Justin Bowles, "Wolf Garden," 2024; Paper collage: acrylic paint, screen-printed and painted papers (poster, scrapbook, giftwrap, Stonehenge, Canson, craft, magazine, tissue); Courtesy of the artist
Justin Bowles, "Wolf Garden," 2024; Paper collage: acrylic paint, screen-printed and painted papers (poster, scrapbook, giftwrap, Stonehenge, Canson, craft, magazine, tissue); Courtesy of the artist
Justin Bowles, "Wolf Garden," 2024; Paper collage: acrylic paint, screen-printed and painted papers (poster, scrapbook, giftwrap, Stonehenge, Canson, craft, magazine, tissue); Courtesy of the artist
Paula Kovarik "Escape," 2026; Cotton, wool batting, and cotton thread; Courtesy of the artist
Paula Kovarik "Escape," 2026; Cotton, wool batting, and cotton thread; Courtesy of the artist
Justin Bowles, "Wolf Garden," 2024; Paper collage: acrylic paint, screen-printed and painted papers (poster, scrapbook, giftwrap, Stonehenge, Canson, craft, magazine, tissue); Courtesy of the artist
Justin Bowles, "Wolf Garden," 2024; Paper collage: acrylic paint, screen-printed and painted papers (poster, scrapbook, giftwrap, Stonehenge, Canson, craft, magazine, tissue); Courtesy of the artist
J Clay (Joseph Lee Clayton), "TBMC (Trauma Based Mind Control)," 2024; Plastic deer, cannon pencil sharpener, found moss from forest, and resin shelf; Courtesy of the artist
J Clay (Joseph Lee Clayton), "TBMC (Trauma Based Mind Control)," 2024; Plastic deer, cannon pencil sharpener, found moss from forest, and resin shelf; Courtesy of the artist
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Mallory and Wurtzburger Galleries

Mallory/Wurtzburger: 80 Exhibitions, 18 Years

Oct 4, 2026 - Jan 4, 2027

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.