David Lusk Gallery
Painting and Her Women
a feminist palette show curated by Jodi
Hays
3- 21 February 2026
This 33-artist group show takes its conceptual point of departure from the album Johnny Cash and His Woman, co-written by June Carter, whose creative labor has historically been referred to under the possessive designation “Johnny’s woman.” This naming reflects a common pattern of erasure, one in which women’s contributions are rendered secondary, anonymous, or instrumentalized in service of a figure of cultural authority. Painting and Her Women engages this pattern by foregrounding the overlooked materials that sustain artistic practices, specifically the tools and processes that are foundational yet rarely given appropriate appreciation.
The artists in the exhibition engage materiality as a method of inquiry. They use processes to reconsider authorship and generate meaning. The palette, in particular, shifts from a secondary support to an active participant in the work. This shift raises a central question: does a work of art reside solely in the finished object, or does it also exist within the acts, tools, and decisions that lead to its making?
Within the exhibition, tools of painting function as both material and metaphor, crediting process, labor, and material intelligence as key components of authorship. Artists utilize palettes, biscuit cutters, and rolling pins. Their apertures, handles, and surfaces record touch, pressure, and duration, making embodied knowledge visible through form. The exhibition challenges singular perceptions and complexifies what
1) Al ison Re mus Portra t of a Palette Liv ng w th Her Decisions, 2026 mixed med a 20 x 16 5 in
2) Amanda M cheletto-Blou n Human Fiber is Fiber 2025, human ha r woo , 24 x 16 5 in
3) As a Math s Domestic Ghosts, 2026 stoneware clay porce ain, cotton 61 x 87 x 22 n
4) Conrad Guevara, Unt tled Swing Set, 2025 acry ic gouache and coconut water on wood, 14x 5 x3 in
5) Angela Frale gh, The thin skin of our eyes 2015, o l on canvas 24 x 18 n
6) Chris Moss Vo d Promise, 2005 oi , o lstick on mason te15 75 x 11 75 in
7) Christopher Kuhn, Executive Decision 2025 acryl c on canvas, 20 x 16 n
8) Coulter Fussel , Pink Pond, 2026
Kodachrome sl de mage and cel - phone screenshot printed on chiffon upho stery foam po y-fi knit fabr c thread panel 32 x 33 x 5 in
9) Courtney Puckett N I, E I W I and S I 2022 Found objects and repurposed texti es dimensions var able
10) Donna Woodley Fly Grandmother Ann e Maude 2025 oi on canvas, 30 x 36 n
11) Em ly Gherard, Pr mord al Truth 2025 Plywood Collograph P ate inked w th Oi Paint w th Nai s and Col agraph Print on K takata Paper coated w th Rabbit Skin G ue 24 x 27 x 1 in