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Nathan Driskell
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Sculptor Surls returns to “the Heartland” with
landmark exhibition at The Grace Museum

ABILENE, Texas (April 8, 2009) – Internationally acclaimed American sculptor James Surls is returning to the Heartland—his home state of Texas. Twenty-one sculptures and 12 large-scale drawings by the artist will be on view May 2 through August 22 at The Grace Museum in Abilene, Texas, in the exhibition James Surls: From the Heartland.

The exhibition will feature Surls’ most recent sculpture in wood, steel and bronze created in response to his 2005 ink and graphite drawings on paper, also included in the exhibition. Grace Museum Chief Curator Judy Deaton worked closely with the artist to create a significant exhibition and publication of his most recent work.

In tandem with the exhibition, the museum is publishing a large hardcover book of Surls’ work from 2005 – 2008. Designed by Don Quaintance of Houston, the publication, entitled James Surls: From the Heartland, will be available May 2. The book, which will sell for $65, features rich photographs of Surls’ recent work, as well as essays contributed by Susie Kalil, Hiram Butler and Patterson Sims, three of the nation’s foremost authorities on contemporary art.

The exhibition and accompanying book will examine the result of Surls’ transformative move from the forests of East Texas to the mountains of Carbondale, Colorado.  According to Surls, The Grace Museum in Abilene, Texas is situated in “the Heartland”.

“In many ways,” the artist said, “The Grace Museum is the heart of the American art landscape.”

James Surls: From the Heartland is a key component of the 2009 centennial celebration of the historic Hotel Grace, now the home of The Grace Museum in Abilene. Built as a hotel for railway travelers in 1909, the 55,000 square-foot building once represented the pioneering spirit of the western frontier, and today serves as a cultural hub for the region.

”The union of West Texas prairie aspirations at the turn of the last century, and Surls’ early 21st century artistic celebration of the American landscape are a perfect fit,” Deaton said. “The human transformation, in particular James Surls’ artistic evolution in relation to his surrounding landscape resounds in his most recent drawings and sculpture.”

The art of James Surls has been featured in national and international solo and group exhibitions and is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of Art in New York; the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; The Denver Art Museum; the Milwaukee Art Museum; the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; the Museum of Fine Arts Houston; and the Dallas Museum of Art. Surls was awarded the “Living Legend Award” from the Dallas Contemporary Art Center in 1993 and the “Texas Artist of the Year” award in 1991.

The Grace Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums, and houses five art galleries, a children’s museum and a history museum.  At 55,000 square feet, The Grace Museum is the tenth largest general museum in Texas, and is the cornerstone of cultural arts and education in West Texas. The museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Grace Museum is a non-profit organization, and the museum’s exhibitions and educational programs are supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council, the City of Abilene, Taylor County, and the Downtown Revitalization Program of the Tax Increment Finance District.

The Grace Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday. Admission is free Thursday evening after 5 p.m.

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