Dateline: August 8, 2019, Decatur, AL – The Alabama Center for the Arts is pleased to announce the opening of Zeuxis’ “My Studio” exhibit in the Main Gallery on Thursday, August 15. Zeuxis, an association of still life painters, was founded by Phyllis Floyd and several of her painter colleagues in her New York City loft in 1994. The association’s name derives from the ancient Greek still life painter, Zeuxis, whose career flourished during the 5th century BC.
Zeuxis exhibitions have appeared in over 50 commercial galleries, museums, and college exhibition spaces across the country and have been reviewed in The New York Times, The New York Observer, The New York Sun, and numerous other publications. Among the artists featured in the “My Studio” exhibit are Philip Jackson, Associate Professor of Painting at the University of Mississippi, and Brooke Alexander, Visiting Professor at the University of Mississippi.
Philip Jackson, a contemporary realist painter, has had his work shown in many national and international juried, group, and solo exhibitions in more than twenty states, is part of the permanent collections of art museums in Evansville and Fort Wayne, Indiana and Huntsville, Alabama, and has had his paintings featured in a number of premiere magazines. In 2008, Jackson was chosen as the youngest artist to receive his first major museum exhibition and was named the Martha and Merritt DeJong Memorial Artist-in-Residence at the Evansville Museum of Art in Evansville, Indiana. He currently lives in Oxford, Mississippi and is head of the painting area at University of Mississippi.
Brooke Alexander, one of Jackson’s former students, graduated from Athens State University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in studio arts. She received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Mississippi in 2018 and now resides in Oxford, Mississippi. Alexander is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Mississippi where she teaches painting, drawing, and 2D classes.
Alexander has always wanted to be an artist, saying, “I can remember when I couldn’t read, but I cannot remember a time when I didn’t draw.” She considers herself a representational artist and works primarily in oil, charcoal, and graphite. Her work has been shown regionally and nationally, with her oil painting, Always already there, to be displayed in the “My Studio” exhibit.
Growing up in Athens, Alabama and receiving her bachelor’s degree from Athens State makes being featured in this show particularly special for Alexander. “I’m very proud to be a guest artist in a Zeuxis show, but this show particularly because it is being displayed at the Alabama Center for the Arts,” she said. “Calhoun Community College and Athens State University were my first academic homes, and I spent many hours at the ACA. Being able to show my painting in the ACA gallery alongside so many incredible artists is a true pleasure.”
“My Studio” will be displayed until Friday, October 25. An opening reception with guest speaker Philip Jackson will be held on Thursday, September 5 from 5:30 – 6:30 pm. The exhibit and reception are both free and open to the public.
