Rose Marr’s 2023 exhibition Going with the Grain presented more than 20 works made with crayon on wood at Hattiloo Theatre in Memphis.
The pop-up gallery marked a turning point for an artist who had previously taught art and promoted the work of her mother, Mary “Mayfair” Matthews, without fully identifying herself as an artist.
A medium discovered through a small wood panel
Marr had worked with pencil and charcoal before taking part in Incognito, a fundraiser at Memphis Botanic Garden.
Participants received either a small canvas or wood panel. Because Marr did not paint, she chose wood and tested a black crayon on a cropped portrait of a young Black boy.
The work sold at full price and drew requests for more. The grain of the panel and the dense crayon marks gave the image a visual character different from her earlier drawings.
Portraiture opening a new public path
Marr applied the method to local figures, including Ekundayo Bandele, founder of Hattiloo Theatre. After seeing his portrait and other works, Bandele proposed the pop-up exhibition.
Marr became the first artist to show in Hattiloo’s gallery. Her series included Sarafina, a 16-by-16-inch crayon portrait on wood.
The exhibition also connected her practice with her mother’s example. Marr recalled watching Matthews begin each day with coffee and painting, a routine she understood differently after finding her own sustained creative commitment.
Going with the Grain documented the moment when an experimental material became a coherent practice. The wood panel was not merely a substitute for canvas; it gave Marr a medium through which her portraiture gained texture, recognition and a new audience.