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Artist, producer, and son of Johnny Cash, John Carter Cash is taking off his artist cap and putting on his artist cap, unveiling of his first-ever visual art exhibition, Dark Hallways, opening with a special reception on Friday, February 13 at 5:00 p.m. CT at Southern Underground Gallery in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee.
The opening night offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at Cash’s artistic process, as he will be painting live on siteduring the reception. The finished piece will be available for bidding that evening, with a portion of proceeds benefiting SOS Children’s Villages International, supporting humanitarian relief efforts in Jamaica.
Dark Hallways presents a striking and introspective body of work centered on interior passageways—narrow corridors and repeating hallways that stretch forward and recede into uncertain depths. Throughout the exhibition, these spaces function as psychological landscapes, reflecting themes of memory, endurance, transition, and the experience of navigating difficult internal terrain.
Working primarily in oil, Cash’s paintings favor emotional architecture over literal place. His use of forced perspective, compressed interiors, and recurring structural elements—doors, windows, and corridors—creates a sense of movement and tension. Raw surfaces, visible brushstrokes, and layered color give the work an immediacy that resists polish in favor of honesty and weight.
While the palette often leans dark, the work is far from bleak. Bursts of vivid reds, yellows, and blues cut through the confined spaces, suggesting moments of revelation, disruption, and possibility. Human figures are rare and intentionally ambiguous, reinforcing a feeling of absence and quiet unease.
Occupying the space between abstraction and representation, the paintings avoid clear narrative resolution, instead inviting viewers to linger and find personal meaning. The exhibition’s visual centerpiece—a long, mysterious hallway illuminated by floating color and light—embodies Cash’s ongoing exploration of storytelling through visual media.
“My art is not about the spaces we go through physically,” Cash shares, “but about those we move through internally.”
Guests attending the opening will have the opportunity to experience the exhibition firsthand, meet the artist, and engage with the work in an intimate gallery setting.
The 2026 induction further underscores the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum’s mission to honor the artists and creators whose work shaped the soundtrack of generations.
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