Four artists grapple with a particular issue facing humanity and our planet. In their careers — through study and persistence — they have developed pertinent and compelling art. The public is invited to experience how the artists think, work, and create.
Maysey Craddock’s work was highlighted the first week in August. Her work focuses on the diminishing wildernesses of Southern wetlands that change and shift with the tides. Selected works on paper reference the natural environment of the Gulf Coast of Alabama. Abstract drawings are rendered and transferred onto sewn-together fragments of found paper bags, mirroring the natural and geological processes. Twenty-five percent of all proceeds sold from this exhibition will go to the Southern Environmental Law Center (southernenvironment.org).
Courtesy of David Lusk Gallery
Work by Ashley Doggett
Ashley Doggett, highlighted in week two, considers her work as not only imagery but also history and education. Her pieces within “Heed” pay homage and speak to current events as the world confronts systemic racism and injustice. “Brutality against our bodies and its social politics can no longer stand in the same court in which they once had,” says Doggett. “We are fighting together and with allies to take a stance against social inequality.” Twenty-five percent of all proceeds sold from this exhibition will go to the NAACP (naacp.org).
Leslie Holt’s current work for week three of the exhibition explores the often-private states of extreme emotion caused by war, loss, or mental illness. In 2013, Holt shifted from paint to mixed-media work after discovering a deep connection to the meditative process of stitching. Her process includes staining raw canvas and stitching imagery on top with embroidery thread. This project has personal roots in her own experience with major depression as well as her mother’s battle with bipolar disorder. Twenty-five percent of proceeds sold from this exhibition will go to NAMI (namimd.org).
Rob Matthews will close the exhibition in week four with his hopeful, dreamlike Madonna paintings formally rooted in abstracting a single Byzantine Madonna icon panel. His work for “Heed” is connected to a lot of work previously made in relation to political events of the Middle East over the past 10 years. Twenty-five percent of proceeds sold from this exhibition will go to Water Is Basic (waterisbasic.org).
davidluskgallery.com, visit the gallery website, Instagram, or Facebook page to view work and artist interviews through August, free.