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

Joe Barrington, Little Lil' Joe's Toy Truck Salvage, mixed media, 2007, courtesy of the artist

(Click on image above for larger version)

Barrington sculpture on display at The Grace

part of summer consortium exhibit

Abilene, TX (July 12, 2008) - A whimsical, entertaining and engaging sculpture titled "Little Lil' Joe's Toy Truck Salvage" by Joe Barrington is on display at The Grace Museum.

The Grace, along with four other nationally accredited art museums that comprise the West Texas Triangle Consortium, are presenting a region-wide exhibition of Barrington's work. Each museum will exhibit a work by Barrington throughout the summer of 2008. The other museums are The Ellen Noel Museum in Odessa, The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, The Old Jail Art Center in Albany, and The Museum of the Southwest in Midland.

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. 

This summer the Triangle features the work of 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.

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 .