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EXTENDED Libbie Masterson: STILL

Presented by Houston Arts Alliance - space125gallery at Houston Arts Alliance - Alliance Gallery (formerly space125gallery)

December 10, 2009-February 19, 2010

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Houston-based photographer, Libbie Masterson, will install a photographic exhibition of the remote areas of West Texas entitled STILL at space125gallery located at 3201 Allen Parkway.

Funded by an Individual Artists Grant courtesy of the Houston Arts Alliance, the exhibit will open Thursday, December 10, 2009 with an artist reception that is open to the public from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The gallery will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the show will remain on view through Thursday, January 7. Extended through February 19, 2010.

Previously, Masterson has based her massive photographic exhibits on luminescent, icy scenes. For December’s show, she strays from this realm to explore what could be considered the most extreme opposite - yet possesses beauty equally as majestic – the rugged landscapes of the state’s western regions. STILL will be comprised of Masterson’s latest collection of black and white images shot in the mysterious evening light. The effect of the dimming light as it situates into the night sky emanates nostalgia and timeless preservation, and with this exhibition, Masterson succeeds in emulating the serenity of nightfall across the land she describes as “so foreign and yet right in our home.”

The name was chosen to reflect the stillness associated with nightfall and also the unchanged landscape there. Simultaneously, a single-cell photograph is referred to as a “still.” Playing upon the various connotations of this word, the exhibit is intended to display the grand openness of the vast territory while emphasizing an intimate connection, provoking nostalgia within the viewer.

Bringing the scale down to a more personal level, Masterson has also stepped away from the wall-scaling effects of the larger-than-life exhibits and compiled a portfolio of single images. Her intentions of distilling tranquility and delivering it to those who behold the photographs, reading through them “like a book or a family album,” are directed at inspiring the viewer to “be still oneself.”

Masterson comes from a family of many artists. This background provided direction to follow a path experimenting with such varying visual art mediums as painting, glass blowing, printmaking, stone carving among others. Although painting has historically been her preferred artistic outlet, a timely “accident” let her to explore the world of photography in depth. Taking shots of Iceland’s frozen brilliance to document areas she intended to paint, she decided the images were breathtaking as photographs by themselves.

Driven by her desire to psychologically transport those who view her work to the elusive landscape pictured as the subject, she began constructing illuminated exhibits where the images glow from the photographic panels. She has now been photographing for four years installing massive, panoramic exhibitions, which bring these intangible places within feet of city dwellers.

She began her extensive education of the Fine Arts at a young age by taking classes at the Glassell School of Art junior school. Much later down the road, she earned a BFA at the California College of Art (formerly the California College of Arts and Crafts). She supplemented her studies with classes at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington and Parsons School of Design in Paris. The Houston native has been represented locally by the Meredith Long Gallery where her paintings were shown for a decade, the Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and she is proud to be a part of the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Her talents have recently spilled over onto the stage upon being commissioned by the Dominic Walsh Dance. Theatre to create a stage design for the production, “Amadeus.” It has been performed in Houston, Sarasota Florida, and New York City and was then developed into a full-length ballet titled “Mozart” - more - Masterson / page three with the Sarasota Ballet Company for the 2008-09 season. Her work will also lend its ambiance to the Tokyo Ballet in May 2010.

Currently she is fulfilling a residency at the Dora Maar House in Menerbes, France, a Brown Foundation Fellowship awarded through the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

About the Houston Arts Alliance: The Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) is a 501C3 non-profit arts organization. The mission is to support and promote artistic life in the Houston region through programs, initiatives and alliances. Advancing the nonprofit arts industry in Greater Houston improves the region’s quality of life, ensures a competitive economy, and creates an appealing tourist destination. As one of the country’s fastest growing cities and the world’s energy capital, Houston is now a center for art of extraordinary caliber and diversity. However, as a comparatively new city, Houston has not yet achieved national recognition as a cultural destination.

Through alliances with business, education, tourism and arts leadership, HAA is charged with elevating the visibility of the arts in Houston, increasing audiences, and promoting regional cultural tourism. HAA is also charged with promoting Houston as an arts capital, thereby increasing tourism to Houston and affirming Houston’s growing reputation for quality of life.

About space125gallery: Since its opening on December 5, 2003, space125gallery has been showcasing the work of its Individual Artists Fellowship recipients. The 1,500 sq. ft. gallery space at the Houston Center for the Arts exhibits approximately 7 shows and installations every year. Exhibits are free and open to the public. space125gallery is on the ground level of the Center for the Arts building, located at 3201 Allen Parkway (one block west of the intersection of Waugh and Allen Parkway). The gallery will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Funding for space125gallery is provided by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.

For more information, please see http://www.haatx.com/programs/special-opportunites/space125gallery/.