Friday July 17th @ SC State Museum
12 pm — Artist Talk with Roxy Lenzo Douthit
6 pm — Screening - Peter Lenzo: In Memory of His Memory
by Wade Sellers
IF I ONLY HAD A BRAIN BY PETER LENZO
Join the Jasper Project at the South Carolina State Museum (301 Gervais Street) in the Lipscomb gallery on Friday night, July 17th at 6 pm for the screening of Wade Seller’s expanded film Peter Lenzo: In Memory of His Memory.
Originally created for the Jasper Project’s February 2026 exhibition Peter Lenzo: A Retrospective and Remembrance at Stormwater Studios, Sellers says, “This current screening expands on the existing film by adding interviews with his brothers Anthony and Steven, as well as his sister, Lisa.” He expects there will be a third and final version of the film at a later date.
“I never knew Peter Lenzo,” Sellers says. “There were many moments we were probably in the same room, but we never met. I knew his work through his notoriety and through his art dealer and never quite understood why it drew me in so much. This film allows me the luxury to not only meet the man through his family and those that loved his work, but also through his own thoughts and words.”
Lenzo, known world-wide for his reliquaries and facejugs that married his unique style with traditional ceramic vessels prominent in the southern US, came to South Carolina in the 1990s. As Paul Matheny, Chief Curator and Director of Cultural affairs at the SC State Museum, writes in the book, Peter Lenzo: In Memory of His Memory (The Jasper Project, 2026), he “had an almost immediate impact in a state already rich with ceramic history.”
Lenzo, born in 1955 in New York died on October 6, 2024, after decades of seizures and their repercussions from a bike incident early in his life. He grew up in Detroit, and later lived in California, Illinois, and Columbia, SC.
Filmmaker Wade Sellers reflects on his film project, “I am fascinated by why artists, artists who have no choice other than to create, are drawn to the work they make. Peter’s story of a lifetime as an artist, a lifetime of seizures and dependency on others, and finding a home in the work was a story I couldn’t resist exploring and sharing with others.”
Sellers is an independent filmmaker and producer based in Columbia, SC. He is a four-time Emmy nominee whose production company, Coal Powered Filmworks, focuses on producing documentary and independent film projects. His work has been seen on cable and PBS stations nationwide and independent theaters and festivals throughout the United States and Europe. He began work in independent film as a cinematographer and in the late 1990s he followed this work to New York City, where he began establishing a strong resume of work with independent film and corporate clients. After returning to the south he turned his focus to producing and directing, and founded Coal Powered Filmworks, producing work for local, regional, and national clients. His work has been recognized with Addys, Tellys and numerous other awards and he is the 2025 recipient of the SC Governor's Award for the Arts.
The celebration of Peter Lenzo’s contribution to culture will begin at noon on July 17th with an artist talk presented by Lenzo’s daughter, Roxy Lenzo Douthit. Both events are free and open to the public.(Full disclosure, Lenzo Douthit is a member of the Jasper Project board of directors.)
