Kind of unbelievable but @keeganallee is 18 today! Wish him a happy birthday! I have too many feelings, pictures, and memories to count so I’m just sharing this handsome headshot.
In exactly one month our debut album drops on digital and vinyl. We’re very excited to share it with everyone. Please follow @mtforeverva for updates and details. Our first single is streaming everywhere now.
MLIS faculty member Jonathan Lee has been hired by the Library of Virginia to curate their VA250 exhibition! As a visiting artist at ODU last semester, @jleerva joined Kyle Kogut @kylekogut@oduartdept in his multidisciplinary course Envisioning Revolution. With support from @libraryofva (who provided $500 student honorariums and librarian Sarah Falls, an ODU alum) and @oduhistory (who provided graduate student Daniel Conner to do research), students were asked to create portraits of previously unseen Virginians based on petitions submitted to the state between 1776 - 1786. Those portraits and petitions, along with related research, are the foundation of the exhibition, providing insight into the diverse voices and revolutionary spirit of the time.
The @varevolution250 exhibition Envisioning Revolution opens Saturday, June 13 and runs through Thursday, December 31. There will be a satellite exhibition at @odulibraries during the Fall 2026 semester. More information and images to come, but for now, here are some photos from last semester, both inside and outside of the classroom, including works in progress for the exhibition.
Two weeks ago I won first place in the regional juried exhibition Radius 250 at @artspace_richmond … then the cold, snow, and ice came. Now that people are leaving the house again I wanted to encourage you to check it out. @kristennevermore put together a great show. On view through March 21.
Are you a librarian in Virginia? Know any? ODU MLIS faculty member Jonathan Lee is looking for participants for his new socially engaged project, Common Wealth, created to, “examine where we are, as individuals and as a profession, in this moment, in this state.”
If you go to /common-wealth you can order a project envelope that includes a 10 page workbook, a square, two rectangles, a sheet of notebook paper, an enlarged date due slip, a contact slip, and another envelope with return postage.
Inside the workbook, there are three activities: Core Values. Fear and Hope. Future Growth. Each activity has a series of prompts to consider followed by a creative task to complete. High prose and fine art are not expected. Capturing your ideas is the primary goal.
When all the tasks have been completed, sign and date the inside cover then return all the materials from the project envelope. The contents will be photographed before being combined with all other submissions to make a series of collective artworks for display and an archive of primary source information for research.
All contributions will be utilized. The imagination and point of view of each participant will inspire a body of work that can’t be fully known until completed. Should lead to some incredible results though! Check out what he made with our students and faculty in 2024 in slide 2!
Order now! Return by January 1, 2026. Go to /common-wealth for more information. Go to /common to order your envelope. 3 and 5 packs are also available for librarians in the same area or at the same library. Reach out about getting larger quantities or pick up / drop off options.
PS – If you got a project envelope at the VLA Conference, there are printing and cutting errors in those. They can be either replaced or used. Reach out to Jonathan for more info.
Two weeks ago I was in a beautiful place with a beautiful woman celebrating two decades of marriage. Here’s my photo dump finally. What an incredible trip! #banff #canadianrockies @shaunaignerlee
Here’s what I made over the weekend at Monster Drawing Rally 16 @1708gallery Finished two library discard pieces with a little help from @katiemcbrideart
Bling It Out 5 is live! The biannual exhibition and auction (auctria.events/blingitout5) are up @iridiangallery through Fri Aug 22 at 8:30pm. Closing reception from 6-9pm. This year 30 artists made work out of things they found at Diversity Thrift to benefit the only LGBTQ+ gallery in the South. Here’s my piece and what I made it from (bid now!):
You Have A Game (2025) (3x) 14.5”x 11.5” made from a hand painted game board, wooden narwhal puzzle, DIG by Parker Brothers, pages from The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain, buckram from old book covers, paper, wood glue, PVA, archival tape, and heavy chipboard.
MORE NYC : ‘Material Instinct’ at @post__times with Austin Ballard, Ara Peterson, Lukas Geronimas, and Richard Rezac, Sam Crockrell at @blade_study , Carmen Herrera at @lisson_gallery , Salman Toor ‘Wish Maker’ at @luhringaugustine , Lisa Yuskavage at @davidzwirner , Thaddeus Mosley in the the park, Matthew Kirk and Philip Guston at @franklinparraschgallery , Max Popov at @parent.company.gallery , Dorothea Tanning, Bridget Riley, Agnes Pelton, Hilma af Klint, and Rene Magritte at @themuseumofmodernart , plus a shot of my wonderful friends and hosts at one of many incredible meals. See ya soon!
NYC PART TWO : Three exhibitions at @pacegallery - Alicja Kwade : Telos Tales, Robert Indiana : The American Dream, and Trevor Paglen : Cardinals, followed by Leiko Ikemura : Talk to the Sky, Seek Light at @lisson_gallery , William Kentridge : A Natural History of the Studio at @hauserwirth (incredibly well done), and Claudette Schreuders : Genesis at @jackshainman
Last week I was in New York for art, friends, and food but the main impetus for the trip was to see Jack Whitten - The Messenger at @themuseumofmodernart , a retrospective exhibition covering all six decades of his incredible work. It did not disappoint. I’ve been a huge fan for a long time, visiting many of these paintings at other institutions, so it was wonderful to see so much work in one place. I walked through multiple times, a truly mesmerizing experience that these twenty photos can only begin to capture.
On my way to NYC right now. Perfect time to finally edit and post a few photos from my recent trips to Baltimore and Philadelphia.
#samgilliam #abigaillucien #selinbalci #henrymoore #toddgray #yinkashonibare #malcolmpeacock #simoneleigh #elanatsui #georgecault #hugogellert #junegroff #jacoblawrence #benshahn #ellsworthkelly #zoeleonard #marcelduchamp #edgardegas
