Fourteen Pics is a cumulative project referencing several continuing bodies of work by Lester Julian Merriweather, examining the concept of agency over Black Visualization within American Popular Culture. The works in ANA•LOG draw upon several sources, including visual inspiration from the Basquiat-Warhol Collaborations (1982–88). The methodology of ANA•LOG references the long-rumored Dr. Dre concept album The Planets. Merriweather’s gestural treatment of layered and excavated surfaces in this series pays homage to the experimental processes of the mid-1960s Developer tool works by the late Jack Whitten.
Language plays a key role in ANA•LOG. Merriweather explores the word “Analog” as a counter-cultural delineation, separating it from the “Digital.” The individually collaged-by-hand elemental “units” in ANA•LOG act like pixels in the Digital space. Additionally, “Ana” is Memphis slang for “Animosity,” and “Log” serves as a “Recorded History,” creating a “Record of Remembered Angers” obtained through repeated racial disparities in American visual culture.
Lester Merriweather is a Memphis-based visual artist (b.1978). He holds an MFA from Memphis College of Art and a BA from Jackson State University. Merriweather has exhibited extensively throughout the U.S. and internationally, including at the Studio Museum in Harlem, CAM St. Louis, and the Zacheta National Gallery in Warsaw, Poland. He has held leadership roles in various Memphis arts organizations and currently participates in Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage, which travels to major U.S. museums.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about scale and proportion lately. The size of an object can make it seem important or unimportant, and we all measure things according to our own scale. Smaller objects may seem trivial, while larger ones can feel overwhelming. But when considering the vastness of the universe, even our planet feels tiny and insignificant.”
In Size Matters, Alex Paulus juxtaposes small figures within expansive landscapes and large-scale portraits of figures that held personal significance during his childhood. The contrast creates a sense of both insignificance and importance, depending on the viewer’s perspective.
Alex Paulus has lived in Tennessee since 2007 and received his MFA from the Memphis College of Art in 2009. He is an Associate Professor at Southwest Tennessee Community College and has exhibited in galleries across the U.S. and Europe. His work has been featured in publications like New American Paintings, Beautiful/Decay, and Memphis Current. He is represented by Arusha Gallery in Edinburgh and Reeves Art Gallery in Houston.
“My current work focuses more on the process of painting than the final product. Themes such as solitude and loneliness still emerge, but I’ve become more driven by the meditative act of painting itself. By letting go of control over the final result, I’ve started to see colors, shapes, and textures differently, which has led me to decisions I may not have made otherwise.”
Michelle Fair’s Still series reflects this process-based exploration, allowing her to break free from rigidity and dive into creative exploration.
Michelle Fair is a Memphis native who received her BFA from Christian Brothers University in 2012 and her MFA from Memphis College of Art in 2014. She has since been active in her studio practice. One of her notable projects includes creating 124 paintings for the guest rooms at Arrive Hotel in Memphis. Michelle currently works out of a shared home studio built from her carport.
For more information, please contact Crosstown Arts at (901) 507-8030 or visit crosstownarts.org.
