Thedra Cullar-Ledford was born in Abilene,Texas and later moved to Mexico City and then to Eagle Pass, a small Texas/Mexico border town. At 16, she was emancipated in order to move to Dallas by herself to attend the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She received a full scholarship to California College of the Arts where she met her husband, Stephen,on the first day.They were married by age 21. Thedra received a BFA cum laude in painting and then attended the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Oxford University in the UK for a masters in printmaking and sculpture. The family moved 16 times in 20 years. She says “We’re finally happy to be settled in Houston!” Thedra makes art, teaches college, and the couple built and runs Independence Art Studios, which provides studio spaces to young artists. They have two sons, Loden and Sage, dogs, cats and are hoping for chickens soon.
Thedra’s art typically involves arranged collections of everyday objects, presented in some sort of container in a way that makes a statement. It’s a mash-up of conceptualism, minimalism, storytelling and autobiography. She strives to create personally meaningful work that combines careful craft and conceptual integrity. Thedra does not consider herself to be a “painter” but instead a conceptual artist who is using painting as a medium to talk about sexuality, race and body image in the lives of the women that she knows and studies. She says, “These paintings were always intended to come together into a single container — a book — which is itself the final, finished piece.”
Curriculum Vitae
Education
Christ Church, Oxford University Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art Oxford, UK
MA, Printmaking/Sculpture May 1994
California College of Arts & Crafts Oakland, CA
BFA cum laude, Painting May 1992
Booker T. Washington High School of the Visual & Performing Arts Dallas, TX May 1988
Solo Exhibitions
“Domicile” Thomas Werner Gallery New York, New York September – October 2003
“Biometrica” McClain Gallery Houston,Texas July – August 2002
“Other People’s Lives” Lawndale Art Center Houston,Texas April 2000
“Encase: To Wrap Up in Something Solid” Robert McClain & Co. Fine Arts Houston, Texas November – December 1998
“Solo Exhibition” Robert McClain & Co. Fine Arts Houston,TexasOctober – November 1997
“Contain, Order, Move: The Box as Fundamental Form” Lawndale Art and Performance Center Houston,Texas January – March 1997
“Solo Collection” Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art Oxford, England May 1993
“Cradle to the Grave” Freud’s London London, England March 1993
“Cradle to the Grave” Freud’s Oxford, Oxford, England November 1992
Juried Exhibitions
“2010 Big Show” Lawndale Art Center Houston,Texas July -August, 2010 Jurors: Paul Middendorf, Co-Director for gallery HOMELAND, Portland, Oregon
“2000 Critic’s Choice” Dallas Visual Art Center Dallas, Texas June – July 2000 Jurors: Sara Kellner, Director of DiverseWorks, Houston; Carla Stellweg, Director of Blue Star Art Space, San Antonio, and Chris Cowden, Director of Women and Their Work, Austin
“Transcending Limits” Jones Center for Contemporary Art Austin,Texas April 1999 – April 2001 Toured through Texas Jurors: Don Bacigalupi, Director of the Blaffer Gallery, Houston and Michael Ray Charles, artist and professor at the University of Texas at Austin
“The 173rd Annual Exhibition” National Academy Museum New York, New York April 1998
“New American Talent: The Thirteenth Exhibition” (prize awarded) Texas Fine Art Association Austin,Texas Sept. 1997 – Sept. 1999 Tour through Texas (Univ. of North Texas Art Gallery, Blue Star Art Space, San Antonio, Jones Center for Contemporary Art, Austin Juror: Robert Storr, Curator, Dept. of Painting and Sculpture, Museum of Modern Art, New York
“Women’s Work” A.I.R. Gallery, New York, New York June – July 1996 Juror: Charlotta Kotik, Curator of 20th Century Art, Brooklyn Museum
“New American Talent: The Twelfth Exhibition” Texas Fine Art Association,Austin,Texas June 1996 – July 1998 Tour through Texas (Univ. of North Texas Art Gallery, Blue Star Art Space, San Antonio, Austin Museum of Art,Austin,Texas A&M University Art Gallery, College Station, and the Art League of Houston) Juror: Lisa Phillips, Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art, Organizer of ‘97 Whitney Biennial
“Healing Works” Woman-Made Gallery, Chicago, IllinoisMay 1996 Juror: Hollis Sigler, artist
“Bags and Baggage: New Form/New Function” Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts Gatlinburg,Tennessee November – December 1995 Juror: Ruth Cloudman, Chief Curator, J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky
“December Competition ‘95″ (prize awarded) Lubbock Fine Arts Center Lubbock,Texas November – December 1995 Juror: Jeffrey Moore, Director Blue Star Art Space, San Antonio,Texas
“11th Annual Competition” Berkeley Art Center Berkeley, California July – August 1995 Jurors: Renny Pritikin, George Rivera, Tere Romo
“North American Sculpture Exhibition” Foothills Art Center Golden, Colorado April – June 1995 Juror: Peter Shelton, artist, Malibu, California
“First Cut” The Cut Gallery London, England July 1994 Selected by Mark Segal, Dealer, London, England
“66th Annual Crocker-Kingsley Exhibition” Crocker Museum Sacramento, California April 1991 Juror: Karen Tsujimoto, Associate Curator, The Oakland Museum
Group Exhibitions
“10 Houston Artists: An Invasion of Space for 2011 Contemporary Art Month” Hilton Palacio Del Rio San Antonio, Texas March 2011 Curator: Wayne Gilbert, G Gallery, Houston, TX
“H2O Houston to Hyderabad” Muse Gallery Hyderabad, India January 2011 – February 2011 Curator: Rahul Mitra
“Five Texas Artists: A Portrait Series” Enid Street Gallery Houston, Texas December 2010 – January 2011 Curator: Felix Sanchez, Houston,TX
“Red Velvet” Vine Street Studios, organized by Rudolph Projects Houston, Texas June 2007 – July 2007 Curator: Volker Eisele, ArtScan Gallery Houston,TX
“Book Works” Galveston Arts Center Galveston,TX January 2007 – March 2007 Curator: Clint Willour
“Texas Dialogues: Houston-San Antonio” Blue Star Art Space San Antonio, Texas December 2001 – January 2002
“Small Works” McClain Gallery Houston, Texas December 2001
“Daily Life” ArtScan Gallery Houston, Texas September 2001
“Sculpture 2000″ Robert McClain & Co. Fine Arts Houston,Texas June 2000
“Urban Girls” El Museo Francisco Oller y Diego Rivera Buffalo, New York April – May 2000
“Mania Art Car Museum” Houston, Texas December 1999 – January 2000
“Dadayou Dadahou” ArtScan Gallery Houston, Texas September 1999
“Little Treasures” Robert McClain & Co. Fine Arts Houston, Texas December 1997
“Revelation” Dallas Visual Arts Center Dallas,Texas December 1997 – February 1998 Curator: Diana Block, Director, University Art Gallery, University of North Texas, Denton
“Open Door Arts Fest” The Art Center of Waco Waco, Texas October 1997
“Talented Americans” The Art League of Houston Houston, Texas October – November 1997 Curator: Kelly Klassmeyer, artist and critic
“Spirit in the Flesh” Stuart Levy Gallery New York, New York June – July 1996
“Edith Lambert Gallery” Edith Lambert Gallery Santa Fe, New Mexico November – December 1994
“Final Collections” Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art Oxford, England July 1994
“House Work” Christ Church Picture Gallery Oxford, England February – March 1994
“Ruskin Exhibition” Byam Shaw School London, England February 1993
“Ruskin School Exhibition” Christ Church Upper Library Oxford, England February 1993
“Group Collection” Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art Oxford, England December 1993
“Senior Show” 1992 Tecoah Bruce Gallery, Oliver Arts Center Oakland, California May 1992
Installations
“Obama” Station Museum of Contemporary ArtJune 2009 Houston,TX
“Hoopla!” Vine Street Studios September 2000Houston,TX
Sculpture/performance piece for Downtown Stomp Around
Hillcrest Professional Development School August 1998 Waco,TX
Supervised fabrication and installation of concrete and earth sculpture
The Art Center of Waco October 1997 Waco,TX
Installed (and explained) a 450-gallon pool of red jello at Waco’s Open Door Arts Fest
Christ Church Upper Library February 1993 Oxford, England
Installed exhibit of large prints in a 250-year-old library
Visiting Artist/Residencies
Hillcrest Professional Development School March 1998 – May 1998 Waco,TX
Taught art and worked with kids to create a permanent outdoor sculpture
HS for the Performing and Visual Arts March 1998 Dallas,TX
Taught conceptual sculpture courses and shared professional experiences with high school artists
Texas Commission on the Arts 1997 – 1998 Austin,TX
Artists-In-Education program participant
Lectures/Presentations
Looking At Art Group November 2009 Houston,TX
Looking At Art Group October 2001 Houston,TX
Studio talk University of Houston October 1999 Houston,TX
Looking At Art Group October 1999 Houston,TX
Studio talk Jones Center for Contemporary Art December 1998 Austin,TX Slide lecture to accompanyNew American Talent 13
Looking At Art Group October 1998 Houston,TX Gallery talks to accompany solo exhibition
Contemporary Arts MuseumAugust 1998 Houston,TX Presentation as part of the CAM’s “Slide Jam” series