THE FOCUS

Dr. Jordan Amirkhani is an Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. Professor Amirkhani obtained her PhD in the History and Philosophy of Modern European Art at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom in 2015, and has published articles and catalogue essays on a diverse range of material including: the British conceptual art group Art & Language; the Serbian art activists Grupa Spomenik; and contemporary art from Iran. Before accepting her current appointment, Jordan held lectureships...

Amelia Briggs: What are you working on right now? Joel Parsons: Girl, I am spent. I am tired. And I’m angry and scared about the state of the world. So I’m focusing on giving myself permission and pleasure in the studio, and letting the studio be wherever and whatever I want it to be. Some recent projects took a lot out of me, they were heavy and fraught and intense and involved a lot of plumbing of a lot...

Dallas-based artist Ryder Richards (b. 1977, Roswell, NM) is no stranger to Tennessee. With a pair of solo exhibitions at Nashville’s Seed Space in 2012, titled Breech and Breech: OMFG Remix, and a forthcoming solo show at Swine this November titled Lookout following his time at ARC: Artist Residency Chattanooga, Ryder has become a part of our contemporary art scene.Locate Arts: What experiences compelled you to pursue contemporary art in your work and life? Ryder Richards: I wish I co...