JACOB HEUSTIS BIO
I had a drawing professor who said that making art is just trying to understand something. I think that’s true. I also had a sculpture professor who said that art is making a thousand tiny decisions. I’d say that’s also true.
My work comes from an interpretation of my daily experience. Often it’s something that I’ve noticed on my way to work: an image on a sign, the color of a woman’s dress, a memory, a song lyric, or a line from a book. If it grabs my attention, it can spark an idea of how that particular thing might be translated into physical form. It could be a painting, a sculpture, a photograph, or a video. Whatever best communicates the idea visually, I follow it. Some days I go right to it when I get to the studio. Other ideas may sit for a while as a sketch or even just a title. I keep a list of these ideas tacked to the wall. Eventually one of those ideas might be the thing I start with for a piece.
From what I can tell, the job of the artist is to show up to work. Listen, observe, listen some more, make a decision, and then get to it. There’s a lot of mistakes. Other than that, it’s just a daily observation. Allowing room for anything to come in. If it gets me excited and gives me momentum, I just follow that.
The American composer John Cage said, “If you work, it will lead to something. But don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They are different processes. Be happy when you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.”
--Jacob Heustis
EDUCATION
2002 BFA, Murray State University, Murray, KY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026 As Yet Unnamed Solo Exhibition, WheelHouse Art, Louisville, KY
“A Limited Time” A Pop-Up Exhibition, Louisville, KY
2021 “Illuminators” Moremen Gallery, Louisville, KY
2019 “Beasts Will Be Still There” Quappi Projects, Louisville
2014 “Analog/ Analogy,” Zephyr Gallery, Louisville, KY
2013 “Debutantes,” Swanson Contemporary, Louisville, KY
2010 Solo Exhibition, Swanson Contemporary, Louisville, KY
2008 “Enough is Enough” (collaboration with Thea Lura), Gallery NuLu, Louisville, KY
2004 Solo ExhibitionSwanson Reed Contemporary, Louisville, KY
2002 Clara M. Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, Murray, KY
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016 “Pop Stars! Popular Culture and Contemporary Art,” 21C Bentonville, AR
2015 “Pop Stars! Popular Culture and Contemporary Art,” 21C Cincinnati, OH
“Pop Stars! Popular Culture and Contemporary Art,” 21C Durham, NC
2014 “The Sardonic Eye,” Cressman Center for Visual Arts, Louisville, KY
“Second Life,” Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY
2013 “Welcome Neighbors,” Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY
“Face Value,” Kentucky School of Art, Louisville, KY
2012 “You Are Here,” Metro Hall, Louisville, KY
“Swanson Contemporary Presents,” Actor’s Theatre, Louisville, KY
2010 “The Death of Painting is Dead,” Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
2009 “KY Jelly,” Swanson Reed Contemporary, Louisville, KY
2007 “Roar Shock,” Swanson Reed Contemporary, Louisville, KY
“Hot Fun,” New Center for Contemporary Art, Louisville, KY
2006 “Saturate”, The Ground Floor Gallery, Louisville, KY
2005 “Swanson Reed Contemporary Presents,” Actors Theatre Gallery, Louisville, KY
“M – Art After Minimalism,” Swanson Reed Contemporary, Louisville, KY
2003 “Yesterday Today Tomorrow (Repeat),” Swanson Reed Contemporary, Louisville, KY
“The Unnaturally Fantastic Ink Extravaganza,” Semantics Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
“The Radix Commision: “Bilden Sie Maschine,” The Southgate House Art Gallery, Newport, KY
“Swanson Reed Contemporary Presents,” Actors Theatre Gallery, Louisville, KY
2002 “Steal the Show,” The Radix Commission, Louisville, KY
“Traveling Exhibition,” The Radix Commission, Louisville, KY
“Drawing Invitational,” The Ice House, Mayfield, KY
“Art Slam,” The Radix Commission, Louisville, KY
ARTIST STATEMENT
Tracers
What if I set a deliberate limitation on my approach by restricting recognizable or representational imagery?
The result is a record of a moment: traces of
movement, fragments, interruptions, and omissions. They exist in a space between appearance and disappearance where intention is incidental and meaning resists form.
--Jacob Heustis, 2026
