Memphis Material

Memphis Material
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An oral history project chronicling the stories of the visual arts in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis Material is a podcast celebrating the personal histories, intimate stories, and the studio practices of some of the people who help shape the creative landscape of our city.

  1. 12h ago

    Roy Tamboli Part 2

    Roy Tamboli is an artist based in Memphis, Tennessee, best known for large-scale abstract and figurative works in bronze and steel, as well as paintings and experimental, conceptual pieces across diverse media. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Mitsukoshi Museum of Art in Japan, and Galerie Enrico Bucci in Chile. His pieces are held in public and private collections, including those of Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art; the Mississippi Museum of Art; the Hyde Foundation; Nortel Corporation; B.B. King; John Lee Hooker; and Harrah’s Entertainment. In 1992, he co-founded Delta Axis, a nonprofit connecting the visual arts communities of Memphis and New York. The grandson of Italian immigrants who settled in the Mississippi Delta, Tamboli was shaped by Catholic ritual and Memphis gospel in a city where spiritual richness and social turmoil exist side by side. He often begins his sheet paintings abroad and finishes them in his Memphis studio, merging disparate energies into single works. Since his 1989 series Ancient Satellite Fragments, his work has questioned human consciousness and contact with otherworldly neighbors. Largely self-taught, he traces his real education to foundries, studios, museums, and remote cultures across six continents—beginning at 23, when he talked his way into the stacks at Windsor Castle to draw from boxes of uncovered Leonardo da Vinci drawings.   In today’s episode I mention this NYT The Daily episode and reference this podcast from Radiolab.

    Roy Tamboli Part 2

  2. Sep 25

    Roy Tamboli Part 1

    Roy Tamboli is an artist based in Memphis, Tennessee, best known for large-scale abstract and figurative works in bronze and steel, as well as paintings and experimental, conceptual pieces across diverse media. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Mitsukoshi Museum of Art in Japan, and Galerie Enrico Bucci in Chile. His pieces are held in public and private collections, including those of Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art; the Mississippi Museum of Art; the Hyde Foundation; Nortel Corporation; B.B. King; John Lee Hooker; and Harrah’s Entertainment. In 1992, he co-founded Delta Axis, a nonprofit connecting the visual arts communities of Memphis and New York. The grandson of Italian immigrants who settled in the Mississippi Delta, Tamboli was shaped by Catholic ritual and Memphis gospel in a city where spiritual richness and social turmoil exist side by side. He often begins his sheet paintings abroad and finishes them in his Memphis studio, merging disparate energies into single works. Since his 1989 series Ancient Satellite Fragments, his work has questioned human consciousness and contact with otherworldly neighbors. Largely self-taught, he traces his real education to foundries, studios, museums, and remote cultures across six continents—beginning at 23, when he talked his way into the stacks at Windsor Castle to draw from boxes of uncovered Leonardo da Vinci drawings.

    Roy Tamboli Part 1

  3. Sep 18

    Elizabeth Alley Part 4

    From Elizabeth’s great website: Elizabeth Alley, a painter and sketcher from Memphis, explores vulnerable landscapes through on-location sketching to create painting and drawing installations. She received a BFA from University of Memphis, and has shown her work locally and regionally at Crosstown Arts, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, the Nashville International Airport, and Wavelength Gallery in Chattanooga. In 2025, she participated in the Arctic Circle residency, and worked with four artist friends to open ShapeShifter Art School and Gallery.

    Elizabeth Alley Part 4

  4. Sep 11

    Kong Wee Pang Part 2

    Kong Wee Pang moved to the United States in 2001 from multicultural Malaysia. She graduated from the Singapore Nanyang Academy of Fine Art. In 2001, she moved to the United States, where she received a degree in Fine Art and design and an MFA from the Memphis College of Art.  In 2016, she co-founded Taropop Studio, focusing on public art and award-winning branding. She has shown her work in New York, California, and elsewhere in the United States, also Spain, Italy, Germany, Singapore, and Malaysia.

    Kong Wee Pang Part 2

  5. Sep 4

    Kong Wee Pang Part 1

    Kong Wee Pang moved to the United States in 2001 from multicultural Malaysia. She graduated from the Singapore Nanyang Academy of Fine Art. In 2001, she moved to the United States, where she received a degree in Fine Art and design and an MFA from the Memphis College of Art.  In 2016, she co-founded Taropop Studio, focusing on public art and award-winning branding. She has shown her work in New York, California, and elsewhere in the United States, also Spain, Italy, Germany, Singapore, and Malaysia.

    Kong Wee Pang Part 1

  6. Aug 28

    Elizabeth Alley Part 3

    From Elizabeth’s great website: Elizabeth Alley, a painter and sketcher from Memphis, explores vulnerable landscapes through on-location sketching to create painting and drawing installations. She received a BFA from University of Memphis, and has shown her work locally and regionally at Crosstown Arts, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, the Nashville International Airport, and Wavelength Gallery in Chattanooga. In 2025, she participated in the Arctic Circle residency, and worked with four artist friends to open ShapeShifter Art School and Gallery.

    Elizabeth Alley Part 3

  7. Aug 21

    Elizabeth Alley Part 2

    From Elizabeth’s great website: Elizabeth Alley, a painter and sketcher from Memphis, explores vulnerable landscapes through on-location sketching to create painting and drawing installations. She received a BFA from University of Memphis, and has shown her work locally and regionally at Crosstown Arts, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, the Nashville International Airport, and Wavelength Gallery in Chattanooga. In 2025, she participated in the Arctic Circle residency, and worked with four artist friends to open ShapeShifter Art School and Gallery.

    Elizabeth Alley Part 2

  8. Aug 14

    Elizabeth Alley Part 1

    From Elizabeth’s great website: Elizabeth Alley, a painter and sketcher from Memphis, explores vulnerable landscapes through on-location sketching to create painting and drawing installations. She received a BFA from University of Memphis, and has shown her work locally and regionally at Crosstown Arts, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, the Nashville International Airport, and Wavelength Gallery in Chattanooga. In 2025, she participated in the Arctic Circle residency, and worked with four artist friends to open ShapeShifter Art School and Gallery.

    Elizabeth Alley Part 1
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About

An oral history project chronicling the stories of the visual arts in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis Material is a podcast celebrating the personal histories, intimate stories, and the studio practices of some of the people who help shape the creative landscape of our city.

Information

  • Creator
    Memphis Material
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    80
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Memphis Material