Eye on Abstraction: All-Ages Workshop

An after-school workshop all about abstraction. Explore our current abstract painting exhibition, Between the Eyes (in the gallery at 422 N. Cleveland). Then meet in story booth for hands-on art activities for all ages, led by artists Laurel Sucsy (Between the Eyes curator), Mary Jo Karimnia, and Brittney Bullock.

This is a free, drop-in program: come when you wish, no registration necessary!

Children must be accompanied by adults.
Snacks and drinks will be served.

(Image: Rubens Ghenov)

Open Crit

430 N. Cleveland
Second Tuesday of Each Month
Artist Setup: 5 – 6 pm / Critique & Discussion: 6 – 8 pm

May Artists: Jim Anderson, Elisabeth Eickhoff, Dan Ross & Meghan Vaziri
Facilitator: Laurel Sucsy

Crosstown Arts’ Open Crit series, organized in partnership with ArtsMemphis, is a monthly critique event where visual artists are invited to bring new and/or in-progress studio work for critical feedback and group discussion particular to each artist’s practice. The series will take place at Crosstown Arts exhibition space at 430 N. Cleveland.

A dedicated facilitator with experience in a group critique setting will guide discussion for each critique event, which will include up to 4 artists’ work, with 15-25 minutes devoted to the work of each.

All visual artists and anyone interested in joining the discussion are welcome to participate regardless of their level of expertise, prior professional art experience or background/education in fine art. Participation is free and open to the public. Input during the critiques from everyone in attendance is welcomed and encouraged.

No formal preparation is necessary for participating artists, who will have an opportunity to introduce and contextualize their work on view at the beginning of each critique. Participating artists are only asked to be open to (and interested in) considering reactions to their work by the group, which will always be done in a supportive, constructive and casual environment, but could at the same time be challenging.


To participate, artists can send the following info via email to Brittney Bullock (brittney@ crosstownarts.org) with the subject line “Open Crit.” Submissions will be accepted and scheduled based on availability. There is no submission fee.

  • Name
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • General description of the work to be discussed (i.e. “abstract paintings” or “video art”) & sizes of works and/or media types

Artists are asked to bring no more than 8 individual pieces (in any medium). Maximum run time for time-based work(s) is 10 minutes.

Participating artists are encouraged to invite friends, peers and colleagues to the open crits, both to see their work in progress and to give constructive feedback.

Organized by Crosstown Arts in partnership with ArtsMemphis ArtsAccelerator.

Between the Eyes

Crosstown Arts is pleased to present Between the Eyes, a group show about contemporary abstract painting and how we see it.  Just as the relationships of pitch and duration can express emotion in music, the formal relationships of hue, value, shape, and placement can collect to create meaning in abstract painting.  Featuring the work of six painters exploring distinct modes of abstraction, the exhibition examines the way each artist uses deliberate choices to engage us in the experience of looking.  Formal cues such as gesture, color and the use of found objects prompt us to recognize patterns and attribute meaning to certain behaviors.  Physicality contends with the pictorial as we both decipher and project meaning into the space of abstract forms.

The exhibition is curated by Laurel Sucsy and features work by New York-based artists Marina Adams, Rob de Oude, and Joe Fyfe; LA-based artist Iva Gueorguieva; Philadelphia-based artist Rubens Ghenov; and Laurel Sucsy of Memphis.