Mobile art gallery shows in Louisville

Jul 29

Five boldly painted canvases in varying sizes are hanged outside of white and brown RV. The large canvas in the center is painted with a combination of poetry and images.

LOUISVILLE — A mobile art gallery has been moving around Louisville for four months, displaying the work of artist (A+), hoping to engage with the local community.

7cousins Gallery was born as a collaboration between life partners (A+) and Marley Ferguson as they embraced a nomadic lifestyle and looked to bring their art to communities.

ART IS ALIVE

In the ten years (A+) spent in Brooklyn, he developed his art style, starting with epigraphs spraypainted on New York buildings and evolving into epigrams painted on canvas.

(A+)’s epigraphs started as a love for words and the need to describe things observed in day-to-day life. The stylized font he designed to portray his poems is just as much of an art as the words themselves.

Using New York City buildings as a backdrop for his spraypainted epigraphs was a way for (A+) to draw viewers to a destination without them first knowing what the destination was.

“It’s like you see the destination before the thing. So it drives you toward the thing. Regardless of what the path takes you, you fucking go on to see it,” (A+) said.

It wasn’t about the size of the wall, A+ continued, but it was the association of joy he had with his artistic vision acting as a driving force.

The artist picked up a paintbrush to familiarize himself with the art form in order to begin putting epigrams on canvas.

“I got into painting as a way to build my confidence in another aspect of art,” (A+) said.

In 2020, painting took over as (A+)’s primary artistic outlet and has since found himself to be in a loving, interactive place with the artform.

While poetry has remained an important aspect of (A+)’s paintings, canvas emboldened his exploration of expression to develop outside of it, with several pieces speaking solely through bold colors, geometric forms and captivating compositions.

(A+) described being surprised by the art that he creates, stating that he is just a vessel through which a message is shared. Once a piece of art is finished, (A+) no longer feels as if it belongs to him. The message passes through him, onto the canvas, and then it can go to where or who it needs to.

“These paintings want to be seen; they have something to say, and we’ve been tasked with that message,” Ferguson said.

(A+)’s work showed in a New York gallery for six months between 2022 and 2023. Soon after, (A+) and Ferguson started the mobile gallery to bring the art and their messages directly to people.

“They have places they are going. They have people they want to meet,” (A+) said, “It’s the very thing that sees you, and it needs to see people.”

FALLING INTO PLACE

As painting took over for (A+), Ferguson happened to find herself in the role of running the gallery.

“Because I was being (A+)’s life partner, and then just watching this painting take over his life, and then as a part of our partnership trying to offset some of the weight. And then it's become my own whole creative venture on my own of building the gallery,” she said.

The idea behind 7cousins was to create a collaborative relationship between artist and gallery without the hierarchical aspect that they found present in the art scene, where artists have to pander to galleries for recognition and legitimacy.

The “cousins” aspect of the gallery’s name came from the idea that everyone is family, an idea that guides the way 7cousins chooses to interact with their communities and environment.

“I think that thing that we observed in New York is that because everyone with artistic ambition goes to New York…there's like the art industry and then there's the industry of making money off of people who want to be artists,” Ferguson said.

By choosing the places where they show (A+)’s work, Ferguson and (A+) are able to be stewards of the art, acting as the physical body for the medium.

“In terms of the painting and anything art that we are doing, it is transforming it in a way that it must breathe, you know, it must breathe the air. The air that it breathes is the interaction with the people…You must put it out,” (A+) said.

And when that art is displayed, (A+) said that it is their duty to put it in places where people can see it and have conversations about it.

The two left New York when they felt it was time to live in balance with nature and their ecosystem. The mobile aspect of the gallery developed organically as (A+) and Ferguson began living nomadically and traveling with the art pieces.

Planning to travel the country, Louisville is the first city outside New York City where 7cousins has displayed the mobile gallery.

CREATING THE BLUEPRINT

With New York City having such a unique art scene, operating in Louisville has proved to have a learning curve when it comes to operating the gallery. Ferguson and (A+) are using Louisville to establish a blueprint to guide the gallery when their art takes them to their next destination.

While New York City offered Union Square — a central, sanctuary space for artists to display their work and for others to view it — many cities lack an established public center for artists to share their work. By learning the Louisville community, 7cousins has determined more successful methods of encouraging engagement with the gallery.

“As stewards, we have and must know the community who we are interacting with,” (A+) said, noting that the art isn’t meant to sit covered in a basement after it leaves the gallery, but the art wants to continue to facilitate conversations with others.

Through a process of trial and error, 7cousins has found a handful of spots in the city where they set up the gallery, such as Barret Avenue near Derby City Market, Bardstown Road outside of Ms. Audrey’s Crafting Emporium, Cherokee Park near the frisbee field, Market Street by the Macaron Bar and Frankfort Avenue.

While the idea of trying to broach a new community can be intimidating, Ferguson and (A+) have had success connecting by forming relationships with business owners that encourage the gallery to park in front of their storefront and joining Story’s Founder Fridays.

“I think the art community, the small business community, the spiritual community here is so welcoming and so supportive and collaborative,” Ferguson said.

A large red painting hangs from the side of an RV. Next to the paiting are bags, a kid's tricycle, a man, A plus, sitting in a chair set outside the RV.

Additionally, 7cousins is looking to host opportunities for the community to gather, be it an artist knowledge exchange group or events where (A+) offers donation-based portraits and to adorn folk’s leather items with his poetry.

“Figuring out how to tap into communities that are already established and also build a community is our entire endeavor,” Ferguson said.

The gallery will be in Louisville until the end of August. To find out where 7cousins Gallery can be found around Louisville and what cities they are headed to next, follow their updates on Instagram at @7cousinsgallery. (A+) can be found at @a.plus.solo, where he showcases paintings, poetry and photography.