Memphis Material

Memphis Material
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  • ARTS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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. Niles Wallace Part 2

    4D AGO

    Niles Wallace Part 2

    From Niles Wallace’s webiste: I was born in Western Pennsylvania in 1948.  My serious interest in Art began in high school and extended to college.  I graduated from Edinboro State University of Pennsylvania in 1970 with a degree in Art Education.  At Edinboro I became interested in Ceramics and subsequently attended graduate school at Alfred University, Alfred, NY, where I studied under Val Cushing, Daniel Rhodes, Robert Turner, Ted Randall, and Wayne Higby.  I received my MFA in Ceramics in 1974.  After short teaching stints at The Philadelphia College of Art, and The State University of New York at Albany, I began teaching Ceramics at Memphis State University, which later became The University of Memphis. For the past fifteen years my work has focused on mixed media sculpture.  Since 2012 I have focused on Stoneware ceramic bowls as paintings. My work has been exhibited nationally and is included in many private and corporate collections. My parents were divorced when I was quite young and my older sister and I lived with my Mother and my Grandparents. My Grandfather was a barber who never seemed able to adapt to changing hairstyles. He insisted on cutting men’s hair in the 1960’s the same way he did in the 1940’s. Consequently his clientele was dying out and he never made much money.  He was a devout Union man and active Democrat who vehemently railed against inequalities for the workingman.  He was cantankerous and hard to live with. His shop was attached to our house so he was always home. My Grandmother worked at home as a seamstress to make extra money.  She was warm and loving, baked bread once a week, canned vegetables, and always drank one beer before going to bed.  Here I was exposed to the fruits and frustrations of people who worked with their hands. My Mother worked as a Presbyterian church secretary for over twenty years. Though she often struggled with self-doubt, her faith and her belief in her children seemed to enable her to move ahead.  I now find it amazing that she was able to be the main provider for a family of five on a secretary’s salary, and still send two children to college.  She was a beautiful woman who always looked twenty years younger than her true age.  Though she dated and loved dancing, she never remarried until she was in her seventies. My sister is four years older than I.  She is outgoing, smart, popular, feisty, and was the homecoming queen.   Strong women, the motivation of faith, the ability to work with what was available, and not to waste anything, have been recurring influences in my life and work. In college I learned that materials have a life of their own.  I became familiar with pottery vessels and the importance of what is inside and not seen.  The object is you, and it is that idea. Concept gives meaning.  We all must believe that things will get better; that we will find what we are looking for, that our dreams have importance, that all things will converge on the horizon.  It is this faith that I try to address as I work.

    1h 43m
  2. Niles Wallace Part 1

    MAR 14

    Niles Wallace Part 1

    From Niles Wallace’s webiste: I was born in Western Pennsylvania in 1948.  My serious interest in Art began in high school and extended to college.  I graduated from Edinboro State University of Pennsylvania in 1970 with a degree in Art Education.  At Edinboro I became interested in Ceramics and subsequently attended graduate school at Alfred University, Alfred, NY, where I studied under Val Cushing, Daniel Rhodes, Robert Turner, Ted Randall, and Wayne Higby.  I received my MFA in Ceramics in 1974.  After short teaching stints at The Philadelphia College of Art, and The State University of New York at Albany, I began teaching Ceramics at Memphis State University, which later became The University of Memphis. For the past fifteen years my work has focused on mixed media sculpture.  Since 2012 I have focused on Stoneware ceramic bowls as paintings. My work has been exhibited nationally and is included in many private and corporate collections. My parents were divorced when I was quite young and my older sister and I lived with my Mother and my Grandparents. My Grandfather was a barber who never seemed able to adapt to changing hairstyles. He insisted on cutting men’s hair in the 1960’s the same way he did in the 1940’s. Consequently his clientele was dying out and he never made much money.  He was a devout Union man and active Democrat who vehemently railed against inequalities for the workingman.  He was cantankerous and hard to live with. His shop was attached to our house so he was always home. My Grandmother worked at home as a seamstress to make extra money.  She was warm and loving, baked bread once a week, canned vegetables, and always drank one beer before going to bed.  Here I was exposed to the fruits and frustrations of people who worked with their hands. My Mother worked as a Presbyterian church secretary for over twenty years. Though she often struggled with self-doubt, her faith and her belief in her children seemed to enable her to move ahead.  I now find it amazing that she was able to be the main provider for a family of five on a secretary’s salary, and still send two children to college.  She was a beautiful woman who always looked twenty years younger than her true age.  Though she dated and loved dancing, she never remarried until she was in her seventies. My sister is four years older than I.  She is outgoing, smart, popular, feisty, and was the homecoming queen.   Strong women, the motivation of faith, the ability to work with what was available, and not to waste anything, have been recurring influences in my life and work. In college I learned that materials have a life of their own.  I became familiar with pottery vessels and the importance of what is inside and not seen.  The object is you, and it is that idea. Concept gives meaning.  We all must believe that things will get better; that we will find what we are looking for, that our dreams have importance, that all things will converge on the horizon.  It is this faith that I try to address as I work.

    1h 46m
  3. Fred Burton

    MAR 7

    Fred Burton

    Fred Burton is a painter/printmaker born in Diablo Heights, Panama, Central America. His career began in the 1970s as both a working artist and educator. Travels and various artist residencies have influenced his personal vision and approach to art-making. Burton distills his life experiences into a visual diary, drawing inspiration from diverse sources including the Book of Kells in Trinity College, Dublin; exploration of the ruins of ancient Carthage in Tunisia;  bird forms experienced on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean; the vastness of the cosmos as well as star charts,  architectural elements, especially particular shapes and spatial arrangements Burton has exhibited his paintings and prints in  Paris, London, New York City, Chicago, Houston, and Orlando, Florida. Artist residencies include The Edward Albee Foundation, Montauk, Long Island; The Michael Karolyi Foundation, Vence, France; Altos de Chavon in the Dominican Republic; The Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig, Newbliss, Ireland; Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, California; Millay Colony for the Arts, Steepletop, Austerliz, New York; Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois; Woodstock School of Art, Woodstock, New York; The Morris Graves Foundation in Loleta, California and the Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont. Currently Burton is a professor emeritus residing in Memphis, Tennessee.

    2h 58m
  4. Frank D Robinson

    FEB 27

    Frank D Robinson

    From the amazing UrbanArt Commission’s Movable Collection site: Frank D. Robinson Jr. is a Memphis-based visual artist with a primary focus on narratives and the transformation of discarded objects from everyday life, such as packaging, cereal boxes, fast food papers, glass, and keys, into exquisite jewels for his large-scale mixed-media artworks. He holds a BFA from the University of Memphis and a Masters in Painting from the Art Institute of Chicago. His artwork can be found in numerous private collections and is also a part of the collection at the University of Illinois. Robinson is best known for his Trash to Treasure Portraits, which delve into the beauty of life’s struggles, the ability to turn adversity into positivity, and the overarching theme of caring for humanity. Over the course of two decades, he has faced personal challenges related to diabetes and dialysis, and these experiences have significantly influenced his creative work, incorporating elements from his health journey. In his efforts to inspire young artists and art teachers, Robinson offers the following advice: “Dream big, use kind words, express love, embrace laughter, and find joy in silliness. Share your talents, remember to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ practice gratitude, lend a helping hand, and always keep your promises. Avoid complaining, be open to new experiences, take moments to breathe, stay composed and carry on, and, most importantly, don’t forget to laugh out loud.”

    1h 45m
  5. Michael Roy AKA Birdcap Part 2

    FEB 20

    Michael Roy AKA Birdcap Part 2

    From Birdcap’s amazing website: Birdcap is a myth-making muralist and comic artist whose work drifts between folklore and philosophy. With roots in street culture and a mind full of ghosts, he creates poetic narratives about impermanence, rebellion, and the strange joy of continuing on.

    1h 40m
  6. Michael Roy aka Birdcap Part 1

    FEB 13

    Michael Roy aka Birdcap Part 1

    From Birdcap’s amazing website: Birdcap is a myth-making muralist and comic artist whose work drifts between folklore and philosophy. With roots in street culture and a mind full of ghosts, he creates poetic narratives about impermanence, rebellion, and the strange joy of continuing on.

    1h 54m
  7. Paul Behnke Part 2

    FEB 6

    Paul Behnke Part 2

    From Paul’s amazing website: Paul Behnke (b. Memphis, Tenn.) is an American painter whose practice is grounded in contemporary abstraction, with a sustained engagement in chromatic intensity, gestural mark-making, and the formal possibilities of non-objective painting. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting from the Memphis College of Art. Behnke’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions in New York City, Philadelphia, Heidelberg, Saint Augustine, and Memphis, and included in numerous curated group exhibitions in San Francisco, Honolulu, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Paphos, the Netherlands, Cernay-lès-Reims, and New York. His paintings have garnered critical attention in publications such as Hyperallergic Weekend, The New Criterion, and The New Republic, where his work has been situated within ongoing discourses around abstraction and contemporary painterly practice. In addition to his studio output, Behnke contributes to the field as a writer and editor. His essays and critical reflections have appeared in AbCrit: A Forum for Debate on Abstract Art, Painters’ Table, Gamut, and No. Magazine. He served as co-editor of Shad Runn, an independent art zine based in Memphis, and has maintained Structure and Imagery, a blog dedicated to contemporary painting and visual culture, since 2011. From 2015 to 2017, he co-directed Stout Projects, an artist-run exhibition initiative in Bushwick, Brooklyn, focused on emerging and mid-career artists. Following a three-year residency in Taos, New Mexico, Behnke currently lives and maintains a studio practice in Memphis, Tennessee.

    1h 52m
  8. Paul Behnke Part 1

    JAN 30

    Paul Behnke Part 1

    From Paul’s amazing website: Paul Behnke (b. Memphis, Tenn.) is an American painter whose practice is grounded in contemporary abstraction, with a sustained engagement in chromatic intensity, gestural mark-making, and the formal possibilities of non-objective painting. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting from the Memphis College of Art. Behnke’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions in New York City, Philadelphia, Heidelberg, Saint Augustine, and Memphis, and included in numerous curated group exhibitions in San Francisco, Honolulu, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Paphos, the Netherlands, Cernay-lès-Reims, and New York. His paintings have garnered critical attention in publications such as Hyperallergic Weekend, The New Criterion, and The New Republic, where his work has been situated within ongoing discourses around abstraction and contemporary painterly practice. In addition to his studio output, Behnke contributes to the field as a writer and editor. His essays and critical reflections have appeared in AbCrit: A Forum for Debate on Abstract Art, Painters’ Table, Gamut, and No. Magazine. He served as co-editor of Shad Runn, an independent art zine based in Memphis, and has maintained Structure and Imagery, a blog dedicated to contemporary painting and visual culture, since 2011. From 2015 to 2017, he co-directed Stout Projects, an artist-run exhibition initiative in Bushwick, Brooklyn, focused on emerging and mid-career artists. Following a three-year residency in Taos, New Mexico, Behnke currently lives and maintains a studio practice in Memphis, Tennessee.

    1h 45m
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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
    55
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Memphis Material

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