Maysey Craddock

b. 1971, Memphis, TN
Entropy, the silver lining of decay, is a kind of temporal march that leaves the soul intact.
Storm Green Sky
Storm Green Sky

Best known for her visceral gouache paintings of ephemeral landscapes, Maysey Craddock examines the dualities and mysteries of nature and those relationships to space and time. Through saturated earth tones and translucent elemental layers, she depicts the spaces in between, the interactions of nature and architecture, and what happens beyond the grasp of human control. Her scenes are dense and fluid, with trees, rivers, and roots figuring prominently as metaphors of the eternal cycles of death and rebirth, and the inevitability of entropy. Beginning with photographs, her process layers intricate drawings and performative painting onto found objects (typically brown paper bags that have been carefully embroidered together) - a conceptual regeneration mirroring the geological processes she depicts. Like the cycles of the sun, her work transports the viewer into a meditative place that is nostalgic and rhythmic, yet fragile, hopeful, and wild - an opportunity to begin, again.

Maysey Craddock was born in 1971 in Memphis, TN and currently lives and works in Memphis. She received an MFA from Maine College of Art, Portland, ME and a BA in Sculpture and Anthropology from Tulane University in New Orleans. Throughout her career spanning over 20 years, she has participated in numerous solo exhibitions across the United States and Germany, including the Museum of the University of Mississippi; Cris Worley Fine Arts, Dallas; Sears Peyton Gallery, New York; Washington and Lee University, Virginia; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art; Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York; Taylor Bercier Fine Art, New Orleans; James F. Byrnes Institute, Stuttgart, Germany; Pan American Art Projects, Dallas, TX; Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle; The Foyer, Munich, Germany; Maine College of Art; and the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans. Her work has been included in a plethora of group exhibitions and in the collections of many institutions and organizations, including the Brooks Museum of Art; The Arkansas Arts Center; Music City Center, Nashville; Austin Peay State University, Clarksville; Charles Hotel, Munich; FedEx; First Bank, Nashville; NexAir; Pfizer Corporation; St. Mary’s Episcopal School and The Assisi Foundation in Memphis. She has received numerous awards, grants and residencies, including the Tennessee Artist Fellowship from Austin Peay State University; an Individual Artist Fellowship Award from the Tennessee Arts Commission; Artist in Residence at Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus, Schwandorf, Germany; Artist in Residence at Maine College of Art; and sculpture and painting residencies at the Vermont Studio Center.

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Storm Green Sky
Storm Green Sky
Camellia
Camellia
Salt Ghost
Salt Ghost
Little Splendors
Little Splendors
The In-Between
The In-Between
The Tangled Deep
The Tangled Deep
a forest flies apart
a forest flies apart
Blue Hour Rain
Blue Hour Rain
Osprey's Call
Osprey's Call
Days of tides and stars
Days of tides and stars
Mirror and Rust
Mirror and Rust
a river I loved
a river I loved
in the night garden
in the night garden
The Blackwater Wood
The Blackwater Wood
Bell Jar
Bell Jar
Eagle Fern (memory of an inland sea)
Eagle Fern (memory of an inland sea)
the woods in lambent light
the woods in lambent light
midnight on the bay
midnight on the bay
Losses and Sorrows
Losses and Sorrows
Windrush
Windrush
Midnight's Veil
Midnight's Veil
Storm Green Sky
Storm Green Sky
gouache, flash and thread on found paper, 16x15
2024
Camellia
Camellia
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 16x15
2024
Salt Ghost
Salt Ghost
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 16.75x15
2024
Little Splendors
Little Splendors
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 30x22
2024
The In-Between
The In-Between
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 48x35.5
2024
The Tangled Deep
The Tangled Deep
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 47.75x37
2024
a forest flies apart
a forest flies apart
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 48x62
2024
Blue Hour Rain
Blue Hour Rain
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 47.75x62
2024
Osprey's Call
Osprey's Call
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 27.25x23
2024
Days of tides and stars
Days of tides and stars
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 54x70
2024
Mirror and Rust
Mirror and Rust
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 48x36
2024
a river I loved
a river I loved
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 11.5x10
2024
in the night garden
in the night garden
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 10x11.5
2024
The Blackwater Wood
The Blackwater Wood
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 40x58
2024
Bell Jar
Bell Jar
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 47.5x36
2024
Eagle Fern (memory of an inland sea)
Eagle Fern (memory of an inland sea)
ink and flashe on Arches paper, 59x42
2024
the woods in lambent light
the woods in lambent light
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 17x13.5
2024
midnight on the bay
midnight on the bay
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 15.75x15.75
2024
Losses and Sorrows
Losses and Sorrows
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 21.5x18.5
2024
Windrush
Windrush
gouache, flashe and thread on found paper, 21x18.25
2024
Midnight's Veil
Midnight's Veil
gouache & thread on found paper, 44.75x35
2023

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