Break Glass: The Art of V.L. Cox – A Conversation to End Hate

On View September 28, 2018–February 24, 2019

Through her art, Cox aspires to spark conversation about civil rights and equality, while also exploring the persistence of hate and injustice in America today. Her work is often born in cathartic response to contemporary events and shaped from her own personal experiences growing up in Arkansas. “Personal conversations, with respect to one another, need to be had before we can move forward together,” Cox said. “There used to be a time when people could agree to disagree with civility, yet still have things in common. We need to find that place again.”

Cox creates her work from found objects, appropriating them to make pointed criticisms about some of today’s most troubling topics – often delivering a message that is in direct opposition to the objects’ original message or intended use. Conversely, she shines a light on the misuse and corruption of institutions, offices, and artifacts by those who manipulate them in support of their own greed or hateful personal agendas.


About the Artist
Cox received her BFA from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. She has created large backdrops for organizations including the Dallas Opera, the Dallas Ballet, Los Colinas Film Studios, and the National Civil Rights Museum Humanities Awards in Memphis, Tennessee. Her work can be found in the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia, (Julia J. Norrell collection), the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, President William Jefferson Clinton Collection, as well as numerous private collections.

 

This exhibition was organized by the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts at Longwood University.