June 7 – September 14, 2008

Things Seen Anew: The Sculpture of J. C. Pace, III

Three Avocados, 2007, J.C. Pace, III, Bronze.
Installed during the exhibition in Albany's Bank Park, located on Main Street in downtown Albany.

A cast stainless steel lawnmower, fashioned by hand, three gargantuan avocados, a large bronze tree with its root system intact, and industrial light boxes featuring x-rayed vegetables are just a few of the intriguing pieces that make up Things Seen Anew: The Sculpture of J. C. Pace, III. The exhibition opens June 7 during the museum’s thirteenth-annual Western Swing party. The artist will give a gallery talk at 7 p.m. to open the show. Because the party is a fundraiser, tickets must be purchased in advance, but the exhibition will be up throughout the summer. Admission to the museum is free.

Twenty recent works will be displayed in museum galleries in this exhibition, and one large outdoor sculpture will be displayed in Albany’s Bank Park on Main Street. Margaret Blagg, Executive Director, commented about Pace’s work, “His art grows out of an enthusiastic love of life itself, and its stuff. Pace looks at trees and notices how truly different they are, one from another. Pace strips leaves from trees and shows us the strong skeletal support that remains. He compares one species of tree to another. He gets our attention in ways artists have—by manipulating scale, for instance, or presenting in multiples.”

Summer, 2008

West Texas Triangle: Barrington

Black Market Crappie, 2008, Joe Barrington, welded steel, paint, found object.

The five outstanding art museums that are partners in the West Texas Triangle are presenting a region-wide exhibition of the work of Texas sculptor Joe Barrington, an artist who employs a sense of humor along with his welding torch. Barrington tells how his father gave him his first welding hood at the age of two as he followed his dad around the shop. Cutting, welding, and forming steel has been in his blood ever since. Making art was a natural progression with an understanding of the materials and technique. His sculpture is drawn from a lifetime of living in rural Texas, with the people, animals, and folklore all being an integral part of the tales he shares with his viewers.

In 2006, the consortium began a collective campaign using the tag line” West Texas Triangle – The Space for Art.” Its first collaboration was exhibition of the works of internationally known Texas sculptor Jesus Moroles during the summer of 2007. The consortium website is www.westtexastriangle.org with links to all the museums’ websites. We encourage you to “Travel the Triangle” and discover a surprisingly sophisticated arts community!