‘Love Is a Sensation’ Spotlights the Boundless Creativity of L.V. Hull

In the little town of Kosciusko, Mississippi, a self-described “unusual artist” named L.V. Hull transformed her home and garden of three-and-a-half decades into an elaborate, continuous artwork. Through found objects and trinkets, paint, and glue she purchased at the local Walmart, the artist created an immersive art environment—a riot of color, patterns, and textures in which creativity merged with daily living.

Many of Hull’s works are currently on view in the show Love Is a Sensation at the Mississippi Museum of Art, which celebrates the self-taught artist’s eclectic approach to materials and space. From vibrantly painted everyday objects to idiosyncratic assemblages, Hull’s creativity and penchant for collecting knew no bounds.

A sculpture by L.V. Hull of a small artificial Christmas tree that has been covered in various colorful bottles — Untitled (n.d.), acrylic paint, plastic and glass bottles, and tabletop Christmas tree, 19 x 12 x 14 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.

“Hull merged art-making and the Southern art of ‘visiting’ to craft a creative practice that allowed her to commune with her inner spirit, her Creator, her community, and visitors from around the state, region, and world,” says a statement.

As a Black woman from a small Southern community, working within a genre often referred to as folk art, the artist worked outside of the mainstream art world. And like many minorities—especially in rural places—her practice is among those that have been marginalized within the canon, “resulting in an incomplete account of American creativity and art history,” the museum says. Love Is a Sensation spotlights Hull’s contributions to not only the creative legacy of the South but the tradition of artist-built environments.

Love Is a Sensation continues through June 14 in Jackson, and it also marks the advent of the new L.V. Hull Legacy Center, which is slated to open to the public this summer. You might also enjoy Tyree Guyton’s Heidelberg Project in Detroit, plus Jo Farb Hernández’s forthcoming book, Architectural Fantasies, which is slated for release on April 14.

an installation view with LV Hull's polka dotted objects — Installation view of ‘L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation’

An artwork by L.V. Hull created with colorful paint on a plastic clamshell-shaped object — Untitled (2004), acrylic paint on plastic, 12.5 x 13.5 x 1.5 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.

A photograph of artist L.V. Hull sitting in her home, surrounded by knick-knacks and art — Bruce West, “Mrs. L.V. Hull Looking at Gift for B.B. King in Her Bedroom.” L.V. Hull on her bed in her Kosciusko, Mississippi, home in 2003

An artwork by L.V. Hull created with colorful paint on a black straw hat — Untitled (2004), acrylic paint on straw hat, 5.5 x 13 x 13 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.

An artwork by L.V. Hull created with colorful paint on Rock'Em Sock'Em Robot toy — Untitled (n.d.), acrylic paint on Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots toy, 13 x 19 x 13 ¾ inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.

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