1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

“Death’s Showcase” runs through Nov. 21 at Transylvania’s Morlan Gallery; coffins featured

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Ten artists have created fantastic coffins that reside between the enigma of life and the mystery of death for “Death’s Showcase,” which opens Wednesday, Oct 22, in Transylvania’s Morlan Gallery. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, runs through November 21.

The ten artists featured in this exhibition—Steve  Armstrong, Roy “Bud” Davis, Marvin Francis, Jimmy Gordon, John Ishmael, Diane Kahlo, Sherry McGee, Bob Morgan, Fabio Rodriguez and Lynn Sweet—come from diverse backgrounds.

Last spring, Lexington artists Morgan and Armstrong approached Morlan Gallery Director Andrea Fisher with the idea of exhibiting artist-made coffins and caskets.

“Artists have been fabricating and decorating burial coffins for thousands of years,” says Fisher. “I thought it would be interesting to see how contemporary artists translate our modern day sensibilities into this ancient practice.”

The gallery’s regular hours are Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. and by special appointment. The gallery will also be open for the Lexington Gallery Hop on Friday, Nov. 21, from 5-8 p.m. For more information, contact gallery director Andrea Fisher at (859) 233-8142.




Roy “Bud” Davis, Rolla Davis Killed.

In 1908, Davis’s grandfather, Rolla Davis, was murdered at a baseball game in Perryville, Ky., by Thomas and Samuel Wheat. The coffin contains a portrait of Rolla with a baseball bat hovering above it. The coffin lid is lined with newspaper articles about the murder and the court trials of the Wheat brothers.