Rhizome for President

Rhizome for President @ Belmont MFA Graduates Showcase

July 6th - July 21st // Opening Reception July 6th from 1 PM to 9 PM

COOP is pleased to present our July exhibition, Rhizome for President, a group exhibition featuring new work by artists Liz Hodder, CJ Lundblad, Jes Mercer-Monnig, Laurie Campbell Pannell, Ambrose Rouse, and Thaxton Waters, who are currently MFA students at Watkins College of Art at Belmont University. With a cohort of six graduates, this new body of work culminates the MFA residency with unexpected artworks and collaborations inspired by extensive research. In alignment with COOP’s goals, this new body of work explores contemporary artistic practices, focusing on process and collaboration. Art pieces include video, sound, sculpture, installation, paint, transfer, textiles, assemblage, and collage.

“A rhizome has no beginning or end; it is always in the middle, between things.”
— Gilles Deleuze, A Thousand Plateaus

Rhizomatic thinking, as defined by Deleuze and Guattari in A Thousand Plateaus, suggests that we’re all interconnected through multiplicity — not one or many, but all — without hierarchy, perceptible origin or ending. Rhizome is a master of fine arts thesis exhibition by six integrated visual art graduate students to showcase the interconnectedness of studio practice and research for which the Belmont MFA program is known. The name suggests embracing collaboration and rhizomatic thinking, of making connections rather than breaking them. The exhibition features new work as a culmination of an intensive program 2+ year program. You are invited to join the rhizome. The Opening Reception is Saturday, July 6th from 1 PM to 9 PM.

More about the Artists

Liz Hodder, CJ Lundblad, Jes Mercer-Monnig, Laurie Campbell Pannell, Ambrose Rouse, and Thaxton Waters, who are MFA students at Watkins College of Art at Belmont University. Learn more about the program on Instagram @watkins_mfa_nashville and online here.