Huntsville, Ala – Inspired by the dreams and colorful imagination of this critically-acclaimed, Georgia artist, Encounters: Tim Taunton includes sculptures and oil paintings which together take viewers into a whimsical, fictional world. The exhibition opens Sunday, October 4, and runs through February 7, 2016.
“Taunton is a natural-born storyteller who’s perhaps best known for his terracotta sculptures which portray eccentric characters caught up in their own dramas,” said Museum Director of Curatorial Affairs Peter Baldaia. “But he is equally skilled as a painter of finely-crafted oils that often flesh out evocative environments for those clay figures or characters.” Baldaia added: “Taunton’s art weaves a rich tableau of serious fun.”
A native of southern Arkansas, Taunton received a bachelor’s degree in ceramics and painting from the University of Arkansas and his master’s degree in ceramic sculpture from Louisiana State University. His work has been displayed in numerous exhibitions and workshops, both nationally and internationally, and has appeared in publications including Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics: Art and
Perception, and World Sculpture News.
Taunton has received numerous awards and honors including an Individual Artist Grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts and a visiting artist residency at the World Ceramic Biennial Pre-Expo Workshop and Exhibition in Yeo Joo, South Korea. In addition to his career as a professional artist, Taunton spent more than three decades as a professor of ceramics and sculpture at La Grange College in Georgia.
Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the Museum’s award-winning Encounters series of regional contemporary art, which is organized by Baldaia. The Museum will kick-off the opening of the exhibition with a Gallery Walk with Taunton on Sunday, October 4, beginning at 2 p.m. in the Grisham Gallery. The Huntsville Museum of Art Docents will host a reception following the program in the Richard and Roper Room. The event is FREE for members and included in general admission for non-members.
Project support is made possible in part by The Alabama State Council on the Arts, Altherr Howard Design, and The Huntsville Museum of Art Guild.
Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with extended hours on Thursdays until 8 p.m. The Museum is also open Sundays from 12 to 5 p.m. The Museum is closed on Mondays and some major holidays. In conjunction with the blockbuster exhibition The Tsars’ Cabinet: Two Hundred Years of Russian Decorative Arts Under the Romanovs opening October 11, admission will be $12 for adult, nonmembers; $10 for active military, teachers, and seniors (60+) with a valid ID; $5 for students and children ages 6 and up; and $8 per person for groups of 10 or more. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted FREE. This admission structure will be in place October 11 through January 3, 2016. For more information, visit www.hsvmuseum.org or call 256-535-4350.
###