If you never had a Sweet 16 party or never got invited to one and you’re still just a bit bitter, my advice, other than to get over it, would be to swing by the Dixon Gallery & Gardens for its “Sweet 16,” where you will be most welcome.
This “Sweet 16” is, of course, a bit different than what Molly Ringwald would’ve wanted when her parents forgot her 16th. Sure, you won’t find Jake Ryan, but you will be treated to 16 independent exhibitions, one for each of the Dixon’s 16 galleries. From mid-19th century portraits from a Memphis family collection to Hattiloo Theatre’s collection of commissioned portraits, the Dixon offers a sampling of different art forms across centuries and geographical boundaries.
The decision to include such a variety was intentional since, as Dixon’s director Kevin Sharp says, “Art has this tremendous capacity to speak to the plurality of the human condition, to our diversity, to the multiplicity of ideas that drive our existence.”
One of the many highlights of this show is “James Little: Homecoming.” Little was born and raised in Memphis, having attended Hamilton High School and the Memphis College of Art before relocating for his MFA program in 1976 to New York, where he’s since lived. “He’s an amazing artist,” Sharp says. “He does these geometric abstractions that are very carefully lineated. He goes so far as to make his own paint. They’re really, really powerful works of art. … He’s had a very important career in New York for the last 40 years. He’s about to be in the next installment of the Whitney Biennial — it’s a recognition of a lifetime of brilliant, brilliant work.
“It’s just satisfying for us to reintroduce him to the community he came from,” Sharp adds. “I think it’s nice for any artist to have a major museum show in their own town.”
“Sweet 16,” which opens April 17th, will be on display through July 10th. Admission to the Dixon is free through the end of 2024.
“Sweet 16,” Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Opens Sunday, April 17th, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.