The Amarillo Museum of Art is pleased to open the exhibition, Texas Modernists: Selections from the Collection of Carl R. McQueary, an exhibition of 79 works from the private collection of Guest curator, Carl R. McQueary of Austin. The show explores the development of the Modernist movement in Texas art. The artists featured in this exhibition: Michael Frary, Constance Forsyth, Kelly Fearing, Paul Hatgil, Bill Hoey, Amy Freeman Lee, Bert Rees, William Lester, Don Snell, Ed Storms, Donald Weismann, Emilio Caballero and Ralph White are collectively some of the leading figures in the Modernist movement. Modernism was slow to develop in Texas, which was firmly tied to a realist painting style rooted in regionalism for the first half of the century. These Texas artists often challenged the accepted ideas of what art was as they experimented with new forms and ideas, while portraying the environs around them. Even though Texas was far from New York and Los Angeles and other hubs of artistic creativity, the national arts community took notice of the Texas Modernists. Several of the artists featured in this exhibition have received acclaim in both the national press and scholarly arts journals. Many of them have exhibited widely on both coasts. All brought to their work a fresh new set of ideas and vision and all had connections with the growing art department of The University of Texas, created roughly between 1946 and 1969. The works produced during this time perfectly reflected, as well as expanded upon, national trends and regional uniqueness. Texas eventually embraced this new "modernism" and museums and galleries around the state began exhibiting an increasingly impressive array of often-surprising works. The mid-twentieth century was a time of frenetic change and experimentation. The works in this exhibition were created during the period roughly spanning the post-war years through the mid-1970s. Many of them are bold non-traditional abstractions, full of intense color and expression. Texas Modernists attempts to define the evolution of abstract art in Texas, and in doing so brings a perspective as fresh as these artworks to the entire American art scene at mid-century. The exhibition is sponsored by a Friend of AMoA. |