American Folk PRESENTS:
Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil
October 1st-31st, 2025

Show goes Live on our website:
Wednesday October 1st at 11 AM

Opens in the Gallery:
Friday October 3rd at 11 AM

Evening Reception:
Friday October 3rd, 5-8 PM

As summer fades and the weather begins to chill, we feel it shiver in our bones as we present a new show to honor the spooky season. At 11AM on Wednesday October 1st, we debut Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil! Among this collection of paintings, wood-carvings, and pottery you will find both the familiar and the supernatural: creatures of the night, skulls, devils, and ritual vessels all await you in the garden. Join us as we evoke the frightening and ghoulish for the entire month of October! Featured artists include Jim Gary Phillips, Kent Ambler, John Sperry, Lonnie & Twyla Money, Shawn Ireland, Doug Frati, Carl Block, Wayne Hewell, Jack Klippel, Mike Ball, and more!

A special addition to this show are several paintings from Kentucky artist Jim Gary Phillips, whose work is truly something to behold. Somewhere between sacred and profane, you will fall in love with the way he creates his warnings against sin. His infernal paintings denounce the evils of this earth, while still giving the viewer something to covet.
Also based in rural Kentucky, Lonnie & Twyla Money get their fair share of “undesirable” critters crawling around, but they choose to carve the snakes, crows, and creatures who bite instead of running away frightened.

Hardly any art form connects our earthly plane with spiritual ritual more than pottery. Holding a vessel made by Shawn Ireland summons a primal urge to be under the moonlight, spell-casting or offering thanks to the powers that be. And what would a spooky folk art show be with a few face jugs? They carry a long history of serving as a protective talisman, either as a deterrent to strong drink, a guardian buried at the front steps of your home to keep out evil spirits, or a vessel meant to safeguard your soul as you passed to the next world. Wayne Hewell, a 5th generation farmer and face jug maker, creates red devils and twisted horns meant to shock and delight. Mike Ball’s famous eyeball jugs can make your skin crawl with the unsettling feeling of being watched.

Reflections of the macabre can bring us comfort in an unpredictable world, and as we embrace the impending darkness with this gothic-inspired collection, come and see if you find something that haunts you! Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil debuts on our website amerifolk.com at 11 AM, Wednesday October 1st. For a full hour, the entire show will be available for previewing before phone sales begin promptly at noon. The remaining pieces will be on view in the gallery from Friday, October 3rd through Friday October 31st, 2025.

An evening reception celebrating Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil will be held in the gallery on Friday, October 3rd from 5-8 PM. This event is free and open to the public; any & all are invited to join us!