Christy Bush: Continuum

Christy Bush (American, b. 1970) is an Athens, Georgia-based artist whose intimate and relational portraiture spans more than three decades of fashion, celebrity, and fine art photography. Bush returned to Athens, GA full time in 2008; this solo presentation at the Athenaeum is her first major exhibition in our city. Continuum highlights the working process and ethos that Bush has pursued for decades—a cyclical response to nature, femininity, community and care. On view will be works ranging from the past few decades as well as archival and ephemeral materials bridging her working practice and travels to her resultant photography. Bush’s distinctive Southern sensibility informed projects ranging from fashion editorials for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar to documenting family, friends, and cultural figures. Her notable series Soundtrack to Nothing, Jackson, and Familiar each explore themes of adolescence, intimacy, and memory, cementing her place as a vital voice in contemporary Southern photography.

Christy Bush came of age in the Atlanta punk rock scene before pursuing photography at the University of Georgia. Immersed in Athens’ legendary creative and music community, she began documenting its dynamic culture in the early 1990s. She earned her BFA in Photography from UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art in 1993 before relocating to New York City, where she lived and worked for fifteen years. There, she developed a prestigious client roster that included W, Interview, and Harper’s Bazaar, refining the direct and intimate style that has defined her photographs ever since.

Bush’s first monograph, Familiar: 30 Years of Photographs (Bitter Southerner Press, 2022), features a foreword by R.E.M.’s frontman Michael Stipe and brings together her life’s work in fashion, music, and portraiture. The book, which weaves 35mm and medium format negatives with Polaroids and digital photographs, received acclaim in Women’s Wear Daily, The Guardian, and Aesthetica. In addition to her fine art practice, Bush continues to collaborate with musicians, actors, and cultural figures, creating portraits of Jason Isbell (Bitter Southerner), Molly Ringwald (Australia’s Lovewant Magazine), Maya Hawke (London’s Puss Puss Magazine), and Michael Shannon (London’s Luncheon Magazine). January 23 – March 20, 2027 Opening Saturday, January 23, 2027 Media and VIP preview: 3-4pm Public reception: 4-6pm

Christy Bush has been exhibited internationally in New York, Atlanta, Savannah, San Francisco, Chicago, Paris, and Tokyo. Her work is also represented in numerous private collections. At Jackson Fine Art, her work has been featured in multiple exhibitions, most recently Familiar in 2022, which highlighted her decades-long practice of blending fashion, celebrity, and Southern identity through photography.

Christy Bush: Continuum is supported by UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, The Lamar Dodd School of Art and the Dodd Chair and Athenaeum Support Funds. For more information, including images and press packets, contact Rachel Waldrop, Director and Curator, Athenaeum: rachel.waldrop@uga.edu and athenaeum.uga.edu