Rachel Bubis: You’ve been working in Tennessee for quite some time. How has your practice evolved over the years? Carl E. Moore: I moved to Memphis to go to college, so I’ve actually lived in Tennessee longer than I lived in my hometown. So my practice has changed over a 40 span, all the way from college to now. When I started at MCA I was a realist painting using oils. After college, I took a 5 year hiatus to rede...
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Rachel Bubis: You’ve said that quilting unlocked a confidence and enthusiasm you hadn’t found in painting or photography. What do you think it is about working with cloth that sparked this shift for you? Kelly Spell: I love the tactile nature of cloth and the way it feels in my hands. Our lives are filled with fabric, from the clothes we wear to the sheets we sleep under. It’s soft, comfortable, flexible, and familiar. Those qualities removed a lot...
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Nancy Cheairs, Conversation, 2022, 24" x 20" Anna Mages: Could you elaborate on the process behind your work? Do you begin with sketches then experiment with color? Or do you find yourself working more intuitively? Nancy Cheairs: I don’t have one method for constructing a painting. There are times when I work from my large sketchbook filled with small drawings of visual vocabulary. The drawings are on transparent paper and are taped into my sketchbook. I might arrange some pieces in a co...
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