SLEEP EAZY

Curated by Laura Hutson Hunter for Wilder

There's an episode of The Simpsons where Marge brings the kids to stay at a motel called Sleep Eazy. She looks up, the neon sign flickers, and now it just says “Sl-e-azy.” It's an old joke, but it gets at the dichotomy between expectation and reality that seem tailor-made for a motel—you might think you're in for a night of staid convenience, but turn out a few of the lights and it's party city.

That easy disruption is the focus of Sleep Eazy, a one-night exhibit inside a Nashville motel. In whatever medium they choose—whether painting, sculpture, photography, or video—each of these 10 artists make work that pushes boundaries without making a big fuss about it.

Jodi Hays, Karen Seapker, and Josh Elrod smear messy brushstrokes with ritualistic precision. Amelia Briggs and Rocky Horton turn familiar, iconic imagery on its head. Elise Drake and Alex Lockwood make sculptures that are at once funny, sad, and erotic. Stacy Kranitz and Noah Jashinski examine the underbelly of society through a photographer's lens. Benjy Russell makes highly personal artworks out of optical illusions and magical realism. And each of the artists has staged the work inside a plush motel room, which gives it the added dimensions of fantasy and commerce.