The Museum of Texas Tech University is proud to present From Sea to Shining Sea: A Reflection of America, organized by The Haggin Museum in Stockton, CA, scheduled to open April 10 and run through June 5, 2005. The Tech museum is located at 3301 4th Street where ample free parking is available in the north and west lots.
Over the past several years a number of group projects variously called “Paint Outs” or “Plein Aire” events have emerged as central to the contemporary American Realist and Impressionist painting movements. These events have been sponsored by a variety of different groups, including art magazines, corporations, museums, galleries, environmental organizations, and artists’ clubs as well as the artists themselves; each has had a focus and each has resulted in an exhibition.
For example, a trip by 22 artists to paint the region surrounding the Forbes Family Chateau in Normandy was organized by Stephen Doherty, sponsored by American Artist Magazine, and culminated in an exhibition at the Forbes Gallery in New York. That event in turn gave rise to another excursion. Under the direction of artist Curt Walters and sponsored by the Grand Canyon Trust, 15 artists rafted down the Colorado River and the works they created along the way were featured in a special exhibition that raised funds for, and interest in, the preservation of the canyon’s environment.
That exhibition’s success encouraged artist Gil Delliriger to organize 25 artists to participate in a series of Paint Outs over the summer and winter in Yosemite Valley and California’s Eastern Sierra. Sponsored by the California Art Club and The Haggin Museum, the event resulted in an exhibition at The Haggin of 100 paintings and pastels that captured the changing seasonal splendor of one of the most picturesque regions of the Golden State.
Based upon this exhibition’s popularity and in the wake of the events of September 11, the artists involved with the Yosemite show decided to organize a show, with an even greater scope. It would focus upon life in America and include landscape, genre, and figurative painting in either a Realist or Impressionist mode.
The participating 47 artists are themselves a reflection of America, representing various ethnic and racial backgrounds as well as different regions of the United States. Each artist supplied two works, either from one of three planned Plein Aire sessions, or from a studio work reflecting life in each of the artist’s home communities. For the latter work, they were encouraged to be as diverse as possible in the selection of their subject matter and to coordinate with other artists in their region to avoid content overlap.
The three Plein Aire sessions were: New York’s Hudson River Valley (August 1-8, 2002); the Monterey Peninsula of California (March 24-30, 2003); and St. Louis, Missouri (May 25-31, 2003). While the artists were encouraged to attend as many of the “Paint Outs” as possible, they were required to attend only one.
The showing here in Lubbock is part of a ten city national tour over a two and a half year period containing 94 works. The tour was developed and managed by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services, an exhibition tour development company in Kansas City, Missouri.
For more information about the exhibition, call Museum art curator Peter Briggs at (806)742-2442, ext. 270, or email to peter.briggs@ttu.edu. For information about the Museum or to request special assistance, call 742-2490, or email to museum.texastech@ttu.edu. Stay current with Museum exhibitions and events at www.museum.ttu.edu.