Valley House Gallery

VALLEY HOUSE GALLERY // JUN 01 // 6-8.30PM

6616 Spring Valley Road, Dallas, TX 75254
(between Preston and Hillcrest)
972.239.2441
www.valleyhouse.com
Hours: Monday through Saturday
from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Admission: Free

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David H. Gibson: Mist Poems
+
Jim Stoker: Riparian Landscapes
June 1 - July 6, 2013

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David H. Gibson
Vine and Tree, Village Creek, Texas
10 1/2 x 10 3/8 inches

Jim Stoker
Cactus Wren in Ocatillo 2012
40 x 48 1/8 inches

David H. Gibson: Mist Poems

Valley House Gallery is pleased to present our ninth solo exhibition of David H. Gibson's
photography since 1990. A catalogue accompanies this exhibition, which previously
traveled to The Grace Museum in Abilene and the Art Museum of Southeast Texas in
Beaumont. This exhibition includes 17 photographs, all gelatin silver prints, selenium
toned, as well as an artist book of 17 pigment prints. Spanning Gibson's entire oeuvre,
subjects include East Texas, the Texas Gulf Coast, the Texas Hill Country, West Texas,
Kentucky, New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Spain.

About this body of work, David H. Gibson writes:

"The photographs in these exhibitions are made in the moments before sunrise - or just
after. I am drawn to the edges of ponds, lakes, and streams when the warm water
interacts with cool morning air. This condition produces wispy mist, rising fog, or
sometimes a blanket of fog. Atmospheric forms evolve in unexpected ways from quiet
movements in the air. The tonal range is continuous, with even transitions from the
very lightest areas to those of greatest contrast. The light is quiet, and the mist and
fog add a comforting presence. As the sun begins to burn, the unexpected is
revealed. The tempo of excitement is increased by the unfolding drama of
ethereal dancing forms. One is a spectator in a theater of surprise and wonder.
I am drawn to experiences that give harmony to an inner life. This is where I find
poetry and magic in the land."

Jim Stoker: Riparian Landscapes

Valley House Gallery is pleased to present our second solo exhibition of Jim Stoker's
paintings. Following our 2011 retrospective exhibition, for which we published a
retrospective catalogue on Stoker's work, this exhibition focuses on his recent
"confetti-splatter" paintings.

Jim Stoker was born in Nash, Texas (near Texarkana) in 1935, and grew up in Atlanta,
Texas. From a young age, his interests were nature and art. He attended the University
of Texas at Austin (because he heard it provided the best art education in Texas) and
graduated with a BFA in Applied Art in 1957 (having studied with some of the great
Texas artists of that period.) During his time at UT, Stoker took as many figure classes
as possible, which he felt prepared him to become an artist. He followed with a
MA in Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking from New Mexico Highlands University in
1962. Stoker embarked on a teaching career which culminated in a 30 year tenure
at Trinity University in San Antonio, where he retired as Professor of Art, Emeritus, in 1996.
All along, he painted; at first he turned to the urban environment for inspiration
(painting traffic lights, expressways, and road sweepers), then later realized Nature
was his true muse. He turned to painting sweeping landscapes of distant vistas and
mountain ranges in Texas and the Southwest (New Mexico has long been a favorite
camping and hiking destination.) Since his retirement from teaching, Stoker’s
main goal in painting is to pursue a direction in his art that is the truest expression
of his personal vision. Stemming from his continuing search for richer color, his
developing interest in studying subjects close-up, and his love of the wild flowers
and plants of Central Texas, Stoker has developed a new technique, which he
refers to as “confetti-splatter.” Through his development of this process, he paints
the matrix of native plants found in the wild, letting the experimental nature of
his technique prompt him in new directions.

The “confetti-splatter” technique begins by placing an umber-toned canvas on
the floor then scattering hand-cut confetti across the canvas. On top of these
irregularly shaped bits of confetti, he splatters the canvas with ten or more different
colors in a sequential manner. Once the splatter is almost dry, Stoker scrapes off
the confetti, to reveal richly colored shapes that chance created. The confetti-
splatter becomes the textural ground of the painting, as well as the background,
“holding the plants in place with an intricate matrix of tiny color bits.” (Paula D. Stone)
He begins to slowly paint with tiny brushes and a great deal of thinking. Stoker says,
“I want to see how far I can take it. I experiment a lot and take a lot of chances. I
can’t tell how it will look until the end of the process; until then it looks disorganized –
just a disaster. I’m worrying the whole time, is this going to work out or not?”

In using the flat ground of the confetti-splatter technique, he largely eschews
shadowing and perspective. His technique emphasizes the surface patterns and
he uses color, rather than light and dark, to describe forms.

As a naturalist, Stoker is drawn to native plants of Central Texas such as penstemon
wildflowers, cedar sage, sumac, redbuds, buckeyes, salvia, spiderwort, the golden
ball lead tree, ocotillo and huisache. The vivid and varied colors of these plants
draw the eye of this artist who, with his wife, ceramic artist Eloise Stoker, helped
organize the San Antonio Group (now the Alamo Group) of the Sierra Club in 1968.
Jim Stoker served as their first chairman and both Stokers received the highest honor
from the Texas Sierra Club chapter in 1977. Of the native plants found on the gravel
bar in the river bottom of the Guadalupe near his cabin, which he has studied since
1957, Stoker says, “these wildflowers are not spectacular – but when I put my face
three inches from the clammy weeds – intricate, delicate details emerge that most
people would never notice.”

About this exhibition, Jim Stoker writes:

"For many years, my studies as a painter and naturalist have focused upon the riverine
zones of the upper Guadalupe River. My wife, Eloise, and I have researched these waters,
from headwater springs to where this waterway meets salt water at the coast. My
introduction to the family’s twenty-two acres on one side of the fast moving Guadalupe
River was in 1957. We have spent a great deal of time there, in a cottage and in a
simple cabin studio nearby, observing nature from the vantage point of a canoe or
on foot.

Being able to study riparian features during all seasons, over a long period of time,
makes it possible to better understand the ecological balance of the Guadalupe
environment. As a result, subject matter for oil paintings has become more personal,
reflecting our life and awareness of river ecology, in a manner that someone just
passing by could never understand.

Science is an important part of my studies. I have learned about the exquisite
interrelationships that bind all life forms into one complex system. Riparian areas
occur on both sides of a stream, including the entire drainage system. A healthy
river bottom is covered by thick vegetation, which most people do not understand
in their belief that it is too overgrown and shaggy. This painter wants to paint from
understanding and knowledge, not merely to search for scenic views. Understanding
the world around us has been important to my development as a creative person.

A few years ago we were able to obtain a wildlife exemption on our property, which
gives needed relief on county property taxes. Domestic animals are not allowed to
graze and fencing enforces this. It has been exciting to observe nature beginning
to restore riparian health. As our beloved stretch of river bank begins to recover, we
are amazed at the diversity of plants beginning to grow, many never seen by us
on this site. Cypress tree seedlings, new grasses, and wildflowers just to name a
few. So much new subject matter – where do I begin?"

Stoker's work is in the collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, The Blanton Museum
of Art at The University of Texas at Austin, the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio,
and the San Antonio Museum of Art.