Contact:
Dan Carpenter
(325) 673-4587
Marketing@thegracemuseum.org

Grace opens zany exhibition of artwork

ABILENE, TX (December 5, 2008) – The Grace Museum is opening a zany, contemporary exhibition of artwork December 16 by Houston artists Michael Galbreth and Jack Massing … aka The Art Guys.

The exhibit, titled The Art Guys: Failed Schemes & Pipe Dreams, features selections from 25 years of the team’s drawings and proposals.

"As the title implies, the exhibition features proposals for works of art that did, did not and often just could not come to fruition and includes drawings, maquettes, ephemera and documentation,” said Judy Deaton, Curator of Art & Exhibits for The Grace.  “Several works from the series 101 of the World’s Greatest Sculpture Proposals will be on view, including The Big Sneeze (Study), and Suitcase Wheel (Study). A letter from the billboard commissioned by Absolut Vodka will be on display from Absolutly 1,000 Coats of Paint. The project evolved over a nine-month period as The Art Guys applied approximately three coats of paint a day to the three-dimensional letters and bottle on a billboard on display in Houston’s Galleria area.”

The exhibition will also include studies from Travel Light, the public art project made of 360 cast translucent suitcases illuminated with computer controlled L.E.D. lights that is permanently installed in the international baggage claim area of Terminal E at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport.

“When applying descriptors for what it is that they actually do, it is difficult to choose just one. Their work falls under the categories of visual, performance and conceptual art. It is often described as low-brow, slapstick, engaging, entertaining or amusing,” said Alexandra Irvine, Galveston Art Center’s executive director. “Overall, the one consistent thing that the Art Guys do is create cleverly conceived ways to poke fun at their own chosen profession and the elitist or high-brow attitude — often rightly so — attributed to the fine art world.”

The exhibition was organized by Galveston Art Center curator Clint Willour.

The Art Guys: Failed Schemes & Pipe Dreams, will be on display in The Grace’s second floor galleries through February 20. A public opening reception is set for January 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The exhibition is sponsored Steve Burgh, in honor of Haley Burgh, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

The Grace Museum is open from 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.

For more information, call 325-673-4587.

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The Grace Museum's exhibitions and educational programs are supported in part by grants from 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 listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1909, The Hotel Grace served as a rest stop for railway travelers. The mission-style building was renovated and re-opened in 1992 as The Grace Cultural Center. The Grace Museum , a non-profit organization, now serves as a home to a Children's Museum, History Museum , and Art Museum. At 55,000 sq. ft., The Grace Museum is the 10th largest general museum in Texas . The Grace Museum is the cornerstone of cultural arts and education in West Texas .