Mallory/Wurtzburger: "80 Exhibitions, 18 Years"

About this event

Mallory and Wurtzburger Galleries

Mallory/Wurtzburger: 80 Exhibitions, 18 Years

Oct 4, 2026 - Jan 3, 2027

Presented by: Obsidian Public Relations

Organized by: Dixon Gallery and Gardens

In the summer of 2008, Kevin Sharp had an idea to animate the Dixon’s Mallory and Wurtzburger Galleries by inviting a contemporary Memphis painter, Jed Jackson, to exhibit his recent work in those spaces. Those two galleries had always been high-traffic spaces but had not been appreciated for their potential to present curated exhibitions. That August, the Dixon opened Jed Jackson: Toujours l’audace, the first exhibition in a series we called “Mallory at Wurtzburger: New Art in Memphis.” Jed’s paintings, with their references to historic art, music, literature, and film, delighted our visitors. When the artist spoke at a fledgling program at the Dixon called Munch and Learn that fall, a huge crowd turned up to hear about his influences, and we knew we were onto something special. We followed Jed’s exhibition with shows highlighting work by Hamlett Dobbins and Marjorie Liebman, and the Mallory/Wurtzburger series was born. Eighteen years later, the Dixon team has curated 80 exhibitions in those spaces, giving the weight of a museum exhibition to more than 100 Memphis area artists—ranging in age, background, experience level, and media preference. The series has opened the Dixon Gallery and Gardens up to our own vibrant Memphis arts community and established meaningful relationships along the way.

As part of our fiftieth anniversary celebration, Mallory/Wurtzburger: 80 Exhibitions, 18 Years offers a glimpse at the impact the series has had by showing recent work by some of the artists who have generously partnered with the Dixon over the years in these galleries. Paintings, photographs, sculpture, textiles, book arts, works on paper, and installation work represent the great variety of art that visitors to the Dixon have experienced over the past eighteen years in the Mallory and Wurtzburger Galleries, and reinforce the main goal of the series: to instill a sense of pride in the incredible artistic talent in the Mid-South.

Participating Artists: Elizabeth Alley | Jimpsie Ayres | Phyllis Boger | George Bougher | Justin Bowles | Joshua Brinlee | Danny Broadway | Brittney Boyd Bullock | Kevin Burge | Scott Carter | J Clay | Roger Allan Cleaves | Pam Cobb | Holly Combs | Colleen Couch | Jay Crum | Maritza Davila-Irizarry | Hamlett Dobbins | Michelle Duckworth | Melissa Dunn | Wayne Edge | Beth Edwards | EMYO | Jed Jackson | Mary Jo Karimnia | Martha Kelly | Tommy Kha | Paula Kovarik | Peggy Kunkel | Anthony Lee | Carlyle Wolfe Lee | Matthew Lee | Thad Lee | Richard A. Lou | Susan Maakestad | Lawrence Matthews | Annabelle Meacham | Remy Miller | Carl E. Moore | Joe Morzuch | Greely Myatt | Debbie Pacheco | Kong Wee Pang | Nick Peña | Dorothy Gunther Pugh | Kate Roberts | John Ruskey | Jeanne Seagle | Emma Self | Sowgand Sheikholeslami | Corkey Sinks | Dolph Smith | Ramona Sonin | Laurel Sucsy | Daniel Tacker | Mary K VanGieson | Jennifer Watson | Kaylyn Webster | Kiersten Willaims | NJ Woods