My work is an invitation to step into a hidden world–a world shaped by memory, emotion, and the natural landscape. Through my use of color, gesture, and detail, I seek to capture fleeting moments that feel both familiar and dreamlike. My art is an exploration of the concept of memory, and how memories blend and interconnect. I am largely inspired by a constant sense of nostalgia, specific moments stick with me in my mind, and I desire to get them out of my mind and into the world. I want my viewer to feel like they are sucked into my paintings, and seeing a sliver of a story, inviting them into interpretation and connection.
My work and the imagery within it become a language of their own accord, each painting speaking to and echoing parts of others. The discursive context between works is not dictated by me, but by the images themselves and their interaction.
Although I am not interested in specifically guiding viewers to read succinct meanings, the work presents itself as a dialogue of questions between the audience and myself based on the compositional strata the works perform.
Iris Love is a fine artist from Chattanooga, Tennessee. She graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in 2026. Iris has been published in national and international magazines, including the Phoenix magazine in Knoxville, and SuboArts in Lisbon, Portugal. Iris has shown in galleries including the Ewing Gallery and the Knoxville Emporium, and has an upcoming solo show in 2027 at the Bijou Theater in Knoxville, Tennessee.