SLOW BURN
Matthew Barton, Ryan Meyer, Tara Stallworth Lee
April 4 – 19, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, April 9, 5 – 7 pm
Artist Talk: Sunday, April 19, 3 pm
PLEASE NOTE: The opening reception is on April 9th, but the show opens on April 4th. Our artist talk and closing reception also fall on a Sunday.
Matthew Barton is a sculptor and ceramicist whose work consists primarily of found object sculptures and coil-built vessels. Using irregular patterns and mark-making, his work explores concepts of meditation, religion, labor, and forgiveness. Barton was born and raised in north central Alabama and received his BFA in 2015 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his MFA in 2018 from Louisiana State University. Since then, Barton has taught at Tulane University and Southeastern Louisiana University and has been a fellow at the National Gallery of Art and an artist in residence at Haystack Mountain School of Craft. He currently lives in Birmingham, AL
Ryan Meyer was raised between the suburban Deep South and the road. His art practice is research-based and is constructed from diverse topics and experiences. He often uses various forms of storytelling, data visualization, and graphic design to examine themes of technology, ecology, health, decay, ruderality, and the Anthropocene. He received his MFA from the University of California, Davis, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Digital Media & Graphic Design at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Tara Stallworth Lee works across mediums with a concentration in analog photography, papermaking, collage, and textiles. The expansion of human dignity is a central theme throughout her work, often serving as a catalyst for reflection and inspired action. Stallworth Lee is the 2021-22 recipient of the Alabama State Council on the Arts Gay Burke Fellowship in Photographic Art, a studio resident at Ground Floor Contemporary, and the 2023 inaugural artist-in-residence at Studio By The Tracks. She has taught art for over two decades at organizations such as the Smithsonian Associates and the Alabama Prison Arts and Education Project. Stallworth Lee received a BS in Psychology with a minor in Art from Birmingham-Southern College and currently lives and works in Birmingham, Alabama.
Artwork: Ryan Meyer, High-mast, 2026, laser prints on new old stock transparency sheets, felled wood (detail)