Art of West Texas Women artists to exhibit work, sign books in Amarillo in November
25-Oct-2010
Five Amarillo-area artists, Doris Alexander, Marilyn Grisham, Patsy Kisor, Mary Solomon and Amy Winton, will exhibit their work throughout the month of November at Solomon Gallery at the Sunset Center Galleries in Amarillo. All five artists are included in the book, “Art of West Texas Women: A Celebration,” recently published by Texas Tech University Press. The opening reception for the exhibition is scheduled for 5 to 9 p.m. Fri., Nov. 5, during the First Friday Art Walk.
Co-author Kippra D. Hopper, an Amarillo native who now lives in Lubbock, will be at the opening reception to sign copies of the book. The artists and author also will be available during an art and autograph party from 3 to 6 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 4, at Rooster’s Café, 34th Ave. and Bell Street in Amarillo.
Alexander, Kisor and Solomon all live and work in Amarillo, while Grisham is from Panhandle, Tex., and Winton is from Canadian, Tex. Alexander works in pastels and mainly focuses her art on portraits. Kisor is known for her bright paintings of African wildlife. Solomon uses watercolors, pastels and oils to capture the landscapes of the canyon lands of West Texas. Grisham is a potter who is represented by galleries in Taos and Santa Fe, N.M. Winton is a member of the Pastel Society of America and also works in pastels focusing on the landscapes of West Texas.
“Art of West Texas Women” author Hopper is the Hutcheson Professor of Journalism at the Texas Tech University College of Mass Communications, where she teaches magazine writing and photography courses. The other co-author is Laurie J. Churchill of Las Cruces, N.M.
The book, which has been named a finalist in this year’s New Mexico Book Awards competition, has been favorably received since its release in April.
From reviewer Susan Witting Albert (StoryCircle Book Reviews):
“Every now and then, a book comes along that teaches us how to be grateful. ‘Art of West Texas Women’ is such a book, an inspired and inspiring presentation of the work – and the lives – of twenty West Texas women artists. It is, Kippra Hopper and Laurie Churchill tell us, an examination of professional artists ‘off the mainstream grid,’ living in an area that ‘has no major art market.’ If only for that reason, we should be grateful, for this book shows us creative work that we might not otherwise see. But there is much more. What fascinates me about this book are the intentional and complex contextual frames that Hopper and Churchill have created. These challenge the reader to examine, understand, and appreciate each artist within a number of varying environments: the artist’s evolving work, her changing life situation, her affiliations with other artists, her relationships to the wider world of art, and – importantly, since these are visual artists – her perceptions of the wide landscapes, open horizons, and vast skies of West Texas.”
For more information on these and other Texas Tech University Press books, visit www.ttupress.org. Local vendors interested in ordering the book may contact Texas Tech University Press at (800) 832-4042, fax (806) 742-2979. For more information or review copies, contact the TTUP marketing department, (806) 742-2982 or ttup@ttu.edu.
