In this edit of the 2024 Cole Pratt Gallery Gift Guide, we’re celebrating the power of vibrant color. Curated with an emphasis on dynamic palettes, this selection features works by talented artists who expertly harness the principles of color theory to infuse energy, personality, and life into any space. From bold, striking hues to thoughtful, harmonious combinations, these pieces are designed to make a statement and bring joy to any environment. Whether you're looking to add a pop of color to your home or find the perfect gift for someone who loves vibrant art, this guide has something to inspire and energize.
Zuzka Vaclavik
Zuzka is a dual citizen of the United States and Slovakia but grew up in Germany where she took art lessons from a Czech painter as a very young child. Eventually, Zuzka decided to pursue her development as an artist in the Far East after she received her BFA. She lived in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia for two years working as a part-time English teacher and full-time painter before beginning her graduate school studies. In 2008, Zuzka received her MFA from The University of Georgia and has since then exhibited her work in New York, California, Cambodia, Germany, Austria, and across the United States. Zuzka held her first solo exhibition entitled Thirst in Atlanta through Poem 88 Gallery in 2015. Her works are in numerous public and private collections, including the permanent collection at the High Museum of Art.
Joey Slaughter
Joey Slaughter earned his BFA from Memphis College of Art and his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Upon graduating Cranbrook, Slaughter was awarded the Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant. He has also received the Louisiana Division of the Arts Career Enhancement Grant (2012). Slaughter has exhibited widely throughout the US in both solo and group exhibitions. His work has been published in Fresh Paint and in New American Paintings magazine three times. In 2017, Slaughter was awarded the Louisiana Prize from South Arts and received the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation residency. In 2018, had a solo show at Cole Pratt Gallery in New Orleans and attended Hambidge Residency in Georgia. In 2019 he attended the Crosstown Arts Residency in Memphis and The Joan Mitchell Foundation Residency in New Orleans. He was also published in Create Magazine Summer 2019 edition. He currently lives in Ruston, LA, and is Associate Professor of Art at Louisiana Tech University.
Leigh Suggs
Leigh Suggs was born in 1981 in Boone, North Carolina and currently resides in Richmond, VA. She received her BFA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2003 and her MFA from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Craft and Material Studies in 2015. Leigh Suggs channels her fascination with the mystery and psychology of sight through cut paper works and large-scale installations. She obscures normal perception, manipulating her materials as if optical illusions. By cutting and weaving intricate patterns, she animates an array of materials, including reflective silver mylar, painted Yupo (a thick, plastic-based paper), and ink. The intangible and inexpressible optical illusions created in each piece lure in the viewer, pulling them into an experience of seeing that is at once immediate and elusive.
Stephen Strickland
Stephen Strickland's figurative work has transformed over the past few years. Aerial views of crowded streets are slowly morphing into colorful abstractions where the semblance of the human form is still legible, but heads, arms, and legs are on the brink of disappearing. The strong outlines of his figurative work are now strong lines and marks that vibrate against each other in alternating cool and warm colors. The result sometimes looks primitive, and other times musical and boisterous.