Heather McMahan Sculpture

Mother: A Collection of Interpretations

The Gallery at Guadalupe Arts Center

For all the amazing moms out there, including my own, "Mother: A Collection of Interpretations"; is for you. Featuring the work of mother and daughter Sandra Hulse and Elizabeth Steving, this exhibition celebrates and honors women, motherhood, and family. A mother-daughter team whose artmaking practices extend over three generations, both Hulse and Steving are fortunate to have grown up amid families and environments that encouraged their artistic practices. With the support of her mother Nelda Freeze, Hulse began her art career as a fabric artist. Recently, however, she has turned her attention to oil paintings, a selection of which is on view at the gallery.

In these works, Hulse applies her interest in pattern and design to the paint medium, creating boldly colored compositions of serene beauty. Steving, in contrast, left her West Texas roots behind to study furniture finishing at the Finishing School and the Parsons School of Design in New York City. After returning to a more cosmopolitan part of Texas, she spent several years doing finishing work in Dallas. To satisfy her creative needs, however, Steving also began to paint and soon developed a stunning body of work in which she combined her training as a finishing artist with her interest in issues of womanhood. Steving's featured paintings, which form part of a series called "Woman Unrealized", belong to this group.

To round out the "family" theme, a selection of oil landscapes by Hulse's husband Max are also on view, as are works by Central Texas artists Michael Del Giudice, Tina Weitz, Brian Keeper, Tina Hudock, Catherine McMillan, Amy Joynt, Deborah Proist, Laura Cano, Betty Jameson, Gary Flemmons, Melissa Oden, Arye Shapiro, and Heather McMahan. The contributions by this group of artists also address various themes of motherhood and add the finishing touches to an already compelling exhibition.

Opening:	Thursday, May 1, 6-9pm; Exhibit continues through June 15.
Artist Talk:	with Hulse and Steving, Saturday, May 3 at 3pm
Hours:	Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-6pm.
Address:	1705 Guadalupe in Austin, TX
Phone:	(512) 473-3775