West Texas Triangle: Barrington
Sculpture Park/Museum Grounds
The five outstanding art museums that are partners in the West Texas Triangle are presenting a region-wide exhibition of the work of Texas sculptor Joe Barrington. Each museum will exhibit a work by Barrington throughout the summer of 2008.
- The Ellen Noël Museum of Odessa will hold an reception with the artist on June 12th.
- The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts is exhibiting Barrington’s monumental longhorn steer on its grounds.
- The Old Jail Art Center in Albany, which owns and displays a major Barrington piece, "Tex," the Roustabout, on its grounds, will be exhibiting Barrington's small-scale sculpture along with some of his drawings. To open the show, Barrington and assistants, in a free performance, will tell "Tall Tales" related to his humorous sculpture in the museum's sculpture courtyard on June 21 at 7 p.m.
- The Grace Museum in Abilene will display a piece specially made for the site that will complement its summer exhibition of automobile depictions.
- The Museum of the Southwest in Midland is arranging an opening reception in June on the sculpture park grounds of the museum.
In 2006, the consortium began a collective campaign using the tag line” West Texas Triangle – The Space for Art.” Its first collaboration was exhibition of the works of internationally known Texas sculptor Jesus Moroles during the summer of 2007. We encourage you to “Travel the Triangle” and discover a surprisingly sophisticated arts community!
This summer we feature the work of Joe Barrington, a sculptor who employs a sense of humor along with his welding torch. The artist tells how his father gave him his first welding hood at the age of two as he followed his dad around the shop. Cutting, welding, and forming steel has been in his blood ever since. Making art was a natural progression with an understanding of the materials and technique.
Barrington received his BFA in sculpture from Midwestern State University in 1980 and has been steadily welding his way onto the professional art scene. He lives and works in west Texas. His home is in Throckmorton, with his studio and gallery space located on the picturesque town square of Albany. His sculpture is drawn from a lifetime of living in rural Texas, with the people, animals, and folklore all being an integral part of the tales he shares with his viewers. Barrington will make appearances during the summer at each museum to talk about his work, so please watch for announcements of these events.
Images:
Top: 3B Longhorn Bull, 2008, Joe Barrington, welded steel, private collection
Middle: "Tiny" the Driller on Daylight Tour, Rig #1, Lil’ Joe's Drilling Co. (detail); Hand-formed welded steel; 5' x 7' x 4', Collection of the artist
Bottom: Black Market Crappie, 2008, Joe Barrington, Welded steel, paint, found object; Collection of the Artist
