A large design from the Meadows Muesem’s “Tiles of Valencia” exhibit. (Stuart Palley)
The renowned Meadows Museum offers two new exhibitions to start the 2007-08 school year. They are titled “A Tribute to Texas Art: The Gift of William J. Hill” and “Tile Design in Valencia: From the Middle Ages through the Early 20th Century.”
“A Tribute to Texas Art” includes 15 exhibits donated by Houston collector William Hill. Featured artists include Julie Bozzi and Vernon Fisher. The collection contains a large variety of Texan art, from paintings to sculptures.
Olivia Beran, who attended the exhibits says, “I love the vast variety of art that Meadows offers. It’s great to have such a fantastic Spanish and Southwestern collection at every SMU student’s disposal.”
The second exhibit, “Tile Design in Valencia” contains a collection of tiles from throughout Spain. The exhibit inaugurates a landmark cultural agreement between SMU, the Gereralitat de Valencia, and the city of Dallas.
Over 110 pieces were taken from three of the most important ceramics collections of Spain. The tiles, which are rarely removed for an exhibition outside of Spain, date from 1300 to 1930 and reflect the different artistic movements, from Renaissance and Baroque to Modernist movements.
The exhibit asks the viewer to notice the religious influences on the tile, as well as the past uses of the tile, whether it be for art, architecture or urban life.
One of the largest and most valuable pieces of the display is a large section of floor tiling taken from the interior of Palacio del Marques de Dos Aguas.
One entire room is dedicated to 20th century tile. The Modernist Movement also called tile’s “Golden Moment” brought about great artists such as Antoni Gaudi. During this time frame, tile evolved from art deco to cubism.
Both exhibits include phenomenal displays of art that add to Meadows Museum’s already stellar collection.
The exhibitions run until Oct. 14, and Oct. 21. Also, coming soon, Meadows next exhibit called “Coming of Age: American Art.”
Guests admire the work at the opening reception Wednesday (Stuart Palley)
