Tennessee-based sculptor Kyle Cottier combines traditional textile and woodworking techniques in his mindful practice. Artist: Born and grew up in Louisville, KY. In a high school magnet program, Cottier began spending a lot of time in the art annex. Often, he was in in the darkroom developing film, or in the printmaking lab preparing silkscreens…
Tennessee sculptor Raymond Padron carves hyper-realistic wood wall reliefs of familiar and often meaningful items from your past. Artist: Born in Maryland, Padron grew up in the North Virginia suburbs of DC. He graduated with a BA in art from Messiah College in Grantham, PA, and moved to Chattanooga, TN. In 2011, Padron received his…
After starting a career in industrial design, Keavy Murphree migrated back to her first love: ceramics. The Nashville artist now makes decorative and functional clay works that are equal parts minimal and modern. Artist: Born in Chicago and raised north of the city, Murphree moved to Cape Coral, FL, halfway through high school. She headed back…
Nashville textile artist Emily Brown uses leather to craft her modern, puzzle-like wall art. Artist: Born in Birmingham, AL, but grew up mainly in Chicago, IL. At age 13, Brown began working with leather textiles and crafted her first leather handbag. In high school, she participated in fashion classes and competitions. Despite an interest in art,…
Tennessee artist Jan Burleson says the making of collages plays a double role as a meditative practice and as a study for her jazzy and vibrant paintings. Artist: Burleson spent her early life in Johnson City, nestled near the hills of Upper East Tennessee. Long before completing her BFA in painting and drawing at the…
Growing up, Sean G. Clark loved X-Men and comic books. Today, the New Orleans painter still draws on the formal elements of comic books, like color and composition, in his abstract and figurative works., Artist: The Tennessee native grew up in Chattanooga. In 2011, he graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta with a BS degree…
Lindsy Davis says her art is often categorized as minimal. But to the Nashville sculptor and painter, it is anything but. Artist: The northern New Jersey native grew up in Mahwah near the New York border with a creative mother who studied photography and a hard-working father, who owned a coffee shop. At an early…
Tennessee’s Daryl Thetford often uses more than 200 photographs to create one piece of his digital pop art. Artist: Thetford grew up on a farm in Bradford, a small town in the rural northwest corner of Tennessee. His father worked in a warehouse, and his mother was a beautician. While Thetford’s parents encouraged him to pursue…
Whether it is glass, bronze or printmaking, materials matter to interdisciplinary artist Amber Lelli of Nashville. The studio: Amber Lelli Art is based in Nashville. The artist has studio space in the basement of LeQuire Studio and Gallery, surrounded by remnants of many famous sculptures. The artist: Born in Queens, New York, Lelli spent her early years…
A lifelong athlete, Maryland artist Brandon Donahue collects and repurposes basketballs, footballs and other sports equipment into larger, flower-like assemblages. The artist: The Memphis native graduates with a BS from Tennessee State University (TSU) and earned an MFA from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Donahue now lives in Baltimore, where he works as an…