Tribute to a Texas River: Prints of the Colorado by Margie Crisp

Tribute to a Texas River:

Prints of the Colorado

By Margie Crisp May 11 - July 28, 2012

Tribute to a Texas River In conjunction with this year’s Texas Aesthetic, as well as the city’s PRINTHOUSTON celebration, William Reaves Fine Art is pleased to feature select works by Elgin-based print-maker Margie Crisp. The artist is a member in high standing of our Contemporary Texas Regionalists group, and expertly employs a wide range of print-medium to produce stunning Texas images, many reminiscent of pioneering Texas women artists affiliated with the Printmakers Guild (1939-1965).

The prints included in this exhibition appear as illustrations in Crisp’s newly published book, A River of Contrast: The Texas Colorado (The Texas A&M University Press). It is indeed a beautiful publication, showcasing the artist’s versatility as both writer and print-maker. In the book, Crisp combines her naturalist’s eye, with insightful prose and inspiring prints to offer an evocative narrative and visual tribute to this great Texas river. In tracing the Colorado from its cap-rock source to its mouth at the Texas gulf, Crisp, like John Graves before her, reminds Texans of the geological and ecological marvels of our grand rivers, as well as the character and vitality of those who populate the lands adjoining these great streams. River of Contrast is a great new addition to the Texas literary scene and is certain to garner accolades and significant reviews. (Gallery patrons are reminded of the gallery’s book-signing on Saturday, June 9, 2-4 p.m.)

Apart from the book, Crisp’s prints are remarkably rendered artworks in their own right, which offer sensitive statements on the present environs surrounding this Texas river. Her subjects, while diverse, focus heavily on the native flora and fauna of the Colorado. The exhibition shows Crisp’s proficiency with both lithographic and linocut prints, and the collection underscores her absolute command of the linocut as a print-making medium. Her composition with this medium is consistently superb, and the added dimension of color via the artist’s handpainted plates is a joy to behold. Margie Crisp’s prints capture the essence of her landscape and wildlife subjects with great authenticity and yet they are presented in a painterly, stylized fashion, characteristic of earlier regionalist printmakers such as Florence McClung or Coreen Spellman, or even their young male counter-parts such as Alexandre Hogue or Otis Dozier.

Texas holds a proud print-making tradition and Margie Crisp, one of the master printmakers working in the state today, is a leading heir to this Lone Star printmaking legacy. Fortunately for us all, she continues to forge exquisite art work through the print medium, preserving and advancing aspects of regionalist style through her selection of subject matter and print-making technique.

This is an exquisite show and we are very proud to show Margie Crisp’s inspiring Tribute to a Texas River. For those who love their Texas rivers, or appreciate the eloquence of the printmaker’s touch, this is definitely a “must see” exhibition. Don’t miss it!

Tribute to a Colorado River Exhibition Checklist

Artist

Title of Work

Date

Medium

Dimensions (inches)

1

Margie Crisp Bats and Congress Avenue Bridge

2011

Handcolored linocut

11 1/4 x11 9/16

2

Margie Crisp Cliff Swallows I, 4/12

2003

Lithograph

16x11 1/2

3

Margie Crisp Early Spring in the Basin

2009

Handcolored linocut

17x22 1/2

4

2011

Handcolored linocut

17 x22 1/2

5

Margie Crisp In the Shadow of the Buchanan Dam Margie Crisp New World

2011

Handcolored linocut

17x22 1/2

6

Margie Crisp Oil and Water

2007

Lithograph

8x11

7

Margie Crisp Pond Cycle

2002

Silkscreen with hand coloring

14x22

8

Margie Crisp Renegade II

2007

Handcolored lithograph

9 1/4x14 1/2

9

Margie Crisp Reserved Beauty

2011

Handcolored linocut

17x22 1/2

10 Margie Crisp Rice Bowl

2011

Handcolored linocut

5 7/8x25 13/16

11 Margie Crisp River Dock at Night

2011

Litho with Charcoal

3 1/4x4 1/2

12 Margie Crisp River Revealed

2011

Handcolored linocut

17x22 1/2

13 Margie Crisp Summer River

2011

Handcolored linocut

17x22 1/2

1. Margie Crisp Bats and Congress Avenue Bridge, 2011 handcolored linocut 11 1/4 x 11 9/16 inches

3. Margie Crisp Early Spring in the Basin, 2009 handcolored linocut 17 x 22 1/2 inches

2. Margie Crisp Cliff Swallows I, 4/12, 2003 lithograph 16 x 11 1/2 inches

4. Margie Crisp In the Shadow of Buchanan Dam, 2011 handcolored linocut 17 x 22 1/2 inches

5. Margie Crisp New World, 2011 handcolored linocut 17 x 22 1/2 inches

7. Margie Crisp Pond Cycle, 2002 silkscreen with hand coloring 14 x 22 inches

6. Margie Crisp Oil and Water, 2007 lithograph 8 x 11 inches

8. Margie Crisp Renegade II, 2007 handcolored lithograph 9 1/4 x 14 1/2 inches

9. Margie Crisp Reserved Beauty, 2011 handcolored linocut 17 x 22 1/2 inches

10. Margie Crisp Rice Bowl, 2011 handcolored linocut 5 7/8 x 25 13/6 inches

11. Margie Crisp River Dock at Night, 2011 lithograph with charcoal 3 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches

12. Margie Crisp River Revealed, 2011 handcolored linocut 17 x 22 1/2 inches

13. Margie Crisp Summer River, 2011 handcolored linocut 17 x 22 1/2 inches

Tribute to a Texas River:

Prints of the Colorado By Margie Crisp

Margie Crisp, River Dock at Night, 2011, lithograph with charcoal, 3 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches

2313 Brun Street Houston, Texas 77019 713.521.7500 www.reavesart.com