Nashville, Tenn. – December 6, 2023 – Contemporary arts center OZ Arts Nashville today announced an exhibition of works entitled At Your Service featuring works from six visionary Nashville artists. Curated by OZ’s manager of artistic programming, Daniel Jones, the exhibit draws inspiration from theatre-maker and performer Geoff Sobelle, whose intimate dinner party performance FOOD is visiting OZ Arts Nashville for an exclusive, two-week engagement between November 30 and December 10.
The works included in At Your Service each prompt visitors to consider many of the same themes at the heart of Sobelle’s performance work FOOD, namely the connections between humans and our sources of sustenance, and the ways we package parts of nature to serve our own needs. Among the highlights of the exhibit are: an early work from local art maven Vadis Turner entitled Fast Food Quilt which is made entirely from wrappers and packaging, a new untitled work from popular artist Omari Booker that is an addition to his “Still Life'' series which utilizes elements of traditional still life paintings to center unhoused members of society, and a video creation from sensational artist Marlos E’van which was recently featured in their buzzworthy exhibit “Nico’s Playhouse” at Red Arrow Gallery.
Art-lovers visiting OZ Arts Nashville for a performance of FOOD during its nearly two-week run can view the exhibit before and after the performance, reflecting on how disconnected we truly are from the origins of our food while considering whether we are serving the food – or whether the food is serving us.
The complete list of artists who have contributed thought-provoking work to the exhibit include:
- Omari Booker is a visual artist based between Nashville and Los Angeles, utilizing oil paintings as his primary medium to create both large-scale and intimate works.
- Marlos E'van is a Nashville-based artist who interweaves different mediums such as painting, performance, and filmmaking to create worlds in which their art recollects black histories: joy, pain, celebration, sorrow, and complex emotions from reenacted scenes of American histories.
- Annie Brito Hodgin is a largely self-taught, Hendersonville-based painter whose works are suggestive and rich in allusion. Her current work is a meditative exploration of trauma, ambiguity, absurdity, repression, and control.
- Will Maddoxx is a Nashville-based artist working with 2-D media whose work deals with the figure, iconography, and sexuality. He describes his series of paintings ICONOCLASM as an “intentional, calculated response to the trauma queer people endure in the name of God.
- Vadis Turner’s work re-contextualizes and transforms gendered materials into abstract paintings and sculptures. Her work has been featured in many solo exhibitions, including at the Frist Art Museum and the Huntsville Museum of Art, and is in permanent collections across the country.
- Donna Woodley is a Nashville-based painter whose works explores the relationship between Black culture and American culture. She has been a featured artist in award-winning exhibitions nationally and internationally and teaches at Tennessee State University.
Through the works included in At Your Service, these creators reflect on the ways we consume food, who has access to different levels of resources, and how we serve edible creations (and sometimes ourselves) to each other.
“This vibrant exhibition pairs perfectly with our exclusive presentation of Geoff Sobelle’s theatrical production FOOD, an internationally acclaimed performance that challenges assumptions about our relationship to what we eat,” said Mark Murphy, Executive and Artistic Director of OZ Arts. “The singular Nashville artists in the exhibit share their unique perspectives about our modern era of consumption, each employing distinctive styles and visions in compelling ways.”
Those interested in viewing At Your Service outside of performance times can email OZ’s Manager of Artistic Programming and exhibit curator Daniel Jones at daniel@ozartsnashville.org to make an appointment. To learn more about other upcoming exhibits and performances at OZ Arts, please visit www.ozartsnashville.org.
About OZ Arts Nashville
Founded in 2013 by the Ozgener family, OZ Arts Nashville has quickly established itself as one of the Southeast's most influential and respected producers and presenters focused on the creation and presentation of significant performing and visual artworks by diverse cultural visionaries who are making vital contributions to the evolution of contemporary culture. Through performances, exhibitions, and community events, OZ Arts focuses on producing and presenting the work of local and visiting artists who reflect our diverse society, utilize new artistic forms and technology in creative ways, and provide opportunities for meaningful engagement with audiences, students and cultural and civic leaders. OZ Arts' unique creative warehouse has developed a reputation as a major national and regional laboratory for experimentation and a home for contemporary dance and performance. More than 50,000 audience members have been introduced to adventurous artists from around the world since the organization opened, and hundreds of local and regional artists have used OZ’s 10,000 square-foot warehouse theater to develop new works. For more information, please visit ozartsnashville.org.
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