Lonnie Holley and Lizzi Bougatsos debut new collaborative exhibition at the MFA St. Petersburg
Lonnie Holley, Without Skin, 2023, Fire hose, wooden chairs, and nails, Courtesy of the artist, BLUM Gallery (LA/NYC/Tokyo), and Edel Assanti Gallery (London). Photo Truett Dietz.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.—
The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg opened Never the Same Song, the first institutional exhibition dedicated to the works of Lizzi Bougatsos and Lonnie Holley. Never the Same Song spans artworks from the 1990s to the present, including the debut of works made by the artists in March 2024 at Holley’s studio in Atlanta, and works from the collection of the MFA. This exhibition is guest curated by Viva Vadim, an independent curator, photographer, and textile artist, and Katherine Pill, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art. Never the Same Song is centered around thematic commonalities in both artists' practices including improvisation, the use of found objects, sustainability, and environmental conservation. Never the Same Song is on view to the public May 18 - September 15, 2024, accompanied by a rich program of events.
Guest curator Viva Vadim grew up surrounded by the Souls Grown Deep Collection, the groundbreaking organization founded in 2010 by her grandfather William S. Arnett, which is dedicated to stewarding the largest and foremost collection of works by Black artists from the Southern United States, encompassing more than 1,000 works by more than 160 artists. Souls Grown Deep Collection and Vadim advocate for the inclusion of Black artists from the South in the canon of American art history and foster economic empowerment, racial and social justice, and educational advancement in the communities that gave rise to these artists. Vadim brings her deep knowledge and singular proximity to the works of Lonnie Holley, her godfather, to her curation of this collaborative exhibition.
“I’m extremely grateful to be the third generation of my family to be mentored by Lonnie. He has taught me invaluable lessons about the transformative powers of art and consistently reiterated the importance of caring for our planet,” says Vadim. “Lizzi’s work is intertwined with Lonnie’s through a mutual dedication to the healing and unifying power of art. Lizzi provides an intimate view into her relationships and artistic process through her personal archive. In contrast, Lonnie speaks about universal struggles, using his experiences to shed light on broader human suffering. The exhibition showcases early-career and recent works by both artists, addressing themes of climate, labor, and performance.”
“I’m so proud to present Never the Same Song at the Museum of Fine Arts. It has been revelatory to observe these artists in collaboration and in process as a curator and also to work alongside Viva who has grown up with Lonnie Holley and his work. This is a highly personal exhibition, grounded in the longstanding relationships of its participants,” says Katherine Pill, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art. “Never the Same Song also offers an important extension - or antithesis - to the history of the readymade; the work on display is composed almost entirely of reclaimed objects, found on the street or in the family home. The artists use these found materials to different ends but remind us of the power that resides in objects given a second life.”
NEVER THE SAME SONG: A COLLABORATION AND FRIENDSHIP
After meeting ten years ago, Bougatsos and Holley have maintained a connection through a shared artistic vision that spans music, improvisation, environmental protection, social justice, and a practice of repurposing found objects. The exhibition title, Never the Same Song, references Holley’s intense improvisational performance style: he pens lyrics right before performing and never plays the same song twice. While both artists have collaborated together in the past, this exhibition marks a new chapter in their artistic relationship and the first time the pair have collaborated on a series of new sculptures. Both artists are steadfastly dedicated to the transformative potential and power of found materials, seeing in these items a second life and soul beyond their initial usage. Environmental sustainability is a theme throughout Never the Same Song. The works explore various forms of reuse, implicitly critiquing our mass consumer culture.
Holley’s career as an artist began after a tragic fire took the lives of his sister’s two young children, and he carved headstones from discarded sandstone-like material, thus beginning his artistic practice of breathing new life into rejectamenta. His work now frequently incorporates wood, scrap metal, artificial flowers, textile scraps, antiques, and other quotidian objects. Similarly, Bougatsos’ work has been deeply impacted by fire, having been burned during a 2001 performance, which inspired her recent solo exhibition Idolize the Burn, An Ode to Performance at Tramps in New York City. Her work likewise repurposes ephemera imbued with deep meaning, including bandages, ballet slippers, antique chandeliers, clothing, jewelry, and other material.
“Working alongside Lonnie has introduced me to new ways to approach making my sculptures; this illuminated to me how my work differs from others. My favorite part of working and collaborating with Lonnie is our unique language with each other based on a long-term friendship. We speak in poetics,” states Bougatsos. “There is mutual respect and trust between us, and we share each other's values. The formal elements in our work relate in the sense that we know when a work is completed; all of this is reflected in this exhibition.”
“Every time I come to Florida, I feel like I’m a doctor checking up on a patient: rising tides, changing temperatures, increasing population. When I visited last year with Lizzi, we spent a lot of time talking about water and the coastal areas, and realized it was something we both think about deeply. So, to do this show together allows us to explore some of those ideas, and it’s the first opportunity we’ve had to show our work together,” Holley states. As for the personal nature of the exhibition, he says, “I’ve known Viva her entire life. I have had a long and deep relationship with her family for generations and I’ve watched her develop into a very thoughtful human concerned deeply with the arts and the environment. Because of her relationship with me and Lizzi and our art, she really is the perfect person to help bring this show to fruition.”
