Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Brantley Ellzey’s role in the design of Ballet Memphis and the renovation of Immaculate Conception. It has since been corrected. 

A new gallery and studio space, leased by architect and artist Brantley Ellzey, has opened on Summer Avenue near the Highland Heights neighborhood. 

Many Memphians, especially Midtowners, may be familiar with Ellzey’s work, whether by passing his ornately decorated house in the Evergreen neighborhood every Christmas season or by stopping through his former studio space on North Cleveland Street in Crosstown. 

New Brooks Museum of Art Downtown may be crown jewel of riverfront development

Ellzey occupied the 2,200-square-foot studio space at 408 N. Cleveland St. for 11 years. He was considered a pioneer in the revitalization of the Crosstown neighborhood, long before Crosstown Concourse was redeveloped and businesses like the Hi Tone started moving in. But after his rent more than doubled earlier this year, he decided to relocate. 

“I watched a lot of changes there,” Ellzey said. “It was an exciting time to be there. But I wasn’t surprised. It’s a tale as old as time, artists being pushed out of arts districts. It’s the irony of the arts district that’s been too expensive for artists to be in.”

Now, Summer Avenue is undergoing its own resurgence process, with new developments and redevelopments popping up. A large streetscaping project, part of the Memphis 3.0 plan, soon will be underway. 

Officials near final plans for Summer Avenue improvements

Ellzey wants to be a part of that revitalization.

“I really feel like this is a new beginning,” he said. “I feel like this is going to be a new chapter in my work. And it just so happens it’s going to be a great new chapter on Summer Avenue. There’s a nice synchronicity there, I guess.”

He found the new 3,000-square-foot space, formerly a car audio retail business, after searching for longer than a month. 

He considered other locations in the Medical District and Crosstown. Although he liked both neighborhoods for their emphasis on the arts, the spaces themselves did not speak to him. But when he found the spot on Summer Avenue, he fell in love with both the location and the space. 

Another bright sign appears for Summer Avenue’s future

Summer Avenue, otherwise known as “Nations Highway,” has a diverse landscape, with restaurants and retail spaces owned by people from throughout the world. He was attracted to that and its rebirths, including Luciann Theater and MyCityRides.

He also liked the proximity to Binghampton attractions Hampline Brewing, Collage Dance Collective and the Rec Room.

His hope is to bring a strong representation of the arts and the LGBTQ community to the diverse neighborhood. 

The studio, dubbed “Brantley Ellzey’s Summer Studio,” features a showroom, drafting room, studio and patio that may “lend itself really well to gatherings” in the future. 

The studio at 3086 Summer Ave. is open by appointment only. When guests arrive, they are greeted by an iconic Summer Avenue landmark — a billboard reading, “Have a nice DAY!”

Guests coming for consultations immediately walk into a showroom in the front of the building, which displays works Ellzey made for past exhibits and other commissions. 

“This gives people an opportunity to see my work,” he said. “If they’re interested in commissions, they can get an idea of how the technique works and a feel for the character, the material. It’s difficult to communicate in photographs. You kind of lose scale, and art tends to flatten on a computer screen or in a photograph.”

A majority of Ellzey’s work is made of pages from books, magazines, pamphlets and brochures tightly rolled and arranged in layers to form patterns and shapes. Layers are dynamic, giving way to either visual or informational purposes.

“They’re time capsules as well as works of art,” Ellzey said. “If that survived for 100 years, you can easily take it apart, and unroll all the pages, and have all the information.”

Each piece has its own theme. One piece that is displayed in the showroom, entitled “Saint Michael,” features images of Michael Jackson from commemorative magazines that are encased in a cross-shaped frame. 

Another, which Ellzey appreciates for its “Jackson Pollock quality,” is called “Teenage Dream” and was created from pages from seven different teen magazines. 

“Gibbs Family Bible,” a controversial piece, is made from disassembled pieces from a Bible. 

“People react to them in one of two ways,” Ellzey said of the Bible piece. “Some are shocked and think that they’re blasphemy. I’m quick to remind them the Bible hasn’t been destroyed. It’s just been transformed. None of it is thrown away, and, quite frankly, this is the form of the original Bible. It was in scrolls.”

Behind the showroom is where the real magic happens. 

Ellzey is a former architect known for his work designing the renovation of the sanctuary of the First Congregational Church and for the design of the Museum of Modern Spinal Surgery. As an employee of Williamson Pounders Architects, he also helped with design projects for Ballet Memphis in Cordova (now the Tennessee Shakespeare Company) and Immaculate Conception. Now, he designs concepts for his art on a drafting table in his office. 

“I don’t think I could do the work I do without my architectural background,” Ellzey said. “I think it’s easy to see in the compositions that I do that there’s an architectural component. They’re structures. They’re drawings.”

Once design concepts are finished, he brings the pieces to life in his large workroom, often working on two to three pieces at a time. 

He is creating a large, 5-foot-by-18-foot piece for a corporate client and is also working on concepts for a private commission and for a metal piece for Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

Lately, there has been a push for incorporating the “art of healing” in hospitals, a setting where a majority of Ellzey’s work can be found. 

Some of his proudest commissioned pieces have been placed in Le Bonheur and West Cancer Clinic. The West Cancer Clinic installation, entitled “Flower Power,” is a colorful piece made of travel brochure pages formed in shapes of flowers to represent the journey to health. 

“I routinely get calls and emails from people saying, ‘I’m at West Cancer Clinic. I’m sitting in front of your art, and it just makes me feel so much better. It’s bringing so much happiness, and you should be so proud,’” Brantley said. “Those moments are where you really feel like you’re making an impact. It’s meaningful.” 

The walls of the studio space are filled with pieces collected from other artists as well as pieces of his own, like a 3D paper cutout piece inspired by his Love List 2020 social media project highlighting aspects of Memphis. 

A giant multicolored doughnut with glittery sprinkles sits atop a platform in the studio. It was featured in an exhibit entitled “SWEET” at Crosstown Arts in 2016.

Ellzey typically goes for colorful, mid-century modern style pieces that have texture and vitality. His influences include Alexander Girard, an architect and designer; and Mary Blair, an illustrator who drew concept art for many Disney cartoons. 

But perhaps Ellzey’s earliest influence was a woman in his hometown, who crafted an ice cream bucket from rolled magazine pages.

“I just remember thinking how pretty this was when I was a kid,” he said. 

In 2001, his transition from architect to artist came when he featured a piece made from rolled “Martha Stewart Living” magazine pages in a local art show. A woman bought the piece and invited him to her home. Unbeknownst to him, she had invited 30 of her other friends to admire the piece and to meet the artist. 

“That inspired me to do more,” he said. “And then those sold and then it just sort of grew organically from there. … It opened up a whole new world, and it just opened up different friend groups and art groups and things that I had never really been a part of. It was an exciting time.”

Ellzey has been in the new space since the first day of summer, but the first “grand opening,” or open house event, was not held until Nov. 6. Around 300 of his friends and family came. 

The new location got good reviews during that event, Ellzey said. Already, he is getting requests to rent his space for private events and parties. 

“And I will say, every single person I’ve talked to, and no one has disputed this — every single person I’ve talked to has faith in the future of Summer,” Ellzey said. “Everyone.”

Linda Hill, art project director for Le Bonheur, was one attendee at the open house. She has worked extensively with Ellzey by placing his pieces in various Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare facilities, like the West Cancer Clinic, Shorb Tower at Methodist University Hospital and Methodist Olive Branch Hospital.

She appreciates Ellzey for his ability to be “thoughtful, meaningful, precise, and artful and creative” and thinks he will be a great fit for the neighborhood. 

“He’s got so many layers to him, as does his art,” she said. “He’s constantly assessing neighborhoods and wanting the best for every pocket of developments in the city. To have him on Summer Avenue is a great fortune for anybody on Summer. He becomes your advocate.”