THE FOCUS

Through sculpture, textiles, printed matter, and geometric pattern-making, I map repetition and contradiction of the paranoid spirit. Referencing new religious movements and self-help techniques, I imagine practical and psycho-spiritual coping strategies for the American condition. Corkey Sinks, Studio Visit, March 2017 Corkey Sinks, Studio Visit, March 2017 I embrace the human tendency to find meaningful patterns within the noise of collective information. As we struggle to understand our roles within the systems we occupy, narratives of conspiracy and prophecies of events to...

I am preoccupied with the liminal space of painting, in the features painting claims as its own but equally in those that painting disavows; in painting’s intimates as well as its outcasts; in the manner in which painting guards its boundaries as well as the means by which it marks itself away from its “other.” Ron Buffington, Studio Visit, February 2017 Ron Buffington, Studio Visit, February 2017 By exploring the historical literature of Modernism and interrogating romantic notions of authenticity and immedi...

Emily C. Thomas is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Memphis, Amsterdam, and California. Emily Thomas, Studio Visit, February 2017 (on location beside an electric power station in Memphis, TN / many works pictured are in-progress) Born and raised in Memphis, she received her BFA from New York University and her MFA from UC Santa Barbara. Emily Thomas, Studio Visit, February 2017 (on location beside an electric power station in Memphis, TN / many works pictured are in-progress) She enjoys animals, reading,...

Jessica Clay is an interdisciplinary artist working in Nashville, TN. She was born in Anchorage, Alaska and and also grew up in North Carolina before moving to Tennessee. There she received her BFA from Watkins College of Art, Design, & Film. She is a co-curator of the artist run space mild climate. Jessica Clay, Dig Site 2: 12th Avenue, gouache on paper, 5”x7”, 2016 (from studio visit) Jessica Clay, Studio Visit, February 2017 Currently I am working on a project where I am collecting docu...

Lush Interiors is a new collection of mixed media works aimed at exploring sensual machines, a term the artist uses to describe the mechanized trappings of modern life, as we all become increasingly enmeshed with our gadgetry. St Francis Elevator Ride, Tending, MDF Die-cut print & 3D assemblage, 40" x 28.5" x 5.5" (2016) St Francis Elevator Ride, Parts & Luxury (detail), MDF Die-cut print & 3D assemblage, 48" x 30"x 6.5" (2016) Common household appliances burst apart to reveal human anatomy and vegetation, both in various states of...

KJ Schumacher is a multidisciplinary artist working in Nashville, TN. He received a B.A. in Fine Art from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and studied at Parsons School of Design in Paris as an undergraduate. He received an M.F.A. at the Transart Institute in New York and Berlin. KJ Schumacher, Studio Visit, January 2017 (most works pictured are in progress) KJ Schumacher, Studio Visit, January 2017 (most works pictured are in progress) His praxis consists of...

Astri Snodgrass lives and works in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is a Lecturer in Painting and Drawing at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Snodgrass holds an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Alabama and a BA in Art and Spanish from Luther College. Experiences in Norway at Nansenskolen Norsk Humanistisk Akademi and the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina helped shape her interests in language, light, and perception. Astri Snodgrass, Bound Pigment Astri Snodgrass, Studio Visit, January 2017...

Austin J. Pratt was conceived at Alcatraz on Valentine’s Day 1987 and raised in Reno in the high desert mountains of Northern Nevada. There he fronted the post-punk outfit Spitting Image, served on the gallery committee of the arts non-profit The Holland Project, and worked as a Public Art Conservator and Gallery Manager for the City of Reno. Austin Pratt, Hell is My Maximum, 2016 Austin Pratt, Studio Visit, January 2017 Pratt received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Ne...