Come Forward: Emerging Art in Texas

SUZANNE WEAVER is associate curator of contemporary art at the Dallas Museum of Art.LANE RELYEA, formerly associate director of the Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is an assistant professor of art theory and practice at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

This innovative, non-traditional museum catalogue offers an intelligent and in-depth examination of new work by a group of eleven artists living and working in Texas. Come Forward is a richly layered experience with relevance and resonance beyond the Red River. It is a fascinating picture of a generation of artists now emerging and of the vigor and vitality of art in Texas. Not only does this group of imaginative and talented artists--Augusto di Stephano, Adrian Esparza, Joey Fauerso, Robyn O'Neil, Robert Pruitt, Juan Miguel Ramos, Irene Roderick, Chris Sauter, Brent Steen, Marshall Thompson, and Brad Tucker--provide a reminder of the high quality of art being made here, they also indicate a bull market in Texas art futures. The catalogue essays provide an overall investigation of the practices and strategies of a new generation of university and art school trained artists, who at the beginning, critical stages of their career are facing the current and challenging situation of making work which can emerge from the privacy of their studio and successfully address its public. Furthermore, there are three short essays in the catalogue by young writers associated with strong critical writing programs in Texas and artist statements, biographies and exhibition histories of the eleven selected artists. This book is being produced in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name taking place at the Dallas Museum of Art from February 23 through May 11, 2003. Both will kickoff the DMA's centennial anniversary by paying tribute to the energy and creativity that have always characterized Texas art and the traditions of excellence and innovation that carry through to the present day. Distributedin Association with the Dallas Museum of Art