FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4/25/07

Contacts:
Artist—Fay Jean Hooker, 410-924-4467, fayjean@fayjeanhooker.com
Artist PR—Paige Hendricks or Susan Flyzik, 817-924-2300, sflyzik@phprinc.com
Museum—Haley Curry, 214.915.0871, hcurry@thewomensmuseum.org

SHOW OPENS AT THE WOMEN’S MUSEUM APRIL 26:
FAY JEAN HOOKER’S CONTEMPORARY WOODEN PAINTINGS
REFLECT AMERICAN MASTERPIECE QUILT PATTERNS

These Quilts Are Not for Snuggling

          (Dallas TX)… A series of vibrant contemporary wooden installations with a traditional inspiration will be on exhibit beginning this week at The Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future in Fair Park, Dallas, when artist Fay Jean Hooker opens “American Pattern Paintings: Wooden Quilts” for a seven week run.

           The exhibition will extend from April 26 through June 17, 2007, and the Museum has scheduled a public reception on Sunday, May 6, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the artist, a graduate of Southern Methodist University (SMU).

          In the exhibit are ten “paintings,” constructions that range in size from the 16-by-24-inch Texas Flag to the 76-by-64-inch Mosaic: Houses, which consists of 3,850 pieces. Sometimes massive yet always vibrant and intriguing, Ms. Hooker’s abstract collection is inspired by of one of the oldest of American women’s artistic expressions---the quilt.

          The paintings are in fact remarkable wooden quilts --- yes, wood rather than soft, pieced fabric to snuggle under. They exist purely for their color, pattern, and beauty. With a nod to American folk tradition and the legacy of quilting that has warmed this country for centuries, Ms. Hooker confronts the timeless impact of color and pattern movements in her contemporary works.

          Lively color variations create complex visual rhythms to reveal architectural purity in these wood constructions. Originally emanating from favorite quilt patterns, Ms. Hooker used a mathematical configuration for the prototype, then cut hundreds and sometimes thousands of individual puzzle pieces from birch plywood, sanded and painted them, finally adhering them to a wood backing.

          The works alternate between rigid geometry and artistic spontaneity. Formal structure interacts with spontaneous brush strokes and challenging color experiments. The seeming imperfection often found in old quilts is a “handmade” aesthetic she strives to honor, yielding a surprising blend of sculpture, painting, and quilt making.

          Fay Jean Hooker was surrounded by quilts passed down in her family for generations, having grown up with a West Texas backdrop of old barns, country churches, clear skies, and big sunsets. Each element in her youth has influenced her artistic direction. Quilt patterns were christened by the women who worked tirelessly at their art, giving them names like “drunkard path,” “cheater cloth,” “humble block” and others, monikers current to the times in which they were created. Of course, quilts were originally designed to keep families warm and have been honored as one of the original recycling initiatives.

          Utilizing cloth scraps from the making of clothes, women made functional blankets pieced together out of necessity, yet with artistic skills then passed down for generations in families like Hooker’s. The designs and intricate patterns reflect a greater attention to artistry and detail than perhaps was recognized at the time. This legacy greatly influenced Ms. Hooker, who today uses an artistic palette of paint and wood rather than fabric and thread.

          Fay Jean Hooker grew up in Abilene and Albany, Texas and graduated from SMU before completing graduate studies at Pratt Institute of Art in New York and launching her career. For the next three decades, her painting, drawing and small wood constructions combined to form her current body of work, the wall sculptures she is showing in Dallas.

          Ms. Hooker has shown in museums and galleries such as The Grace Museum, Abilene; Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC; the Old Jail Art Center, Albany, TX; International Biennale Contemporary Art, Arad, Romania; Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD; and Webb Gallery, Waxahachie, TX; and Evelyn Siegel Gallery, Fort Worth. Her art also is held in collections worldwide. She currently lives and paints on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. For more information, please visit www.fayjeanhooker.com.

           The Women’s Museum show runs from April 26 through June 17, 2007. The artist’s reception will be held on Sunday, May 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. Preceding the reception, in conjuction with the exhibition, is a workshop from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., entitled “Our Mother’s Wisdom Quilt: A Modern Day Quilting Bee” that focuses on capturing the essence of a mother’s spirit in what and how she expressed herself, an appropriate shared activity for Mother’s Day. Workshop tuition is $25.00; space is limited, and reservations are required. For information, please call 214.915.0890 or visit www.thewomensmuseum.org.

          The Women's Museum: An Institute for the Future, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is the only nationally chartered women’s history museum in America. Housed in a national historic landmark in Fair Park, the museum chronicles the lives of American women using interactive exhibits that explore the contributions of women throughout American history, examine the similarities and differences among women's lives across time and inspire pride and hope for thousands of visitors. The museum is located at 3800 Parry Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75226. The museum's hours of operations are Tuesday - Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. For general information, please call 214.915.0860 or visit www.thewomensmuseum.org.

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