Art
Greg Cook 0

“Do not try to understand me, just love me,” said L.V. Hull (1942–2008). In small town Kosciusko, Mississippi, the Black, female, self-taught artist used televisions and toys and bottles and other found things, plus paint and glue from Walmart, to magic her house into a sensational walk-in artwork.

“She adorned every surface and corner of her house, front porch, and garden with carefully arranged assemblages of everyday objects and signs, often painted with her signature dot pattern,” write the organizers of the exhibition “L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation” at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.

"L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation" at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
“L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation” at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.

Billed as ”the first major museum exhibition devoted to the art and life of the self-proclaimed ‘Unusual Artist,’” it features Hull’s art, documentation of her home/studio environment, ephemera from her personal archive, and installations of her art. The exhibition coincides with the planned June 13 opening of the L.V. Hull Legacy Center in Kosciusko, an arts center including Hull’s preserved home, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.

“L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation” was curated by Ryan N. Dennis, co-director and chief curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston; independent curator Annalise Flynn, who manages the SPACES Archives for the Kohler Foundation; and Yaphet Smith, an Austin, Texas, screenwriter, lawyer, and director of the Hull documentary, “Love Is a Sensation.”

Related: L.V. Hull featured in Ted Degener Has Spent 50 Years Photographing Creators Of Visionary Art Environments

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Mrs. L.V. Hull Looking at Gift for B.B. King in Her Bedroom. L.V. Hull on her bed in her Kosciusko, Mississippi, home in 2003. (Photo: Bruce West)
Mrs. L.V. Hull Looking at Gift for B.B. King in Her Bedroom. L.V. Hull on her bed in her Kosciusko, Mississippi, home in 2003. (Photo: Bruce West)
"L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation" at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
“L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation” at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, n.d. Acrylic paint on Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots toy, 13 x 19 x 133⁄4 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, n.d. Acrylic paint on Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots toy, 13 x 19 x 133⁄4 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
"L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation" at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
“L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation” at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
Mrs. L.V. Hull with Purple Polka Dot Dress. L.V. Hull surrounded by her art environment on her front porch in Kosciusko, Mississippi in 2002. (Photo: Bruce West)
Mrs. L.V. Hull with Purple Polka Dot Dress. L.V. Hull surrounded by her art environment on her front porch in Kosciusko, Mississippi in 2002. (Photo: Bruce West)
"L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation" at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
“L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation” at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
"L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation" at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
“L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation” at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
"L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation" at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
“L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation” at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
"L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation" at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
“L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation” at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
"L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation" at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
“L.V. Hull: Love Is a Sensation” at Mississippi Museum of Art from March 20 to June 14, 2026.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, n.d. Acrylic paint, plastic and glass bottles, tabletop Christmas tree, 19x12x14. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, n.d. Acrylic paint, plastic and glass bottles, tabletop Christmas tree, 19x12x14. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, 2004. Acrylic paint on straw hat, 5.5 x 13 x 13 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, 2004. Acrylic paint on straw hat, 5.5 x 13 x 13 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, 2004. Acrylic paint on plastic, 12.5 x 13.5 x 1.5 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, 2004. Acrylic paint on plastic, 12.5 x 13.5 x 1.5 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, n.d. Acrylic paint, plastic and glass bottles, tabletop Christmas tree, 19x12x14. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, n.d. Acrylic paint, plastic and glass bottles, tabletop Christmas tree, 19x12x14. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, n.d. Acrylic paint on plastic bottle, 5.5 x 2 x 2 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, n.d. Acrylic paint on plastic bottle, 5.5 x 2 x 2 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, n.d. Acrylic paint, plastic and glass bottles, tabletop Christmas tree, 19x12x14. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
L.V. Hull, Untitled, n.d. Acrylic paint, plastic and glass bottles, tabletop Christmas tree, 19x12x14. Courtesy of the Estate of L.V. Hull, Arts Foundation of Kosciusko. Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.
Mrs. L.V. Hull, MS, #3. L.V. Hull surrounded by her art environment and garden in Kosciusko, Mississippi in 2000. (Photo: Bruce West. Collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art)
Mrs. L.V. Hull, MS, #3. L.V. Hull surrounded by her art environment and garden in Kosciusko, Mississippi in 2000. (Photo: Bruce West. Collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art)
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