Two exhibitions on display at local commercial galleries indicate that the concept of abstract art is vibrant and alluring in Memphis. “Bluff Poem,” a show by Don Estes at David Lusk Gallery, closing May 19, and “Ephemera,” a large group of works by Lisa Weiss at L Ross Gallery, through May 27, share a monochromatic stone-and-earth colored palette while differing in intent and execution. As the titles of their exhibitions imply, Estes’ mixed media on panel paintings partake of the solidity and temporal power of the river bluffs that were their inspiration, while Weiss’ acrylic and mixed media works, on panel or paper, embody the mutability of thought and materiality, the impermanence of the shapes of things. We could say that Estes deals with the emphatically seen, while Weiss plays with the dramatically unseen.

full article

Great art of any kind—written, photographed, painted, sung—is great not least because it is at once temporal and transcendent. When something particular (a page, an image, a song) suggests something universal, then we know that we are in the presence not of the ephemeral or of the manufactured but of true art—the work of a master’s hands that not only engages us in the moment (though it does that) but also alters everything else we see, for the honest artist does not merely entertain. He informs and ultimately transforms. Such is the art of Mississippi native Jack Spencer.

full article

In these images from his new book, This Land: An American Portrait, Jack Spencer has given us a great gift. Like Steinbeck or Kerouac—or Huck Finn, which is perhaps the closer analogy—Spencer decided to “light out for the territory” in 2003 to create a series of images of an America in search of its footing in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11 (the bloodiest day on American soil since Antietam) and on the cusp of the Iraq War.

full article

“In terms of style, my mother taught me about effortless originality,” says Leonard. “She’s never given a moment’s thought to trends, which of course annoyed me as a teenager. She’s always known just what she likes, which is usually anything that offers loveliness or beauty to the world. One of my favorite stories is about when she made a dress for her home economics class in the 1950s. It was a stunning dress, but she got an F on it because she made up the design and didn’t use a pattern! That pretty much sums her up.”

full article

Known for her expressive paintings of the Middle Tennessee landscape, Nashville artist Emily Leonard tightens her focus and makes new the classic subject of flowers in a new series of paintings, “Unfold,” on view at David Lusk Gallery. In pale hues and unrestrained fluid gestures, Leonard has created sleek, sumptuous portraits of peonies and other garden flowers that meld abstraction and representation, capturing each flower’s strength and fragility and bringing forth the ineffable sensation of beholding its beauty.

full article

This June David Lusk Gallery Nashville presents Outsider Artists: Bridging Communities, artworks by self-taught artists. The exhibition is guest-curated by John Jerit, a renowned collector of works by self-taught artists. The exhibition is a survey of the genre, with a wide mix of imagery and materials. Outsider Artists: Bridging Communities presents a comprehensive view into this important subset of contemporary American artwork.

full article

No one has a perfect story. Light and dark, day and night, there seems to be a constant opposite element to contrast our experiences in life. We all have our moments of glory and times of difficulty. On this episode of Savvy Painter, I have the privilege to sit down with artist Emily Leonard. Emily’s journey is a fascinating one. We discuss her successes, her battle with depression, the creative process, the benefits of good habits, and much more! If you love to hear how artists have navigated their creative journey as much as I do, you don’t want to miss this episode!

full article

Robert Rector has spent the last fifty years of his artistic career exploring abstract and nonrepresentational work through painting. Being deeply influenced by the natural world, Rector's work illustrates the relationship between the environment and our human experience.

full article

Robert Rector will discuss his art at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, in the gallery at the Manship Theatre at the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St. Admission is free at the event hosted by Ann Connelly Fine Art. The discussion coincides with Rector's retrospective show, "Five Decades of Abstraction," running through May 6. Connelly curated the show. Rector was born in 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He developed his passion for printmaking, painting and drawing at LSU, where he received his bachelor's degree in fine art in 1971 and his master's degree in fine art in 1973.

full article

This April Nashville artist Emily Leonard exhibits her first solo show with David Lusk Gallery. The show, titled “Unfold,”consists of medium to large oil paintings on either panel or paper. Three years ago Leonard began the natural progression from her twenty-year practice as a landscape painter into the realm of florals. While this shift drastically changed the direction of her work, the mindset of creating a window into an all-encompassing natural world never left.

full article