Kentuck Present the Work of Col. Lee Busby

Kentuck Present the Work of Col. Lee Busby

Teer Gallery: Kentuck Art Center is proud to present the work of Col. Lee Busby (Ret). A native Tuscaloosan and University of Alabama graduate, Lee has had a distinguished career in the United States Marine Corps, was Vice Chief of Staff to General John F Kelly, and ran as a write-in candidate during Alabama’s senate election in 2017. Lee is an accomplished sculptor and ceramicist, and says his most interesting work is a juncture between the two.

“Col. Lee’s interest in sculpting began to overlap with his military experience when he decided to look up Alabamians who’d been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. He decided to contact one of the families, hoping that the parents would be open to him creating a sculpture honoring their son’s likeness. Col. Lee reached out to the father of Johnny “Mike” Spann, of north Alabama – a Marine Captain killed overseas while he was working for the CIA. Mike’s father met several times with Col. Lee, and they finally got the likeness down. This was only the beginning for Col. Lee, who realized the impact of his gift. ‘I’m no Michelangelo, but I know the world that these people operate in and I know what they went through. And, I do have some ability to sculpt. So, that’s what I want to do.” –Southern Living

Museum Gallery: Missionary Mary Proctor’s exhibitions in the Museum Gallery and Hotel Indigo are on display until the end of July. In 1994, three of Proctor’s family members perished in a home fire while trying to find their way out. A year later, Mary received a spiritual message, “the door is the way.” She followed directions, painted an old door, leaned it up against her chain link fence, and sold it to a passing collector. More doors were commissioned, and a show in New York convinced Proctor that art was her calling. Her work has been featured in the American Visionary Museum, Raw Vision Magazine, the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum, and in Kentuck’s Permanent Collection. In 2016, she was voted Folk Artist of the Year by the Folk Art Society of America. Proctor’s work was recently part of a large gift (entitled “History Refused to Die”) to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation.

Courtyard of Wonders: Enjoy live music from Jud & Lisa Cameron and
pop-up shops from local vendors, free cob oven pizza with dough from Mary’s Cakes and Pastries and fresh, locally grown produce from Snow’s Bend Farms.

Artists Studios: Kentuck’s Studio Artists will have open studios for browsing, learning, observing, and buying.

Gallery Shop: Open until 8 pm; members get a 10% discount. Fire Ant and Big Dog members are invited to sample champagne.