Art Department announces spring 2026 exhibitions, True Inspiration Artist in Residence

Furman University’s Department of Art has announced its spring 2026 Thompson Art Gallery exhibition schedule and its True Inspiration Artist-in-Residence, Alexa Wheeler.

This semester’s programming includes Jessica Lambert’s dynamic sports-centered exhibition, “Sportsball,” Alexa Wheeler’s immersive residency project, “ToastLab,” and the 2026 Senior Thesis Exhibition, which showcases the innovative work produced by Furman University’s graduating artists. All Thompson Gallery exhibitions, talks and events are free and open to the public. Thompson Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Jessica Lambert, “Sportsball”
Jan. 12-Feb. 13
Reception, artist talk and performance 5 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 29

“Sportsball” by Jessica Lambert.

“Sportsball” by Jessica Lambert transforms the familiar world of athletics into an artistic exploration of competition, endurance and the human body. Drawing on her experience as a former Division I athlete and lifelong sports enthusiast, Lambert uses grueling video performances and playful sculptural installations to blur the boundaries between artist and athlete, studio and gym, gallery and arena. Her work invites viewers to consider these athletic rituals and physical demands as metaphors for resilience and discipline in everyday life. Many pieces incorporate salvaged athletic gear – objects marked by histories of play and exertion – repurposed into forms that evoke both strength and exhaustion.

In videos, these materials appear as props in endurance-based actions, while in sculpture, they sag and droop, mimicking the collapse that follows intense effort. By juxtaposing preparation and fatigue, triumph and failure, “Sportsball” offers a thought-provoking reflection on how society measures success, transforms bodies and internalizes the costs of competition.

Lambert is a sculptor, performance artist and printmaker. She earned her MFA in studio art from Texas Tech University in 2022 and is currently a visiting assistant professor of sculpture at Oklahoma State University. Lambert previously taught sculpture at Arkansas State University.

Alexa Wheeler, “ToastLab”
Feb. 19-March 27
True Inspiration welcome talk: Thursday, Feb. 5, 5 p.m.
Opening reception: Thursday, Feb. 19, 5:30 p.m.
Exhibition talk: Thursday, March 19 (subject to change), 6:30 p.m.

Alexa Wheeler will serve as the Department of Art’s Spring 2026 True Inspiration Artist in Residence. Inaugurated in 2016, this residency is awarded each spring to an artist or designer interested in developing a body of work alongside Furman’s students, faculty and the surrounding community. Wheeler will work in an open studio in Furman’s Roe Art Building throughout the semester.

“ToastLab” is an immersive exhibition that transforms the Thompson Gallery into a “soft archive” of memory, care and resilience. This evolving, community-driven installation combines prints, video, collage, handmade books and sculptural objects to explore women as vessels of memory, resistance and transformation. Collaborating with different University Departments such as Furman’s Special Collections and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program, and the greater Greenville community, Wheeler will weave together domestic materials, textiles, archival fragments and personal narratives to create a welcoming space for quiet witnessing and shared reflection.

Wheeler is an accomplished interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans printmaking, photography, video, collage and textile-based installation. She currently teaches at the University of New Mexico–Valencia. Wheeler’s art emphasizes archival research and materiality to create spaces for reflection and resilience. Her work has been supported by numerous institutions, most recently the Fulcrum Fund (Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts). Wheeler describes her residency at Furman as coming at a pivotal moment in her career, offering an opportunity to deepen interdisciplinary dialogue and expand a body of work that is both conceptually rigorous and socially resonant.

2026 Senior Thesis Exhibition
April 8-May 9
Artist talks: Friday, April 17 (time TBD) and reception at 5 p.m.

The 2026 Senior Thesis Exhibition features the capstone projects of the Department of Art’s nine graduating studio art majors. Working across painting, photography, printmaking, installation, graphic design and multimedia, these emerging artists draw from memory, identity, ecology, culture and social landscapes to uncover perceptions of self, question beliefs and imagine new futures.

For the latest updates on exhibitions and events, follow the Department of Art’s Instagram page, @furmanart, the Thompson Art Gallery Instagram page, @ThompsonGallery_Furman, and the Art Department website: https://www.furman.edu/academics/art/.

For inquiries or to schedule exhibition visits, guided tours or collaborations, contact Stephen Mandravelis, director of the Thompson Art Gallery and assistant professor of art history, at [email protected], and 864-294-2282.