05/12/2026
Introducing new Elevate artist Cody Norton (), now represented by .
Through sculpture, installation, and archival practice, Norton explores q***r identity, visibility, and survival within rural America. His work is deeply rooted in the landscapes and communities of the Arkansas Ozarks.
His collection confronts the emotional weight of belonging in spaces where difference is often closely watched, silenced, or forced to disappear. Across works like Do You Feel This Pressure, Aphonia, See No Evil, and In Care Of: Cord, Norton examines themes of rural q***r existence, memory, surveillance, resilience, and care.
At the center of this collection is an ongoing living archive collecting anonymous letters from q***r individuals across rural Arkansas: preserving stories through acts of protection, transcription, and community stewardship.
Born in Elgin, Texas and now based in Batesville, Arkansas, Norton is an Assistant Professor of Art at Lyon College whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including in London, New York, Toronto, São Paulo, Denver, and Dallas.
Now on view on the 2nd floor and in the Hive Lounge at 21c Bentonville through Elevate at 21c.