Karl Peters, Poster for Mildred Thompson: Wood Work, 1968, Galerie Bodo Glaub, Köln, Germany, Mildred Thompson papers, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library, Emory University © The Mildred Thompson Estate. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
The Fuel and Lumber Company Presents:
GATHERING
The Dita
143 Clifton Street, S.E.
Atlanta, Georgia
30317
October 2-11, 2026
GATHERING is a group exhibition placing Mildred Thompson’s 1970’s Wood Pictures in context with a group of celebrated contemporary artists from across the United States. The exhibition will be presented at The Dita, a domestic space, located in the Kirkwood neighborhood near the Pullman Yards where the Atlanta Art Fair will take place.
In contrast to Thompson’s better known chromatically charged paintings, these quiet constructions hover in the space between painting and sculpture. Both abstract and quite literal, the mysterious objects are remarkable for their materiality and construction - simultaneously serious, and seriously playful. Thompson’s use of the word ‘Picture’ in this regard also points to the allusive nature of these works as suggestive of an image while not undermining the objective qualities of the work. They simply refuse to settle down neatly into any of our preconceived ideas regarding object, image, abstraction, and representation. In this work all of the either/or binaries that we tend to attach to art seem to fall apart. The artists we have assembled for this exhibition have a shared commitment to the process-based rigor of their craft and approach their chosen materials with a similar sense of exploration and sensitivity.
Participating Artists
Althea Murphy-Price
Amanda Ross-Ho (MTLP Resident 2024)
Julia Fish
Krista Clark (MTLP Resident 2025)
LaKela Brown (MTLP Resident 2026)
Léonie Guyer
Michelle Grabner
Mildred Thompson
To learn more about Mildred Thompson, https://mildredthompson.org/
To learn more about the Mildred Thompson Legacy Project Residency, https://www.instagram.com/mildredthompsonart/
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In addition to the exhibition at The Dita, F&L will present part of GATHERING at the Atlanta Art Fair as a Cultural Partner in collaboration with the Mildred Thompson Legacy Project Residency. Works by Léonie Guyer, LaKela Brown and Althea Murphy-Price will be on view alongside Mildred Thompson’s Wood Picture (c. 1975).
Atlanta Art Fair, October 1-4, 2026
The Dita will host open hours during the Atlanta Art Fair weekend:
Friday, October 2, 10am-12pm
Saturday, October 3, 10am-12pm
Sunday, October 4, 10am-12pm
Please join us for a brunch and curator talk on Sunday, October 4, 10am.
October 5-11, 2026, by appointment only. To visit The Dita, please contact us here.