The High Desert near Abiquiu is the inspiration for Texas artist Jim Woodson.  His paintings are a unity of the intuitive process of painting, personal ideology, and the desert landscape.  Woodson embraces the concepts of time, space, and knowledge in his work.  He received his BFA from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth in 1965, and his MFA from The University of Texas at Austin in 1967.  In 2014, Woodson was distinguished as Professor Emeritus at TCU, where he had been on the faculty since 1974.  In 2013, Woodson was appointed Texas State Artist of the Year (2D) by the Texas State Legislature and the Texas Commission on the Arts.  This designation is the state’s highest recognition for excellence in the arts.  This is Woodson’s third solo exhibition at Valley House Gallery.

About this recent body of work, Jim Woodson states:

These paintings draw inspiration from the high deserts of the southwest, mostly in Texas and New Mexico.  These 'outer' landscapes are modified by 'inner ones.'  The inner concerns are a dialogue with dreams, memories, thought fragments and streams of consciousness.  By the contextual placement or overlay of inner and outer, I hope to convey my own thoughts about the nature of imagination: to achieve a sense of the imagination’s movement (tempo) against a relatively unchanging environment (duration).

Opening Reception:  Saturday, August 29, 6:00 – 8:30 pm

Artist Talk:  Saturday, September 5, 11:00 am

“Jim Woodson: Desert Tempo Recollections” will be on view August 29 – October 3, 2015, at Valley House Gallery. Preview the exhibition at valleyhouse.com or call 972-239-2441 for information.