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Thornton Dial in the 21st Century
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On view through January 8, 2006 at the Audrey Jones Beck Building
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Thornton Dial, Sr., Lost
Courtesy of the artist and Tinwood Media, Atlanta
© Thornton Dial, Sr.
Born in 1928 in a tiny town in Sumter County, Alabama, Thornton Dial did not gain recognition as a major artist until the late 1980s. He had always worked with his hands and had made "things" as a young man, and as an adult he was employed as a welder at the Pullman Standard Railroad Car factory in Bessemer. Dial and his wife, Clara, reared five children in the Bessemer community known as "Pipe Shop." The years of difficult work welding railroad cars would prepare Dial well for producing monumental sculpture and assemblages.
In a work by Thornton Dial, one witnesses the intense struggle of the artist to master the demanding materials that he has deliberately acquired to make art. It is this visible tension that characterizes Dial´s three-dimensional works. Equally adept in the media of painting, assemblage, sculpture, and works on paper, Dial creates art that is arresting for its power and insight, and for its visual flights of freedom. Dial´s works can be, by turn, humorous and reflective, and they are always challenging.
Dial is an artist who defies categorization. Early in his career, he was described as a "self-taught" artist who created "vernacular" art. However, the self-assurance of his works, coupled with his heroic vision and determination to fuse the boundaries between painting and sculpture, place him squarely within the arena of contemporary artists who are constantly forging new visual territories. It is this decisiveness that brings his work repeatedly to the attention of writers, collectors, and museums. Dial began to create his complex assemblages relatively late in life, and much of his work is inspired by his response to social and political events. Two of Dial´s sons, Richard and Thornton, Jr., are also artists.
Thornton Dial was featured in the 1998 Whitney Biennial exhibition and his works are included in the permanent collections of the High Museum of Art, the Milwaukee Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The MFAH recently received a major gift of three works by Dial including Lost Farm (Billy Goat Hill); Freedom, and Cotton Field Sky Still Over My Head.
This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Tinwood Alliance, Atlanta.
Major corporate sponsorship is provided by Continental Airlines
Additional generous support is provided by:
Marilyn Oshman
Stephanie Smither
Texas Commission on the Arts
Anita and Gerald Smith
Members of the MFAH African American Art Advisory Association
Related Events:
Creation Station - Fun for All Ages
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Sunday, October 23, 2005 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Creation Station: Painterly Pieces
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Sunday, November 13, 2005 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Creation Station: Painterly Pieces - Thornton Dial exhibition
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Sunday, December 4, 2005 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Creation Station: Scrap Art
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Sunday, October 2, 2005 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Creation Station: Tactile Towers
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Sunday, September 25, 2005 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Educator Event Rescheduled: Thornton Dial - A Special Evening
At the Caroline Wiess Law Building
Thursday, October 6, 2005 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday, October 13, 2005 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Exhibition Lectures
At the Caroline Wiess Law Building
Saturday, October 15, 2005 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Exploring the MFAH: Thornton Dial in the 21st Century
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Thursday, November 3, 2005 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Saturday, November 5, 2005 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Thursday, November 10, 2005 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Saturday, November 12, 2005 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Thursday, November 17, 2005 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Saturday, November 19, 2005 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday, December 14, 2005 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Hearst Foundation Evenings for Educators: Thornton Dial - Artist and Storyteller - CANCELLED
At the Caroline Wiess Law Building
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 5:30 PM - 8:30 AM
Members Daytime Preview - CANCELLED
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Saturday, September 24, 2005 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Members Preview Lecture - CANCELLED
At the Caroline Wiess Law Building
Friday, September 23, 2005 6:00 PM
Members Preview Party
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Friday, October 14, 2005 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sketching in the Galleries - For All Ages
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Sunday, October 23, 2005 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Spotlight On: Thornton Dial in the 21st Century.
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Saturday, October 1, 2005 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
, 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Saturday, October 8, 2005 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
, 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Saturday, October 15, 2005 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
, 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Saturday, October 22, 2005 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
, 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Saturday, October 29, 2005 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
, 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Spotlight On: Thornton Dial in the 21st Century
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Thursday, October 6, 2005 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Thursday, October 13, 2005 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Thursday, October 20, 2005 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Thursday, October 27, 2005 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Thursday, December 1, 2005 7:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Saturday, December 3, 2005 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
, 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Thursday, December 8, 2005 7:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Saturday, December 10, 2005 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
, 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Thursday, December 15, 2005 7:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Saturday, December 17, 2005 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
, 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Teacher Workshop: Thornton Dial - Artist and Storyteller - CLOSED
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building
Saturday, October 1, 2005 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Saturday, October 8, 2005 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
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