The UA Department of Art and Art History presents the Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition of Nathan Childers, titled Still Lives, from April 5 through May 3, 2024, in The University of Alabama Gallery in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center in Tuscaloosa. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, April 5, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. during downtown Tuscaloosa’s First Friday Art Walk.
Childers writes that his exhibition Still Lives is “an invitation into the home of a couple who feel the impact of current anti-queer backlash in the United States. These paintings in oil on panel bring together figures and the interior spaces they inhabit in order to evoke a sense of stillness. The feeling of quiet contemplation is born equally of the couple’s tranquil companionship and the reality that their lives are on pause in the face of social pressures.”
Nathan Childers is a graduate teaching assistant in painting. His juried exhibitions include Art Fields (2020 and 2021); POSITIVE/NEGATIVE 38: National Juried Art Exhibition; Georgia Watercolor Society 42nd National Exhibition; Mark Arts Oil Painting National Exhibition and Kansas Watercolor Society National Exhibition. He won Best in Show for his work juried into the Susan N. McCollough Fine Arts Initiative at The University of Alabama Gallery in Tuscaloosa. Childers has also participated in one- and three-person shows at Lowe Mill Arts in Huntsville, Alabama, and the Carrollton (Ga.) Center for the Arts. He was awarded a 2023-24 Individual Artist Small Grant by the Arts and Humanities Council of Tuscaloosa County, and in 2021-2022, he was awarded a UA Graduate Council Fellowship. Childers holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, cum laude, in painting from the University of West Georgia.
The University of Alabama Gallery is an essential part of the education and development of UA students and our community. Admission to the gallery is free. The gallery is located in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center at 620 Greensboro Avenue in Tuscaloosa. It is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 am-4:00 pm and First Fridays 12:00 noon-7:00 pm. Have questions or need assistance? Call (205) 345-3038.
For more information about The University of Alabama’s programs in art history and studio art, visit our Degree Programs page.