“The Artist’s Eye” Celebrates 40 Years

The Kimbell Art Museum celebrates the 40th anniversary of The Artist’s Eye, a signature program that invites contemporary artists and architects to talk about artworks in the museum’s acclaimed permanent collection as well as the iconic architecture in which they are displayed. These selected artists are invited to display one of their artworks in the galleries on the morning of their talks, which provide special insights into the rich artistic traditions, media and diverse cultures represented in the Kimbell collection. Moderated by Kimbell staff, The Artist’s Eye invites the public to consider the ongoing relevance of old masters from a contemporary point of view.

Since the first program debuted on November 6, 1982, with Fort Worth multimedia painter Vernon Fisher, The Artist’s Eye has welcomed more than 200 artists and architects including Julie Bozzi, Gary Cunningham, Jammie Holmes, Sedrick Huckaby, Benito Huerta, Nancy Lamb, Max Levy, Melissa Miller, Julie Speed, James Surls, Terri Thornton and Jim Woodson — to name just a few.

“The Artist’s Eye gallery talks are always exciting because they offer new voices and fresh perspectives, giving our visitors an opportunity to participate in a rich and thoughtful dialogue about art and art-making, across time and space,” said Nancy E. Edwards, curator of European art and head of academic services at the Kimbell.

This spring and summer, visual artists Matt Magee, Bale Creek Allen and Mihee Nahm join Kimbell staff to discuss their professional practice and relate older art to contemporary artistic concerns, including their own.

THE ARTIST’S EYE SCHEDULE

The program is free, and reservations are not required. Dates and details are subject to change. Please visit kimbellart.org/calendar and select “The Artist’s Eye” series for current information.

SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 11 a.m.

Matt Magee, artist, Phoenix

Matt Magee
Photo courtesy of the Kimbell

Moderated by George T. M. Shackelford, deputy director

Matt Magee moved to Arizona in 2012, after 30 years living in New York City, where he pursued an MFA at Pratt Institute and managed the lower Manhattan studio of the painter Robert Rauschenberg. Magee has what one author has described as an “omnivorous practice.” His practice is varied in what he himself makes—whether in painting, printmaking, paper making, sculpture or photography—and in what he uses as materials—including, for example, such nontraditional supplies as aluminum cans, detergent bottles, plastic bags, mica, scraps of tires or rubber inner tubes. Working with his hands to craft the work of art, he nonetheless emphasizes accumulative iterative processes like stacking, repetition and sequencing, giving his sculptures, prints and paintings an imbedded language and personal history.

SATURDAY, APRIL 29, 11 a.m.

Bale Creek Allen
Photo courtesy of the Kimbell

Bale Creek Allen, artist, Fort Worth

Moderated by Robert McAn, head of donor relations, membership, and special events

Bale Creek Allen was born in California to native Texan artist parents. In 2021, he moved to Fort Worth from Austin, where he had lived since 1991. His artwork embraces many mediums, from bronze sculpture, painting, photography, neon and woodwork to the spoken word, music and theater. Among his best-known works are tumbleweeds, tire treads and other detritus objects that he found while traveling the open road, painstakingly cast into bronze sculptures with a range of finishes, from gold to nickel. Whatever the medium, Allen, with a keen eye for composition and exquisite craftsmanship, reveals the inherent and suggestive narrative qualities of familiar objects. Allen received a degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Alongside his own studio practice, he operated Gallery 68 in Austin from 1995 to 2000 and opened BCA Gallery in 2016, which is now located in Fort Worth’s Near Southside.

SATURDAY, MAY 20, 11 a.m.

Mihee Nahm, artist, Grapevine

Mihee Nahm
Photo courtesy of the Kimbell

Moderated by Jennifer Casler Price, curator of Asian, African, and Ancient American art

Mihee Nahm creates densely layered oil paintings depicting everyday flora she photographs on daily walks. Formal elements such as color, texture, light, shape and form are selected and often digitally altered to communicate Nahm’s visual attraction while evoking a sense of longing. Starting with acrylic on a small scale, these images are drawn, and then a few are selected for life-sized renderings in oil. This labor-intensive way of creation emphasizes Nahm’s primary goal of mimesis. Although each individual painting goes through various approaches of fabrication, the consistency of added layers is evident throughout her work. Nahm holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin and a BFA from the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions nationally. She also has attended residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and Brush Creek Foundation. She is currently an Affiliate Professor of Art at the University of Dallas.