Five Things To Do This Weekend in Memphis: June 25th-27th

An art opening, closing, and a reveal — along with two fundraising events — will keep you busy this last weekend in June.

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Artist reception for “Pietà Mondrian” and “Drip”

Tops Gallery, 400 S. Front, and Tops Gallery: Madison Avenue Park, 151 Madison

Friday, June 25, 6-8 p.m.

Christopher Chiappa has created a new series of sculptures whose form and subject are derived by a determinism of gravity. The artist’s intent is the work itself, bringing content back to the present one hundred years after the schism of Modernism. This is not spiritual nor ideological — it is physical. These works are made of 2 or 3 elements that ground the viewers' reality in form. Their shapes and colors are real. They are not fantasies of a burned-out enlightenment or a stand-in for a larger metaphor. The reception will be held at the Galley.

Meanwhile, at Tops Gallery in Madison Avenue Park, Kevin Ford will have on display over 140 paintings of sports shoes displayed like artifacts on crisply aligned white shelves, punctuated by brightly colored swatches of paint describing each shoe. The display and artist highlight the fetishization of the luxury goods market by singling out each item as an object of desire.

The drip in the history of Western painting has often signified authenticity, struggle, spontaneity, or uniqueness, making painting as much of an event as an object. Artist Robert Rauschenberg in1957 intentionally recreated seemingly spontaneous moments of drips and slashes of paint from one painting to the other, he not only created new imagery for painting to explore, but also invented a new relationship between painter and paint. 

A second meaning for drip refers to one’s personal style or swag. Ford is roughly the same age as Nike Air technology, and the two have grown and evolved at the same time. During the mid-80s, there was a period of transition in sneaker design, moving from utilitarian functionality toward a looser, street-based, inspirational and aspirational form, connecting engineering and design cultures. The style and colors of the Nike Air silhouettes still have had a huge impact on Ford and have continued to influence both his palette and his palate.

Ford, in this exhibition, creates an amalgam of Oldenburg’s 1961 “The Store,” Warhol’s grid of Campbell’s soup cans, and Andreas Gursky’s 1997 photograph Untitled V depicting a sterile luxury shoe display. The installation compounds interpretation by highlighting each painting as an object, illusion, and a reminder to the viewer that the various drips and stains are paint sitting on top of a flat surface.

Closing reception for “Structure-Identity-Transformation”

David Lusk Gallery 97 Tillman

Saturday, June 26, noon-3 p.m.

Friday opens an exhibition at Tops Galleries and Saturday closes one at David Lusk Gallery.

On the heels of Juneteenth, David Lusk Gallery commemorates Juneteenth's importance in American history. The work displayed, from photography to mixed media by Paul Stephen Benjamin, Brandon Donahue, Dell Marie Hamilton, Shaun Leonardo, Justin Thompson, and Leila Weefur explores themes of race, identity, gender, language, and transformation.

Opening Reveal for “Invisible Aquaphobic Art”

Crosstown Concourse Plaza Fountain, 1350 Concourse

Saturday, June 26, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

On the sidewalk around the Crosstown Concourse fountain, artist Stacey Williams-Ng will use hydrophobic paint, which repels water, to create “invisible” works of art in this exhibition. The shapes will not be invisible when the plaza is dry. When water from the fountain is splashed onto the shapes, they will become visible.

Made possible through a grant provided by the Urban Child Institute, the unusual works of art are based on the environmental conservation of the Mississippi River. The idea is to teach kids about litter as they splash around in the fountain that is used as a splash pad in the summer. It’s a good lesson for all of us.

Cans, shoes, and other typical litter items, interspersed with river wildlife like catfish will be a part of the exhibition revealed to the public on Saturday. Activity sheets with an interactive map for a treasure hunt and a word-find puzzle will be available for the kids. Bring the whole family to cool off, see a unique body of work, and learn about conservation.

Annie Oakley Buffalo Bill Wild West Triathlon

Shelby Farms Park, 6903 Great View

Saturday, June 26, 6:30 a.m.

Bike, run, and swim during this annual event named as a nod to the buffalo. You will look just as majestic as the wild and powerful cloven hoof beast while exerting your energy to benefit Shelby Farms Park during this annual event.

Choose one of two distances: The Super Sprint; 1/4-Mile Swim, 8-Mile Bike, and a 2-mile run or The Sprint; 1/2-Mile Swim, 16-Mile Bike, and a 4-Mile Run.

Sign up online. Visit pr-eventmanagement.net for more information.

Memphis Heritage Estate Sale

Howard Hall, 2282 Madison

Saturday, June 26, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, June 27,  10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Monday, June 28, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Howard Hall was built in 1925 and is home to Memphis Heritage, the preservation organization tasked with preserving the architectural history of Memphis. The handsome, Colonial Revival-influenced structure was gifted to Memphis Heritage in 2006 by the late Hal B. Howard, Jr.

I remember June West, founder of Memphis Heritage, telling me once that the upkeep of an old house like Howard Hall is no small undertaking. But, in an article from 2007 in Memphis magazine, West says the house was too good to be true.

Between the upkeep of Howard Hall, preservation endeavors, and the setback of 2020, funds must be raised to continue the relentless work to preserve Memphis architecture and history.

Join Memphis Heritage in their latest fundraising event, an estate sale at Howard Hall. This is your chance to save Memphis history and own a small part of it. Offerings include antiques and works of art by local artists.

For a full list of what’s happening this weekend in and around Memphis, check out our calendar of events. Also, be sure to tag your favorite Instagram photos of Memphis while you are out and about with the #memphismagazine hashtag. I hope you have a great weekend.