Lex is a southerner who approaches art as a jack-of-all-trades. Since they work with concepts that range from how our body makes musical scores to reimagining public space; they rely on video, printmaking, sculpture and everything in between. To sum up their work, Lex uses art as a tool for exploring and exploiting our understanding of reality, while embracing its comedy and tragedy. As an avid community connector, their work is often rooted in the ways our understanding and survival is reliant on each other and investigates our interconnectedness from a place of hope.
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Education:
2021. Western Carolina University, MFA in Studio Art
2017. Florida State University, BA in Studio Art
Professional Appointments:
Spring 2022. Adjunct Instructor at Warren Wilson College, Papermaking + Bookforms
Fall 2021. Adjunct Instructor at Warren Wilson College, Papermaking + Bookforms
Spring 2021. Graduate Teaching Appointment at WCU, Instructor of Record for Introduction to Printmaking
Fall 2020. Graduate Teaching Appointment at WCU, Instructor of Record for 2D Design
Spring 2020. Graduate Teaching Appointment at WCU, Instructor of Record for 2D Design
Fall 2019. Graduate Teaching Appointment at WCU, Instructor of Record for Advanced Printmaking
Grants and Awards:
2024. Best in Show, Contemporary Art Observatorium
2022. Grassroots Art Grant, Asheville Arts Council
2022. Association of Print Scholars Collaboration Grant
2022. Campaign for Southern Equality, Artist Grant
2020. Summer Research Grant, WCU Graduate School
2020. Janie McWhirter Scholarship
2019. Summer Research Grant, WCU Graduate School
2019. Friends of the Arts Scholarship
2017. Berlyn Arnett Award, FSU
2016. Student Worker of the Year, FSU
2015. Best in Show, Working Method Contemporary
Exhibitions:
January 2024. Art of Freedom II, Contemporary Art Observatorium - Lavagna, Italy
October 2023. For the Camera, For the Screen, Folio Gallery - Texas Tech School of Art
July 2023. Bizzaro Sabado: Concrete Poetry, Black Mountain College Museum - Asheville, NC
March 2023. Solo Video Installation, Third Floor Gallery - Pittsburgh, PA
December 2022. Nutrient Rich, Goodyear Arts - Charlotte, NC
August 2022. Too Hot to Handle, Summit - Charlotte, NC
June 2022. Local Street, The Mint Museum - Charlotte, NC
February 2022. Middlemost, Ramp Gallery - Asheville, NC*
December 2021. Reading Room Installation, Revolve - Asheville, NC*
October 2021. Faculty Art Exhibition, Holden Gallery - Swannanoa, NC
September 2021. poetic.GIF, Brick City Gallery - Springfield, MO
August 2021. Hominy Rising: Arts & Awareness on the Greenway - Asheville, NC
July 2021. Pandemic Projections, Gardenship Art - Kearny, NJ
June 2021. Video Showcase, LHUCA - Lubbock, TX
April-September 2021. Wild Art Sculpture Showcase, The North Carolina Arboretum - Asheville, NC
April 2021. Value Space, collaborative installation with nonnulla, Revolve Gallery - Asheville, NC*
April 2021. Thesis Exhibition, WCU Museum of Fine Arts - Cullowhee, NC
April 2021. Tracey Morgan Gallery, - Asheville, NC
December 2020. Adjusting the Lens: FEST, Unrequited Leisure - Nashville, TN
October 2020. Hope is a Horizon That Human Beings Permanently Fabricate, Revolve - Asheville, NC*
July 2020. First Draft: One Month Artist Residency + Solo Exhibition, Revolve - Asheville, NC
2020. The Art of Homemade Resistance, Arts Council of L.O. – Lake Oswego, OR
2020. Valentine’s Art Show, Nox Gallery – Philadelphia, PA
2020. Unlocking the Future, Emerge Gallery and Art Center – Greenville, NC
2020. Printed (still) Matters, 130 Gallery – Cullowhee, NC*
2020. Candidacy Show, Ramp Studios – Asheville, NC
2019. Bad Video Art Festival, Zverev Center of Contemporary Art – Moscow, Russia
2019. Peach Pie, Goodyear Arts – Charlotte, NC
2019. Fiber Optimism, 130 Gallery – Cullowhee, NC
2019. Street/Art, Push Gallery – Asheville, NC*
2019. Sidewalk Daydream: Narrative Art, ZaPow Gallery – Asheville, NC
2018. Gendered Fury, 130 Gallery – Cullowhee, NC
2018. Microcinema Screening, The Glitter Box – Pittsburgh, PA
2018. Queering the Mountains, 130 Gallery – Cullowhee, NC
2018. Risotto’s Riso Room, The Glue Factory – Glasgow, Scotland
2017. WaterPump, Moisturizer Gallery – Gainesville, FL
2017. Performance at the Boogeyman’s Ball, The Living Gallery – Brooklyn, NY
2017. Collaborative Show with Brittany Watkins, Phyllis Strauss Gallery – Tallahassee, FL
2017. Night of Magical Videos, The Shop – Pittsburgh, PA
2016. Art of Darkness, 621 Gallery – Tallahassee, FL
2016. Dwellings, SOUP Gallery – Tallahassee, FL
2016. Performance at Lounge Night, 621 Gallery – Tallahassee, FL
2016. Comedic Relief, Phyllis Strauss Gallery – Tallahassee, FL
2016. Warp Speed, collaborative show with Aubrey Finnegan, Phyllis Strauss Gallery – Tallahassee, FL
2015. Rape Culture, Working Method Contemporary – Tallahassee, FL
Commissions:
2023. Wavy Benches for Swannatopia - Black Mountain, NC
2023. Zine and Book Stands, Buncombe County Special Collections - Asheville, NC
2022. Large Wall Mirrors, Different World - Asheville, NC
2021. Outdoor Sculptures, Hominy Greenway – Asheville, NC
2020. Steel Sculpture, NC Arboretum – Asheville, NC
Residencies:
2020. First Draft Residency, One Month Artist Residency
2020. Overland Arts, Shelter, Two Week Artist Residency
Collections:
2023. Special Collections, Pack Memorial Library - Asheville, NC
2021. Artist Book Collection, MoFA – Cullowhee, NC
2017. Permanent Print Collection, MoFA – Tallahassee, FL
Publications:
2023. Belonging and Non-Belonging, Miles Lamberson - interview and zine history
2020. Witching Hour II, Nefarious Contemporary – artistic collaboration
2017. Machismo, CENSUS, Leo Banuelos – artistic collaboration
Publications as Author:
2021. “Nothing” There, Nothing “There” – the written portion of my MFA thesis that is printed in an edition of 10 artist books, hand-bound with a 7-inch vinyl in the back.
2020. Printed (still) Matters – an annual publication that features interviews with folks who utilize or navigate independent presses and self-publishing to bridge gaps in communities.
2020. Hope is a Horizon That Human Beings Permanently Fabricate – an exhibition catalog for a show I curated in Revolve Gallery, Asheville NC.
2019. Tiny Voids vol. I – small artist book series, hand-bound accordion style, printed with glossy black ink on matte black paper that contains anonymous submissions of thoughts that people would like to scream into a void.