GO TO ARTIST'S GALLERY - BILLY HASSELL

BILLY HASSELL Tangled Garden, 2009 Oil On Canvas 48 x 50 inches

Tangle, an exhibition of new works by acclaimed Fort Worth artist Billy Hassell, will be on display December 4-January 23 at William Campbell Contemporary Art. A reception for the artist and holiday open house will be held Friday, December 4, 5:00-8:00 p.m. The show will present a collection of nearly a dozen new works, including large-scale paintings and works on paper featuring Hassell's familiar themes of birds and other wildlife in their natural habitats-habitats that have been stylized and intricately reconstructed to reveal a visual conversation through inherent patterns, bold colors, and spatial relationships.

Hassell's environments straddle the line between naturalism and hyperbole, as gracefully painted birds and butterflies visually abut sensational landscapes, often burgeoning on the surreal. The compressed space, exaggerated color, and intense pattern create a dramatic abstraction that binds the various layers and elements, resulting in what the artist calls "semi-believable" nature.

As Tangle suggests, these pieces reflect on complex, often ambiguous relationships and systems. The artist began the series after sketching a manmade garden over several weeks during the growing season. As time elapsed and the garden was left untended, native plants and weeds began to overtake the once manicured flora. While nature encroached on the space, new birds, bees, butterflies, and other insects arrived to feed off the foliage. The end product was a freeform, self-sustaining ecosystem. From this "tangle" of weeds, flowers, and animals, a community had developed. The current series expounds on this metamorphosis, examining nature's tenacity, but also serving as metaphor for the components that make up any community-untidy, often complicated, and always interdependent for survival.

Every species plays an important role here, even those considered to be nuisances-for instance the purple-blossomed nightshade plant. Aggravating to farmers and poisonous to humans, the species is also a mainstay in the diet of several other animals. Then there is the grackle, long considered a pest and often regarded as disposable. In his painting Grackle, Hassell monumentalizes the bird by focusing on its elegant form, subtle coloring, and quiet austerity. By juxtaposing it with a large, bright rose-an established icon of beauty-he reinforces the validity of various points of view, in both the intimate space and the larger community.

With this imagery, the artist reminds us that beauty takes many forms, and that each natural element relies on another for sustenance and survival. The tangle may appear snarled and dysfunctional, but it is this ordered chaos that supports rich communal diversity and its ongoing life cycles.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Over the past three decades, Billy Hassell has evolved into one of Texas' most established and in-demand artists. He has exhibited throughout the state in dozens of solo and group exhibitions in Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi, to name a few. He has shown work across the United States as well, in such metropolitan areas as Los Angeles, New Orleans, St. Louis, Santa Fe, and New York City. Honors and awards include Best of Show at the 42nd Annual Invitational Exhibition at the Longview Museum of Art, the Anne Giles Kimbrough Award from the Dallas Museum of Art, and Best of Series: Emerging Artists from the Galveston Arts Center, among others.

Hassell's work can be seen throughout the community, and his public art commissions include mosaics at Fire Station #34 in Fort Worth and at DFW Airport's recently constructed International Terminal D. In addition, he created a series of five limited edition color lithographs for the Audubon Society of Texas and a color intaglio edition for the Texas Nature Conservancy. His work also hangs in the A.C.E.S. Building at the University of Texas in Austin.

Hassell boasts an extensive bibliography; articles highlighting his work have appeared in local and national publications, among these the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Morning News, New York Times, Austin American-Statesman, ARTnews, D Magazine, Southwest Art, and Texas Parks and Wildlife. Many public collections feature Hassell's work, including those of the University of Texas at Austin, Houston's Menil Collection and Museum of Fine Arts, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Longview Museum of Art, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Corporate collections include Texas Instruments, Frito-Lay, and HBO.

Billy Hassell currently sits on the Exhibition Advisory Panel for the Fort Worth Community Arts Center and also served on the Artist Advisory Committee for the Arlington Museum of Art. He has lectured and taught art at various colleges and universities, among them Texas Christian University, the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Woman's University, and Davidson College. He received a master of fine arts degree from the University of Massachusetts and a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Notre Dame.

ABOUT THE GALLERY

Founded in 1974 by William and Pam Campbell, William Campbell Contemporary Art exhibits high-quality contemporary art in a variety of media, including paintings, works on paper, mixed-media constructions, photography, prints, ceramics, and sculpture. By exhibiting nationally recognized artists, along with new and emerging talent, the gallery aims to nurture an awareness and appreciation of the exciting diversity found in contemporary art.