While dogs are ubiquitous denizens of the modern world, Beth Edwards elevates canine art to a higher plane, as evidenced in "A Dog's Life" at Memphis College of Art's Rust Hall.

Tina Newberry, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" oil on panel

David Hockney’s “Vertical Dogs” etching and aquatint

Julie Heffernan, Self Portrait as Lucy, oil on canvas

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A reception is 6 to 8 tonight for the exhibit that runs through April 10.

Although none of her own work is included in the show, Edwards sees "A Dog's Life" as a perfect blend of her two passions -- painting and pets. Currently on a yearlong sabbatical from her position as an associate professor in the University of Memphis art department, Edwards, 48, is an internationally renowned artist whose work has twice appeared on the cover of New American Paintings, a bi-monthly juried publication. She is also a volunteer at the Memphis and Shelby County Humane Society, and, with her husband, Brian Grisham, the owner of two dogs, a former stray named Biscuit, and Katie, an adoptee from the Humane Society.

As curator of "A Dog's Life, Edwards immediately saw a two-pronged mission: Raise funds for the Humane Society via an exhibition catalog and poster, and reach out to a broader audience.

"My favorite thing is when art can work on several levels," she says, explaining that the unifying factor in this broad expanse of work, which includes examples from contemporary masters David Hockney and Roy De Forest, helps to bridge the gap between frequent gallery visitors and people who rarely pause to consider art.

In some paintings, like Laurie Hogin's allegorical twin portraits, "Prince and Lady", the dog is front-and-center, and rendered in magnificent detail. In other works, including local painter Jed Jackson's military-themed "Fade To Black" and Celia Reismans suburban landscapes, the topic is purely incidental.

Tina Newberry sublimely portrays the humorous mug of a Boston terrier with delicate strokes of oil paint; Riva Lehrer uses a simple stick of charcoal to capture the alert pose of a large, black dog named Buddy; and Memphis painter Larry Edwards reduces a pack of snarling, wild dogs into a pastel study reminiscent of Juan Gris' cubist oeuvre.

Dachshunds steal the majority of the spotlight, from Hockney's "Vertical Dogs" and "Horizontal Dogs" to the multiple portraits of Lucy, a dog that belongs to Manhattan-based art collector Joanne Soja. Soja, a onetime English teacher turned portfolio manager for the health care industry, lent Hockney's ebullient red and blue etchings, as well as the Lucy paintings, to the exhibit. She estimates that she has 30 paintings and several sculptures of the 7-year old miniature dapple dachshund, which she acquired after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, in her personal collection.

"A Dog's Life"

At the Memphis College of Art in Overton Park through April 10. A reception is 6-8 p.m. today. The exhibit is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Call 272-5100 for more information.