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Recent Acquisitions Releases Press Release Archive |
Tyler Museum of Art "Opens Vault" for Latest Exhibition Tyler, TX— A bit like the words from the wedding day poem for brides, the Tyler Museum of Art is now showing “something old, something new … and something blue”—but nothing borrowed. Some 43 works from the TMA’s own 600 plus-piece permanent collection are now on display through June 18 in the exhibition Thirty-three Years of Collecting at the Tyler Museum of Art. Museum visitors will have unique access to a significant part of the “hidden treasure” owned by the TMA but rarely displayed because of limited gallery space. “We’ve opened the vault and brought out wonderful works that we know have been favorites in the past, “ said Museum Director Kimberley Bush Tomio. “In addition, visitors will find new pieces and older acquisitions that have rarely, and sometimes never, been shown before now.” One of those new pieces will include the 2004 Collectors’ Circle selection, Hill Country, Fall by Porfirio Salinas (American, 1910-1973.) This is the TMA’s first works by Salinas, a favorite landscape artist of the late U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, and is in keeping with the Museum’s goal of focusing the permanent collection on important works by early Texas artists (those living and working in Texas from the mid 19th century through the 1940s), as well as works by modern Texas artists (1950s-1960s) and contemporary artists (1970s to the present.) Two previous Collectors’ Circle acquisitions by Texas artists, Graydon Parrish’s Victory and Murray Bewely’s Young Girl, are also included in the Thirty-three Years of Collecting exhibition. “Over the past four years, the Museum has taken on a new focus for its growing collection. In addition to continuing its tradition of the exhibition and acquisition of works by contemporary Texas artists, the TMA has announced its commitment to also concentrate on obtaining works by early and modern Texas artists,” Ms. Tomio observed. “By adding works by important artists of the past, there will be an historic bridge to the work created today. Many of the artists the Museum seeks to acquire were teachers as well, and their works—plus the works of their students and other artists they influenced—are important tools in understanding our culture, traditions and artistic expressions.” Examples of early Texas artists’ works which can be seen in the current exhibition and are also recent TMA acquisitions include Rosalie Speed’s Autumn Scene, and L.O. Griffith’s Texas Mill. Robert Kjorlien, TMA director from 1970 to 1974, brought the first two works into the Museum’s permanent collection which are also part of the Thirty-three Years of Collecting exhibition; Bror Utter’s Posada Gaudi and Charles Umlauf’s Angel of the Annuciation. Longtime TMA Director Ron Gleason was also very influential in shaping the permanent collection, first from 1974-1981 and again from 1985-1995. “His (Gleason’s) groundbreaking exhibitions featured new and emerging artists working in Texas which, in many cases, contributed to their future success,” Ms. Tomio commended. “Some of the most important artists championed by Gleason included Celia Muñoz, Vernon Fisher, Terry Allen, James Surls, Keith Carter and Clyde Connell.” Connell, a reclusive Louisiana artist who died in 1998, has two works, Swamp Ritual and Hearth Stones, in the exhibition. Tomio said the TMA under Gleason’s direction was the first museum to give the artist a one-woman show in 1979, when Connell was 78 years old. In the early 1980s, Connell was “discovered” by the New York art scene and went on to achieve international critical acclaim, including being featured in an exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. in 1988. Wendell Ott, TMA director from 1995-1999, supported acquisitions he felt would appeal to the Tyler and East Texas community. Examples of pieces that filled this niche which are included in the exhibition are Teal Blue Seaform with Amber Body, a hand-blown glass piece by popular artist Dale Chihuly, and Dish, by famed American glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany. Ms. Tomio said she believes exhibition visitors will be particularly impressed by several recent acquisitions which have not previously been shown at the TMA. These include two pieces of “Ming Turquoise” glazed ceramics (c. 1930s) by Colorado potters Artus and Anne Van Briggle, entitled Lorelei Vase and Lorelei Dish; a pastel on watercolor board by New Mexico artist Brian Cobble entitled South Broadway, 2002; Connell’s Hearth Stones, 1980; a cherry and mahogany sculpture by Trinity University Art Professor Emeritus Philip John Evett, Lifeguard, 1990; a black and white photograph entitled Weaver’s Canyon of Arizona #698, 2003 by David H. Gibson; L.O.Griffith’s Texas Mill, c.1915; JunCheng Liu’s powerful trompe l’oiel painting of an ear of corn entitled Land, c.1995; a black polished ceramic Bowl, c.1930s, by Native American Indians from the Tewa tribe, Maria and Julian Martinez; an oil, enamel and verathane on canvas by Dallas abstract artist John Pomara entitled Re-Wind, 1998; and a hand-thrown glazed stoneware known as Onta Ware from an unknown Japanese potter, Charger, c.1960s. “The permanent collection will continue to grow to ensure that the Museum remains a vibrant and relevant institution in this community,” Ms. Tomio said. “A museum’s permanent collection is intended to preserve works of importance, influence and value for the enjoyment of the public, as well as to educate and inspire. It is a lasting legacy.” In addition to Thirty-three Years of Collecting at the Tyler Museum of Art which is being shown in the Bell Gallery, the TMA is also currently hosting two other exhibitions. Miguel Zapata: Works from the Texas Studio will close in the Museum’s North Gallery January 30. Lance Letscher: Books and Parts of Books 1996-2004 will be displayed in the TMA’s Carmichael Gallery through March 6. Visitors to the TMA, located adjacent to the Tyler Junior College Campus at 1300 S. Mahon, can enjoy the Museum Café for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Tuesday–Friday, and visit the Museum Gift Shop during exhibition hours Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Museum is closed on Mondays. For more information call (903)595-1001. |