About Allison Gallery Press Contact	Juke joints, Chinese food menus, vintage home and garden magazines, old rusty ceiling tiles and Godzilla are all part of Allison Furr-Lawyer’s art. In her paintings, these disparate elements are organically incorporated. Her Southern roots are equally present. The process of creating her paintings often begins in a scrap metal yard, in a dumpster, in and abandoned parking lot or on a street corner.  There she takes anything that catches her eye: an old street sign, a car door, a tabletop, a piece of an old refrigerator. This discovery will sit in her studio until inspiration strikes, then to be cleaned, primed, and transformed. The finished piece might include a mixture of paint, pencil, scraps of paper, Christmas tree lights, or old lace. Far from industrial or cluttered, her work reflects the beauty of things discarded in both her materials and her subject matter. Influenced by Pop Art, Allison uses cultural icons in her paintings both to celebrate them and to stimulate the viewer into questioning their role in society. Growing up in Jackson, Mississippi, photographs by Mississippi photographers like William Eggleston, David Rae Morris and, especially, Eudora Welty strongly influence Allison’s art.  Going back in time through vintage photographs allows her to reflect on the styles, fashion, and manners of Southern history and to observe the heart and soul of the people and places so familiar to her. Allison's work may be evocative of folk art and pop art, but is not limited by that. Her love of Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and surrealism is obvious in the composition of her paintings. There is no doubt, however, that her style, subject matter, and execution are all her own. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Allison Furr Lawyer, a native of Mississippi, graduated with a B.F.A in Visual Communications from the University of Mississippi in December 1995. She also studied art in Cortona, Italy during the Fall of 1994 and then proceeded to intern at Sotheby’s in Boston Summer of 1995.  Allison has been featured in Mid South magazine and interviewed by several local broadcast shows including Fox’s “Good Morning Memphis” and ABC’s “River City Art Tour.”  Allison’s painting techniques include watercolor, acrylic and latex paint. Allison has shown art in several galleries throughout Mississippi, Tennessee and Colorado, including Southern Breeze Gallery (Jackson, MS), Gallery Sovereign (Boulder, CO), Boulder Theatre (Boulder, CO), The Usher Group (Denver), and currently at D’Edge Gallery (550 South Main Street, Memphis). She has been a member of several art organizations including The East Boulder County Artist, The Creative Force Arts Collaborative, and The Longmont Studio Tours. She currently runs her art studio in Memphis, Tennessee, specializing in many media including furniture facelifts, faux finishing, murals, and of course painting on anything she can get her hands on. You may have seen her driving around town looking for original and paintworthy objects in dumpsters, alley ways, scrap metal yards and antique stores. Her pieces demonstrate an eclectic blend of folk art and pop art.