Kasey Graves ‘26

This exhibition explores how my late great-grandmother lives on in day-to-day evocations of her memory by responding to artworks from the permanent collections of the Meadows Museum of Art and The Longview Museum of Fine Art in a way that represents her life and who she was.

Artworks from both the Meadows Museum of Art and the Longview Museum of Fine Art were chosen by browsing through their permanent collections until a piece reminded me of aspects of her life like her career, her hobbies, and her personality. I then made eight pieces in response, directly narrating those aspects. The exhibition has three main sections: one focuses on her life, spanning from her time as a teenager to her elderly years; the second details the year leading up to her death and her funeral; the last explores her influence on who I have become as I learn to live without her guidance and company. Some pieces are more direct interpretations of my great-grandmother, such as her bust; others are more abstracted representations of her life. Other pieces like explore her influence on who I have become as I learn to live without her guidance and company.

About the Artist

Kasey Graves is a senior at Centenary College of Louisiana and is double majoring in studio art and arts management. Born and raised in the small town of Huttig, Arkansas, Kasey now lives in Sarepta, Louisiana with fiance Calob and dachshund Penny Lane. With a portfolio primarily of acrylic paintings, they create artworks based on complex emotions like grief and trauma. They find using art as a form of expression therapeutic and believe that art can convey more than words ever could. After earning their bachelor’s degree, Kasey plans on studying museum management and working as a collections manager.