Adrienne Outlaw has pursued one theme for the past ten years – the ramifications related to both the expression and the containment of emotion, particularly as it concerns women. By combining fibrous materials with inflexible objects such as sharp metal pins, she creates art about emotional identity. As fur covers an animal’s skin and acts as physical protection, the Piercings Series metaphorically suggests a shelter for the mind through its physical expression of emotional battles. By lining objects with sharp pins and barbed quills, by coating works in creamy wax or sticky glue, she reveals a link to emotions “best contained in polite society.” The works read at first as beautifully gathered, contained objects. They require time and close inspection to understand their duality.

This emerging artist has been recognized with grants, fellowships and inclusion in several museum and public art collections throughout the United States including the Cheekwood Museum of Art in Tennessee, the Mobile Museum of Art in Alabama and the Phippen Museum in Arizona. Her work has been featured in numerous books and publications including Creating Traditions, Expanding Horizons: The Arts in Tennessee History, Fiberarts, Art Papers, and Sculpture Magazines. Outlaw has guest taught and lectured at schools and museums including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Middle Tennessee State University and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. Outlaw holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and will attain a MLAS from Vanderbilt University in December, 2004. She has served on the boards of five arts organizations and has reported extensively on the arts for newspapers, magazines and radio. She is currently working to develop a web-based program that will link artists to writers and curators. Outlaw lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee.