“The sculptures emerge from the making, from the initial process of joining pieces of wood anticipating the evolution of forms in significant relationship, which becomes the focus for exploration. I prefer not to plan but to discover surprises. The titles come later and are suggestive. The drawings follow the hand in the same way. What is not planned cannot be … Outside of Time: Philip John Evett (1923-2016)

International Holocaust Remembrance Day takes place each year on January 27th, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. This exhibition highlights the history of the Holocaust, displacement and mass murder of Jewish people, the role Texans played as liberators, and the history of Abilene’s Jewish community.

“The exhibition title ‘Journey’ refers to both my own life’s journey, ‘looking’, as well as the visual journey I want to share with you.” -Kate Breakey For this exhibition, Journey, Kate Breakey draws from several bodies of work made over several decades of image making. Breakey has always altered her photographic images. Over her 40-year career, her techniques include hand … Kate Breakey: Journey

“A statement attributed to Ansel Adams is: ‘You don’t take a photograph, you make it’. Robert Langham has embraced that concept and taken his art one step further.” -Geoffrey Koslov, New Visions-Part 1: Still Life Photography, May 22, 2018 Robert Langham’s kinetic still life, logic defying, photographs are made with a magician’s slight-of-hand and the skill of a master-of-the-darkroom. Spending … Magic & Logic: Robert Langham III

Conan Chadbourne studied mathematics and physics at New York University and has worked in experimental physics research, digital imaging and printing, graphic design, and documentary film production. His work is motivated by a fascination with the occurrence of mathematical and scientific imagery in traditional art forms, and the frequently mystical or cosmological significance found in such imagery. Mathematical themes both … Divine Order: Conan Chadbourne

ART + SCIENCE = WONDER The common misconception that art and science are so vastly different, that they never overlap, is discredited by two contemporary artists, Rusty Scruby and Shawn Smith, whose work proves that the union of these two disciplines, like the brain’s neuropathways between our right (artistic) and left (analytical) hemispheres, is the sweet spot known as creativity.  … Deliberate Distraction: Shawn Smith and Rusty Scruby

Award-winning photographer and physician, Dr. Paul Sokal MD, explores the rapid pace of technological change through large format color photographs of the relics of once-revolutionary products now replaced by cell phones. According to Sokal, “As our world becomes increasingly complex and technology dependent, I am often drawn back to my mid-century childhood when the world at least seemed simpler. The … Before iPhone: Photography by Paul Sokal

Selections from the Judge B. Michael and Elise Chitty Collection Mike and Elise Chitty’s interest in art began shortly after they married in 1977. As of 2017, their private collection consists of more than 400 works of art and artifacts and counting. For the collectors, each object contains the history of creative expression and the experience of discovery.  The couple’s … The Fine Art of Collecting

The Grace Museum is collaborating with Abilene Christian University’s Introduction to Public History: Interpreting American Pasts course to create monthly exhibitions that coincide with different cultural heritage months throughout the year. These exhibitions highlight the narratives of various cultural groups that are integral to Abilene’s history while weaving these stores into the broader historical fabric of the United States. Hispanic … Hispanic Heritage Month – Cultural Heritage Exhibition 2022

The Grace Museum is collaborating with Abilene Christian University’s Introduction to Public History: Interpreting American Pasts course to create monthly exhibitions that coincide with different cultural heritage months throughout the year. These exhibitions highlight the narratives of various cultural groups that are integral to Abilene’s history while weaving these stores into the broader historical fabric of the United States. November … Native American Heritage Month – Cultural Heritage Exhibition 2022

Capturing a likeness goes back to the earliest of times, however, with the invention of cameras in the 1800s, portraits became more popular and easily attainable. Cartes-de-visite and Cabinet Cards were albumen prints mounted on small cards, typically portraits of the subject. The Cartes-de-visite, invented in France, were smaller cards made between the 1860s and 1870s. A larger portrait, called … Early Photographic Portraits from the Permanent Collection

From the founding of the city through the 1950s, Downtown Abilene was a bustling focal point of the city. However, with the decline of the railroad and growth toward the south, like many cities in the United States, the downtown area saw a decline in business and activity overall despite the municipal presence. By the 1980s, several vacant buildings sat … Downtown Revitalization Beginnings: Part II

The Grace Museum proudly presents “Citizens at Last: The Woman Suffrage Movement in Texas,” an exhibition produced by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. “Citizens at Last” is made possible in part by a We the People grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 ended … Citizens at Last: The Woman Suffrage Movement in Texas

From the Gibson Girl to the Flapper, women’s fashion evolution from the early 1900s to the 1920s in the United States was due to new economic and social factors for women. These three decades were a defining time as many women fought for the right to vote, joined the work force during World War I, and changed the traditional social … Women’s Fashion Evolution: 1900s – 1920s, from the Permanent Collection

Russian American artist, Igor Melnikov, challenges traditional associations with portraiture through his haunting paintings of emotionally ambiguous children isolated on a dark background. Although he often bases his paintings on children he knows, he also relies on old photographs as well as memories and dreams for details. He states that his main objective is not to record a likeness, but … Igor Melnikov: Dreamwatcher

British artist Sarah Ball is inspired by historical photographs but with a very different outcome. Using 19th and 20th century photographic archives of mug shots, Ball creates a series of intimate portraits of anonymous protagonists. Ellis Island immigrants, demonstrators and suspected criminals stare directly at the viewer.  The meticulously rendered, expressionless faces, taken out of context are arrestingly human. The … Sarah Ball: An Unlikely Likeness