Visual Arts Exhibit On Display Through December 2, 2023
a reflection on aging and the forced changes of getting older
Teresa Bramlette Reeves, artist and curator, presents her newest visual arts exhibition titled “she didn’t really follow a rabbit down the hole, but she thought it was a good story.” at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center.
Lewis Carroll’s Alice follows a rabbit down a hole and into an inverted world inhabited by characters who challenge her sense of who she is and what she knows. Through various means, Alice changes. She grows and she shrinks. The lessons she learned in her previous world—multiplication tables, poems, and other information—is similarly altered. What was once sensible is rendered nonsensical. What was once normal is no longer. But in facing these challenges, she learns more about herself and the absurdity of the real world.
Rather than reflect a young girl’s journey, this exhibition sets the timeline at a different point. This Alice explores a different kind of transition—the move into one’s final decades. The story begins with a woman who follows a circular stairway into a new world. After some exploration, she begins to wonder if escape is an option. In pondering her options, she visualizes several plans. But she can’t really climb a ladder made of cloth, or a painting of a Rapunzel-like coil of braided hair. The rain she hopes will allow her to float free isn’t real. The tiny door doesn’t lead anywhere. Her efforts, however well intentioned, are sure to fail. Yet, she continues to imagine the possibilities.
Teresa Bramlette Reeves
Born in Athens, Georgia, Teresa received a BFA in drawing and painting from the University of Georgia, a MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a PhD in art history from the University of Georgia.
Prior to teaching at Georgia State University (2001-11), she worked as the Curatorial Assistant at the following New York City institutions: The New Museum of Contemporary Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and Artists Space. She was formerly the Assistant Director of The New York Kunsthalle, the Gallery Director and Curator for the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, and the Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Zuckerman Museum of Art. She completed a Fulbright US Scholar residency in 2016/17, working with the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin. As a part of the curatorial collective, Selvage, she recently organized A Most Favorable Soil for the Butler Gallery in Kilkenny, Ireland (November 2019- February 2020) and Flow, a multi-venue exhibition and parade event in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (May – August 2022).
Teresa is also a practicing artist and is represented in Atlanta by Whitespace Gallery. She has been formerly represented by Sandler Hudson Gallery in Atlanta, Althea Viafora Gallery and Information Gallery in NYC, and ID Galerie in Düsseldorf, Germany. In addition to solo shows at these commercial venues, she has also presented solo projects at the Jersey City Museum, P.S. 1 Museum and White Columns as well as being included in numerous group shows in Atlanta, New Orleans, NYC, Cologne and Paris. She was awarded a Pollock-Krasner Grant, and Fellowship Residencies at the MacDowell Colony, Cite International des Arts (Paris), Hambidge Center, and the P.S. 1 National Studio Program.