It Came from Memphis March 11 – April 9, 2009
The Martin Art Gallery in the Baker Center for the Arts at Muhlenberg College proudly presents It Came from Memphis, March 11 – April 9, 2009.Monday, March 2, 2009 11:22 AM
An opening reception will be held in the Gallery Wednesday, March 11, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Artists Terri Jones, Maysey Craddock, and Pinkney Herbert will be on hand to informally discuss their work.
According to John Weeden, independent curator and Director of UrbanArt Commission, Memphis, Jones, Craddock and Herbert have each been engaging the sounds and unspoken spirit of Memphis for many years. In his essay for the exhibition catalogue he writes, “Coming from Memphis shapes your engagement with the world in a way unlike any other city on earth. Its medley of grandeur and decay is breathtaking both for the wonder and for the brutality it reveals on a daily basis.” He likens the Jones-Craddock-Herbert exhibition to “a three-part harmony that strikes a distinctive Memphis chord that belies the exquisite paradox of life in a place where life is cheap and art is everything.”
Through her videos, installations and graphite drawing, Weeden describes Jones as elegantly exploring the “in between”. Through nuanced manipulations of materials she aims to rearticulate viewers’ awareness of space and asks them to pay closer attention to previously presumed notions about the present moment.
Craddock offers viewers delicious tangibility by working silk threads and gouache over ubiquitous paper bags. By juxtaposing these materials, Weeden feels, she “elicits magic from the mundane” and describes her art as “at once precious and common.”
Herbert’s paintings teem with energy. His dynamic, colorful brushwork enlivens and seems to move above and beyond the flat, two-dimensional plane of canvas. Weeden points out that Herbert is influenced by both sound and light and writes, “You can almost hear a Pinkney Herbert painting. His brushstrokes seem like the air trails of an inspired conductor…”
All exhibitions and gallery events are open to the public and free of charge. Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon – 9:00 p.m. Closed during major holidays and semester breaks.
