The town of Marfa, where my art is on display at Galleri Urbane, is a small West Texas town. Every time I visit Marfa I see changes. At one time Marfa was the home to ranchers and long time Hispanic families. Since the arrival of Donald Judd, minimalistic sculpture artist, and his purchase of many of the old military buildings, this town has undergone change. Mr. Judd has passed away but he lives on through the Chinati Foundation. If you visit Marfa not only will you see the old large former military buildings, but many of the buildings on the main street bare the lettering of Judd.
The arrival of new residents brings more change. In addition to the cowboys, ranchers, and ranch hands, Marfa is attracting a new population of creators and art lovers. At my art opening I met writers, artists, film makers, gallery owners and art connoisseurs. With this migration of creators to this small town comes a new sensibility, a new way of seeing West Texas. Instead of looking to this expansive and remote land to scratch out a living, now what is required of this landscape is inspiration. Big land and big sky gives you time to think. There is clarity here. No distractions. I know for me, returning home to Southern California is a shock and jolt. There are too many people, buildings, cars and the grocery store is too far away for me to walk to.
Here are a few photographs to illustrate old and new Marfa, Texas.
Old Marfa:
New Marfa:
NBC nightly News just did a piece tonight about Marfa. The films No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood were both shot there. They even went into Gallery Urbane and I thought for a second they were going to show your work, but they didn’t. Your paintings look amazing in the gallery.
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