I’ve never really called myself an artist; it’s possible I have an oppositional reflex – but I often consider the quote, “Talent is hitting a mark no-one else can hit. Genius is hitting a mark that no-one else can see.” I am by no means a genius, but that quote always struck me as a tool to understand others and how to challenge myself.”

This interview with Jamie Harmon was recorded on February 10, 2024. From his amazing Amurica website: “I use photography and found objects to tell stories and give glimpses into individuals’ characters and their responses to each other and to their environments. In this way, I consider myself a sort of “visual anthropologist,” making observations in communities by driving around, meeting people, listening to their stories and collaborating intellectually on how to use my media as a platform for revealing a type of truth. “It’s a human-driven approach, for which sometimes the art can be one solution to a problem—a shared emotion caught in a photograph can profoundly impact a viewer and a community. I like to create a feeling of frankness in my photos—a sense of authenticity even in surreal settings or playfully staged drama. “I don’t like labels, so I’ve never really called myself an artist; it’s possible I have an oppositional reflex – but I often consider the quote, “Talent is hitting a mark no-one else can hit. Genius is hitting a mark that no-one else can see.” I am by no means a genius, but that quote always struck me as a tool to understand others and how to challenge myself.”

This interview with Carl Moore was recorded at the Memphis Listening Lab on February 5, 2023. The artist Carl E. Moore lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee.  He recieved both his BFA and MFA from the Memphis College of Art. Moore is the recipient of the Emmett O’Ryan Award for Artistic Inspiration and the Tennessee Artist Fellowship award from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts. He has exhibited in various galleries and museums in and around the Memphis area and around the country.  Additionally Moore has curated and organized numerous exhibitions in small galleries, non-profits, alternative and independent spaces, as well as served as juror for local and national exhibitions. Moore’s work explores everyday narratives through color and identity, by comparing ideologies about race and stereotypes to everyday perception of social and environmental culture. He uses media-based events as the primary theme of his work, by taking situations and reducing them down to their most basic conversation. He also use color and content to redefine the social connection between people and their environment, by making color part of the compositional statement.

This interview with Carl Moore was recorded at the Memphis Listening Lab on January 15, 2023. The artist Carl E. Moore lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee.  He recieved both his BFA and MFA from the Memphis College of Art. Moore is the recipient of the Emmett O’Ryan Award for Artistic Inspiration and the Tennessee Artist Fellowship award from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts. He has exhibited in various galleries and museums in and around the Memphis area and around the country.  Additionally Moore has curated and organized numerous exhibitions in small galleries, non-profits, alternative and independent spaces, as well as served as juror for local and national exhibitions. Moore’s work explores everyday narratives through color and identity, by comparing ideologies about race and stereotypes to everyday perception of social and environmental culture. He uses media-based events as the primary theme of his work, by taking situations and reducing them down to their most basic conversation. He also use color and content to redefine the social connection between people and their environment, by making color part of the compositional statement.

This interview with Carol DeForest was recorded on February 21, 2025 From her ceramic studio to her large scale public art projects, private commissions, teaching, interior design business and exhibitions of her sculpture, Carol DeForest has been a force in the Memphis art community for the last 30 years. She has also been a nurturing spirit to artists and art lover alike. Her shrewd and unfailing art and design knowledge, taste and appreciation have acted as a guide to many. DeForest works from a studio connected to a 170-year-old home in midtown Memphis which she shares with her husband and assortment of dogs.

From her ceramic studio to her large scale public art projects, private commissions, teaching, interior design business and exhibitions of her sculpture, Carol DeForest has been a force in the Memphis art community for the last 30 years. She has also been a nurturing spirit to artists and art lover alike. Her shrewd and unfailing art and design knowledge, taste and appreciation have acted as a guide to many. DeForest works from a studio connected to a 170-year-old home in midtown Memphis which she shares with her husband and assortment of dogs.

This interview with Carol DeForest was recorded on January 10, 2023. From her ceramic studio to her large scale public art projects, private commissions, teaching, interior design business and exhibitions of her sculpture, Carol DeForest has been a force in the Memphis art community for the last 30 years. She has also been a nurturing spirit to artists and art lover alike. Her shrewd and unfailing art and design knowledge, taste and appreciation have acted as a guide to many. DeForest works from a studio connected to a 170-year-old home in midtown Memphis which she shares with her husband and assortment of dogs.

This interview with the potter Agnes Stark was recorded in the Memphis Listening Lab on August 3, 2022.   Agnes Gordon Stark is a studio potter creating functional and decorative stoneware. Her strong design and glaze technique combine to produce work that is widely recognized for its appealing originality. The stoneware has all of the safeguards necessary for kitchen use. A native of Baltimore, Agnes received a BFA degree from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She studied pottery at the Memphis College of Art and also at Louisiana State University and under Michael Cardew at Arrowmont School of Crafts. She established her own studio in 1970. Her work is sold to shops and galleries all over the country. Agnes creates an interesting variety of pieces which have been exhibited at The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the American Crafts Council Show in Dallas, the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge, and the Governor’s Mansion in Nashville. She is continually expanding her knowledge and abilities in her field and is active in preserving and extending the craft movement.  Agnes came to Memphis to work at Front ST Theatre under George  Touliatos – She designed  the scenery for OH DAD, POOR DAD SOMEONE HUNG YOU IN THE CLOSET and MAJOR BARBARA!!  She lives and works in Eads, Tennessee.

This interview with Maritza Davilla was recorded on April 1, 2025. Maritza Dávila is owner and director of Atabeira Press and Professor Emeritus of the Memphis College of Art where she taught printmaking and drawing from 1982 to 2018 and at the University of Memphis as an adjunct professor. She is currently teaching with Creative Aging of Memphis providing art workshops for the senior community as well as workshops for the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in various areas including bookbinding and printmaking.  Dávila has exhibited around the world and has works in collections in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia. Those include the National Library in Madrid, Spain; the National Library of Paris, France; Taller ACE of Buenos Aires, Argentina; Museum of Art and History at the University of Puerto Rico; the Memphis International Airport Art Collection; and the National Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.  Dávila was involved in the Mobility Project mural in Memphis in 2023, and has collaborated with American poet Kay Lindsey and visual artist Indrani Nayar Gall from India on various art projects. She was also a visiting artist at the University of Bilbao, Spain in 2011 and the School of Fine Arts of the Institute of Culture of Puerto Rico among others. Residencies include Taller ACE in Buenos Aires, Argentina (2011 and 2018) and Illinois State University’s Normal Editions (2016). In furtherance of her art and research, Dávila has travelled to Spain, France, Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom, South America, Mexico and Japan. Among the awards given for her work and to pursue artistic projects are the Emmett O’Ryan Award for Artistic Excellence finalist (2017 and 2023); the UrbanArt Commission “Bridging the Distance” video project purchase award in collaboration with Jon W. Sparks (2020); Accelerator Award from Arts Memphis (2018); Fogelman Faculty enrichment award (2016-2018); and the Panton Award (2014-2018). Other awards include the Juror’s Special Mention in the Pressed and Pulled Exhibit, Georgia (1997); Prix de Dessin et Gravure, Salon International du Val d’Or a laSalle Des Fetes d’Orval, France (1996); Screen Printing Association International Mentor Award (1993).  A long-time participant in community activities, Dávila has been involved as a committee member with Works of Hearts benefiting the Memphis Child Advocacy Center; was a board member of Latino Memphis 2002-2009; and served as a member of the Fine Arts Committee of Centro Cultural Latino in Memphis 2010-2013. She also was a mentor during several Southern Graphics International Conferences in New Orleans; Portland, Oregon; St Louis; Las Vegas; and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

This interview with Maritza Davilla was recorded on June 27, 2022. Maritza Dávila is owner and director of Atabeira Press and Professor Emeritus of the Memphis College of Art where she taught printmaking and drawing from 1982 to 2018 and at the University of Memphis as an adjunct professor. She is currently teaching with Creative Aging of Memphis providing art workshops for the senior community as well as workshops for the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in various areas including bookbinding and printmaking.  Dávila has exhibited around the world and has works in collections in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia. Those include the National Library in Madrid, Spain; the National Library of Paris, France; Taller ACE of Buenos Aires, Argentina; Museum of Art and History at the University of Puerto Rico; the Memphis International Airport Art Collection; and the National Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.  Dávila was involved in the Mobility Project mural in Memphis in 2023, and has collaborated with American poet Kay Lindsey and visual artist Indrani Nayar Gall from India on various art projects. She was also a visiting artist at the University of Bilbao, Spain in 2011 and the School of Fine Arts of the Institute of Culture of Puerto Rico among others. Residencies include Taller ACE in Buenos Aires, Argentina (2011 and 2018) and Illinois State University’s Normal Editions (2016). In furtherance of her art and research, Dávila has travelled to Spain, France, Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom, South America, Mexico and Japan. Among the awards given for her work and to pursue artistic projects are the Emmett O’Ryan Award for Artistic Excellence finalist (2017 and 2023); the UrbanArt Commission “Bridging the Distance” video project purchase award in collaboration with Jon W. Sparks (2020); Accelerator Award from Arts Memphis (2018); Fogelman Faculty enrichment award (2016-2018); and the Panton Award (2014-2018). Other awards include the Juror’s Special Mention in the Pressed and Pulled Exhibit, Georgia (1997); Prix de Dessin et Gravure, Salon International du Val d’Or a laSalle Des Fetes d’Orval, France (1996); Screen Printing Association International Mentor Award (1993).  A long-time participant in community activities, Dávila has been involved as a committee member with Works of Hearts benefiting the Memphis Child Advocacy Center; was a board member of Latino Memphis 2002-2009; and served as a member of the Fine Arts Committee of Centro Cultural Latino in Memphis 2010-2013. She also was a mentor during several Southern Graphics International Conferences in New Orleans; Portland, Oregon; St Louis; Las Vegas; and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.