Memphis Material

Laurie Nye (b. 1972, Memphis, Tennessee) received her BFA from the Memphis College of Art, (1995, Memphis, Tenn.), and her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts (2002, Valencia, California). Nye’s work was the subject of a recent solo exhibition “My River Runs to Thee,” at Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, California). Her solo exhibition, “It Wasn’t A Dream It Was A Flood,” at Philip Ma...

This interview with Dr. Earnestine Jenkins was recorded in the Memphis Listening Lab on July 6, 2022. Dr. Earnestine Lovelle Jenkins is an Full Professor of Art History in the Department of Art & Design at the University of Memphis , where her scholarship focuses on the visual cultural history of the African Diaspora. The objectives of her research, publications and teaching supports scholarly...

This interview with Veda Reed was recorded in the Memphis Listening Lab on June 29, 2022. Veda Reed is revered for her long career of creating sublime, luminous, large-scale paintings of skies, cloudscapes, and the cycles of the sun and moon. Inspired by her childhood in wide-open spaces of Oklahoma, her works represent moments of warmth and comfort experienced while witnessing nature. Working in...

This interview with Greely Myatt was recorded at the Memphis Listening Lab at the Crosstown Concourse on June 15, 2022. Greely Myatt is widely recognized for his whimsical sculptural objects and monumental installations made from found materials. Engaging with surrealism, pop, folk and outsider art, he has developed a compelling visual language of truly reimagined but recognizable forms. His works...

This interview with Beth Edwards was recorded at the Memphis Listening Lab on April 27, 2022. Beth Edwards was born in Alabama and lives and works in Memphis. She received a BFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and an MFA from Indiana University. Edwards has had an active 33-year career painting, exhibiting and teaching. She taught painting at the University of Memphis for 21 years and...

This interview with Peter Sohngen took place at the Memphis Listening Lab on June 10, 2022. Peter Sohngen was the ceramics professor at the Memphis Art Academy (that later became the Memphis College of Art) from 1969 to 2002. From the description on the  Tennessee Arts Commission page written by Aiden Layer: “Peter Sohngen was working towards a PhD in English literature at Claremont Graduate...

This interview with Pinkney Herbert is the second of two interviews recorded in the Memphis Listening Lab.  This interview was conducted on June 29, 2022 Pinkney Herbert was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1954. He received his BA from Rhodes College and his MFA from the University of Memphis. Mr. Herbert is the recipient of Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee...

This interview with Pinkney Herbert was recorded in the Memphis Listening Lab on June 1, 2022 Pinkney Herbert was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1954. He received his BA from Rhodes College and his MFA from the University of Memphis. Mr. Herbert is the recipient of Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and USIA-Arts America. He has participated...

Memphis-native Chuck Johnson received his Bachelor of Art in Painting and Drawing from Memphis State University in 1975. Thereafter, Johnson served in the Army, stationed in Germany; he later returned to Memphis to earn his Masters in Painting and Art History from Memphis State University. Following his jobs as Curator of Education at Brooks Art Gallery and a temporary teacher at Rhodes College ea...

Welcome to Memphis Material, an oral history project celebrating the personal histories, the intimate stories, and the studio practices of some of the people who have helped shape the creative landscape of the city.