Jordan Holt
Panomachea Game Cover by Jordan Holt
Blood Water Cover by Jordan Holt and Yocum
Lee University will be hosting an art show featuring the works of Jordan Holt, associate professor of graphic design at Lee. The opening reception will be on Tuesday, Sept. 2, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the Squires Library Fine Art Gallery and the works will be on display through Sept. 22.
“In the late winter of 2020, some 2,000 days ago, I shifted away from commercial illustration for clients and toward comic illustration,” said Mr. Holt. “This exhibition is a small sample of the work I’ve produced during that time. Comics and graphic novels have a special requirement they place upon the illustrator which other illustrations typically do not: a long-term relationship.”
The exhibition features digital prints, ink on traditional bristol paper, and watercolor illustration works from five different projects: “Theseus,” a young adult graphic novel retelling the myth of Theseus & the Minotaur; “Panomachea,” an illustrated Greek mythology card game; “Into the Darkling Forest,” a short comic collaboration with another Lee faculty member; “Blood & Water,” a true-to-life graphic novel telling the story and assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti in 2011 in Pakistan (to be published by Ignatius Press in 2026); and “PetraCor,” an Anglo-Saxon fable Mr. Holt is currently researching both visually and historically.
“This has been my most valuable reflection during these last two thousand days: what does it mean to come back to the drawing table every day and produce the next page.” said Mr. Holt. “Whether your heart is in it, whether you feel inspired, whether you can draw well that day —it’s immaterial. You have to come back or the project will never be finished. In this species of work, you must learn to love the process, because the vision of the finished goal rarely inspires affection at such a great distance. These projects take years to complete, and I can measure my remaining years of life by the number of works I’m likely to finish.”
Mr. Holt's art exhibition is open Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m. to midnight; Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 p.m. to midnight. Squires Library is located on the corner of 11th Street and Paul Conn Parkway.
“We are so excited to host this exhibition and offer our students a glimpse into the process of illustration,” said Victoria Phillips, assistant professor of art at Lee.
Mr. Holt is a professional illustrator and has served on the faculty of Lee University since 2015. Hailing from a long family history in Tennessee Appalachia, he came to Lee as a student, graduating in 2009 with a degree in telecommunications. After spending the interim working in advertising as a graphic designer and completing graduate work in illustration, he returned to Lee as a professor of graphic design and continued freelancing as an illustrator while teaching.
The Lee University art program is slated to host a new exhibition for each month of the fall semester. The Fine Arts Gallery will feature the works of Zamüell for Hispanic Heritage Month in October, and the Lee Senior Show will take place in November. The Mayfield Gallery, located in Lee’s Mayfield Annex, will host a student invitational show beginning on Sept. 9 that will run through Dec. 1.
For more information about Lee’s art program or upcoming events, visit https://www.leeuniversity.edu/academics/arts-sciences/communication-arts/art/, email Professor Phillips at vphillips@leeuniversity.edu or visit @leeuniversity_art on Instagram.