George Irwin, Western Gallery Director and Curator

What is a Texas Woman? That’s the question Western Gallery, a virtual art gallery, wants you to ponder with their new show, Texas Women.

“A lot of people think of Texas Women as big hair and taking no lip, but a strong point of view is also a common trait,” said Western Gallery Director and Curator George Irwin.

“We saw this show as an opportunity to reinterpret the legend of this great state through the eyes of its female citizens, and to recognize them for their work, which is second to none.”

‘Shanielle Dean in Giant’ by Felice House, oil on canvas.

The virtual exhibition, which features the work of 19 female artists from across the state of Texas, was actually inspired by the gallery’s spring exhibition New Western Talent, which highlighted up-and-coming 2-D artists. Irwin noticed that of the hundreds of applicants who submitted work to the show, 20% of the people selected by the jury to show their work were women.

‘Unbridled” by Landry McMeans, archival corrugated board & acrylic

“I just thought that was a really impressive representation by the state and it just created the idea of doing a show to highlight women artists in Texas. Which just made perfect sense, given the fact that women artists are generally and historically under represented. It just seemed like a good chance for me to something to make a little bit of a difference there.”

‘Off Trail’ by Kerri S. Menchaca, oil on stainless steel,

There are over 80 works in the show representing a diverse and wide range of styles and distinct perspectives of the American West–abstract to photorealistic, classic to contemporary.

Paintings make up most of the work on display, but Irwin notes there are a few artists that do mixed media work on a number of different surfaces such as Kerri Menchaca who works on stainless steel and Landry McMeans who does her work on archival corrugated board. There is also a chain-stitched piece by fiber artist Dana Falconberry in the show.

Texas Women is on display at Western Gallery through Oct. 25.

Got a tip? Email Therese Powell at tpowell@kera.org. You can follow her on Twitter @TheresePowell13

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