Opening Reception: July 8, 5-8 pm

Octavia Art Gallery is pleased to present PROJECT MARFA, an exhibition of Marfa artists referencing their personal connections with the town’s landscape and remoteness. Whether commenting on time, space, emptiness or its simplicity- each of the individuals selected for this show demonstrate not only affinity for their surroundings but also reveal the deliberate nature of their decision to live and work in far West Texas.

Valerie Arber moved to Marfa from Santa Fe in 1998. Her Card Drawings 1, 2 and 3 and Ringtone #1 and #2 are examples of her interest in and masterly use of spatial relationships.  She and her husband, Robert, own Arber and Son Editions, which has worked with artists including John Baldessari, Donald Judd, Illya Kabakov, Bruce Nauman, Richard Prince and Al Taylor.

Sculptor Camp Bosworth moved to Marfa after purchasing an old church while on a quick road trip through the town. He creates satirical carved objects like cartel guns and chips and salsa carved from wood. His wall sculpture, You Used to Call Me on My Wallphone speaks to Marfa’s remoteness and is a nod to Donald Judd’s telephone permanently on view in La Mansana de Chinati/ The Block, Judd’s former residence.

Meghan Gerety moved to Marfa to live in its high-desert landscape and to experience the time and space that it provides- both physically and mentally. Her most recent work continues to explore a dialogue between the natural world and abstraction. Employing the processes of drawing, carving, painting and printing, Gerety’s work simultaneously embodies the qualities of painting with the three dimensions of sculpture. Her Night Sky-Scape series function as abstract paintings and track the subtle passing of time through recordings of the night sky.

Anne Marie Nafziger has lived and worked in Marfa since 2002. She was based previously in Portland, Oregon. Spending time immersed in remote, natural areas has been a significant part of her life and studio practice for many years. She is particularly compelled by vast, wide-open landscapes and beguiling wilderness areas, including both nearby environs and locations that she visits. The paintings included in this show- Like-Minded (2016), Toward the Over There (2016), Ear to the Night Sky (2016), Rose-Colored Glasses (2015) and Socket (2015) convey her visceral response to the natural world. Her work can be seen in solo shows and exhibits across the country which have been reviewed by The New York Times.

Sam Schonzeit grew up in New York City, across the street from Donald Judd’s Spring Street residence, and says that Marfa reminds him of Soho in the seventies. His mediums vary from concrete lamps, art postcards, and miniaturist cameos of King Charles Spaniels. His most recent work, a series of watercolors, demonstrates the freedom he finds in Marfa to experiment, in this case with a wide variety of color and technique. Selected by Vanity Fair as “one of twelve artists who make Marfa”, his watercolors capture the Marfa landscape with a muted quality of color.

Curated by the Director of Octavia Art Gallery, Houston, each artist represented in PROJECT MARFA embodies the uniqueness and individuality of Marfa in various ways.