After six solo moves across state lines, artists Kobe Elixson and Zoё Couvillion decided it was time to pause and make their next move together. Now residing in Dubuque, Iowa—nearly a thousand miles north of their home in Texas—these printmakers plan to make their mark in the Midwest. After navigating the chaos of making a big move, these artists are taking a moment to reflect on their past and present lives and to break in their new studio space. These efforts culminated in their first duo-exhibition in this region, “Residual and Steadfast,” at the Nohr Gallery beginning this September.
“To me, this is just further confirmation that we’re in the right place at the right time,” said Elixson, a printmaker, educator and the newly appointed lecturer of drawing and printmaking with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Department of Performing and Visual Arts. “We have already been overwhelmed with the comfort and welcome that this region has offered us after a hectic move from north Texas.”
The exhibit offers an opportunity for Elixson and Couvillion to introduce themselves to the campus and greater Platteville community in the way they know best: through art. The show is a tribute to these artists’ lives, and the stories people inherit. While settling into their new home, Elixson and Couvillion found that no matter how much they cleaned, traces of their home’s historic past will always be embedded into its wallpaper and floorboards. Likewise, pieces of these artists’ lives before their move will always remain part of their ever-changing story.
“The work in this show is spread out across our time knowing each other; I feel it speaks to our love for process and story,” explained Elixson. “Our household is structured around storytelling, an appreciation for stories and the social/communal experience of swapping stories with friends and strangers alike.”
Their passion for storytelling is reflected in the exhibition’s past and present themes. “Residual and Steadfast” features a collection of handmade prints made by each artist throughout their individual journey as an artist before their move together. Mixed media dustpans are also interspersed throughout the exhibit as vessels of reflection and to provide a look ahead.
“In choosing printed pieces to exhibit for ‘Residual & Steadfast,’ and in planning new image-compositions for dust pans, we focused heavily on themes of inheritance, collection and timelessness,” said Couvillion, also a professional printmaker and newly appointed regional arts educator. “Kobe mentioned our shared identity as storytellers; I think a good deal of that stems from rich time-passing traditions in his home state of Florida and mine of Louisiana. Our southern voices and accents echo those of generations before us and have the potential to offer variety in perspective this far north.”
The public is invited to an artist reception and meet-and-greet on Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. “Residual and Steadfast” is free and open to the public most weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from Sept. 5 to Oct. 28, 2025. The Harry and Laura Nohr Gallery is located in the lower level of Ullsvik Hall on the UW-Platteville main campus.