Friday, the 7th of November, we decided to head to Memphis to appreciate what was going on in the galleries. We took a list of places that interested us in some way, printed maps to each and hit the road with a little bit of optimism to go. Arriving just before sunset we arrived at the Power House Memphis (pictured above) which has a show paying homage to Memphis native and photographer, William Eggleston. The architecture of this place was austere and beautiful all at once. We were off to a good start. The area south of downtown along Main St. was really enjoyable with shops and restaurants and other galleries. A lot has been invested in the area in terms of real estate and housing. From there we headed north and to east Memphis passing Beale St along the way.
The Powerhouse made us feel small.
We also did a whirlwind tour of 4 other galleries, all enjoyable: Marshall Arts, Material, L Ross Gallery, and the David Lusk Gallery. An interesting connection between Material, L Ross and David Lusk was that the shows all exhibited acrylic paintings which were vastly different from each other. The spaces themselves, the galleries that is, were all just as unique in aesthetic and feel as well.
“Woman Searching”, acrylic on canvas, 30″X40″, 2007-2008, by Carl Moore. His work was shown at the L Ross Gallery. You can see more of his work at http://www.cemooreart.com/index.html. He is also a designer.
“Hidden River #5″, acrylic, oil stick on canvas, 66 x 84″, 2008 by Robert Rector at David Lusk.
One of my favorites of the evening was Marshall Arts. Pictured left is Bobby Spillman’ “Gimme Shelter,” oil on canvas. See more of his work at the L Ross Gallery.
In all, Memphis was energetic and very much worth the visit. This was only a visit to the galleries and didn’t include the museums or the multitude of other possible venues to visit. I definitely look forward to our next visit.
