Events

Since the dawn of humanity, artists have looked to the natural world for guidance, inspiration, and understanding. This selection of works from the Permanent Collection of the Masur Museum and the Twin City Art Foundation features landscapes and other scenes from nature, though the artists have interpreted their surroundings in vastly different ways. From the romantic English countryside of Frederick William Hulme and the hazy bayous of Alexander Drysdale to the scientific specimens of Alberto Rey, take a journey through this exploration of nature, and art’s relationship to it.

Please note: this exhibition is in the upstairs galleries of our historic building, and is unfortunately not accessible for those with limited mobility.

Richard Buswell has photographed Western settlement sites, ghost towns and frontier homesteads for more than 41 years. He has exhibited internationally and is included in the major American collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Corcoran Gallery of Art, the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, Baltimore Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Masur Museum of Art, and more.

Throughout his career, Buswell increasingly has moved closer to his subject matter, emphasizing corroded artifacts and decayed bones to reveal the ravages of time. Ironically, Buswell’s photographs are not about loss, but about preservation. Buswell documents the effects of extraction and industry, while also portraying the renewal of the land.

Richard Buswell: Close to Home was organized by the Montana Museum of Art & Culture, at the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana.

The Masur Museum of Art’s Annual Juried Competition showcases contemporary artists throughout the United States of America working in any medium. This long-running juried competition also showcases some of America’s best curatorial talent. Recent jurors include Daniel Stetson, LSU Museum of Art; Gia Hamilton, Joan Mitchell Center; Holly Hughes, Albright-Knox Art Gallery; Sandra Firmin, Colorado University Art Museum; Kelly Shindler, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis; George Shackelford, Kimbell Art Museum; Liza Simone, Phantom Galleries, Los Angeles; Alison Greene, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; David Houston, currently Bo Bartlett Center; and Miranda Lash, currently Speed Art Museum.

We are honored to have this year’s juror Joel Parsons.

Parsons is a curator, artist, and teacher based in Memphis, where he is the Director of Clough-Hanson Gallery at Rhodes College and Assistant Professor in the Department of Art and Art History. His curatorial practice is often collaborative and driven by a desire to bring institutional resources to bear on conversations of equity and marginality. Recent projects include The Weight of Hope, No Fate But What You Make: Art and Queer Spirituality, Faith Wilding: Fearful Symmetries, and Rashayla Marie Brown: Supreme Being. He is the founder and co-director of Beige, an alternative gallery and performance space devoted to the work of LGBTQ artists. He is the Co-chair of the ArtsMemphis Artist Advisory Council and serves on the board of the UrbanArt Commission. As a Thomas J Watson Fellow in 2007-2008, he studied relational art practices in emerging global art centers. He received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Participating Artists:
John S. E. Alleyne (LA), David Andree (AR), Elizabeth Arden (PA), Ariel Baldwin (IL), LeeLee Brazeal (TX), Amelia Briggs (TN), Kristen Brown (CA), Jesse Butcher (TN), Susan Chambers (AR), Dean Dablow (LA), Douglas Degges (IL), Michael DeLuca (PA), William Dooley (AL), Leah Drake (SC), Ann Marie Fitzsimmons (NJ), Mark Gordon (NC), Robert Gordon (AR), Gao Hang (TX), William Hays (VT), Joseph Holsapple (LA), Gerard Huber (TX), Jennifer Hunt (SC), Manami Ishimura (TX), Perry Johnson (TN), Kevin Jones (LA), Hannah Kozlowski (WV), Neema Lal (NY), Francine LeClercq (NY), George Lorio (MD), Stacy Medaries (LA), PJ Mills (FL), Charles Mintz (OH), Lacy Mitcham (TN), Daniel Moore (LA), Joshua Newth (MO), Stefan Nodarse (IN), Alan Pocaro (IL), Pam Schmidt (CO), Robert Schwieger (IL), Suzanna Scott (LA), Courtney Sennish (CA), Parker Seward (AL), Ricky Sikes (LA), Juvana Soliven (HI), Corrie Steckelberg (MN), Melissa Wilkinson (AR), Liz Zanca (LA).