JIM HOUSER Retrospective Museum of Art - DeLand October 25, 2018 – Januar y 6, 2019
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have followed Jim Houser’s development as an artist for the past 45 years, and it’s a pleasure to report that his paintings become simpler, more exuberant, and more “sprightly” all the time. And that he more than ever shares with his students and younger contemporaries the convictions that life and vitality belong emphatically in art. His compositional elements manage to intrigue the eye just enough to add a tiny bit of visual counterpoint. They are emphatic and clearly defined enough to help cushion the colors, and yet are so precisely detailed as to isolate and separate them from one another completely. I am indebted to the artist, Jim Houser, for the opportunity to organize this long overdue exhibition of his work and for his willingness to share his creative spirit and passion for what he achieves with our cultural community. The cooperation of Jim’s family, wife Connie and children Trina and Jackson, in assisting the Museum to arrange the details and to provide the research required for the exhibition should be recognized. Without their collaboration and support it would have been difficult to implement this project. The following donors and businesses merit special appreciation for their support of this presentation and their commitment to this year’s exhibition schedule: Robert Apgar, Dennis Aylward, Barbara Baugh, Bruce and Carolyn Bigman, Samuel and Donna Blatt, Tom and Jean Burns, Bill and Terri Booth, Thomas and Loretta Chudy, Earl and Patti Colvard, Sal Cristofano and Laura Gosper, Ed and Pauline Lacey, Manny De La Vega, Wayne and Jewel Dickson, Robert and Linda Dorian, Lee and Susan Downer, Rachel Fleishman, Rich and Lilas George, Susan Griffis, John and Karen Horn, Pat Heller, Betty Drees-Johnson, Ray and Betty Johnson, Craig and Tracy Lindsey, Tim and Mary Jeanne Ludwig, Robin May, Greg and Beth Milliken, Tommy and Dagny Robertson, Stephen and Claudia Roth, Carol Spinner, Judith Thompson, Jack and Phyllis Wertenteil, Ian Williams and Nancy Hutson, John and Nancy Wilton, Boulevard Tire Center, E.O. Painter Printing Company, Florida Hospital DeLand, JetBlue, Massey Services, Inc., United Parachute Technology, West Volusia Beacon, W.W. Gay Mechanical Contractor, Inc., Clear Channel Outdoor, ZOM Holdings, Lorna Jean Brooks Foundation, Inc., Earl W. and Patricia B. Colvard Charitable Foundation, Duke Energy Foundation, Jewish Community Fund, Lacey Family Charitable Foundation, Medtronic Foundation, Publix Supermarket Charities, Scott and Susan Shay Philanthropic Fund, Wells Fargo Foundation, Faith Hope & Charity, DeLand Breakfast Rotary, DeLand Fall Festival of the Arts, DeLand Rotary Club, Inc., Krewe of Amalee, Krewe Nouveau, Museum Guild, City of DeLand, County of Volusia and State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. I would like to applaud our institution’s Board of Trustees, led by Board President, Gen. Lee Downer, Major General US Air Force (Retired), for encouraging the Museum to realize its ambitious exhibition programming. Finally, I would like to praise the unfailing support of my staff whose daily achievements are a constant source of inspiration and pride.
Lighthouse, 2000, Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 20 inches
George S. Bolge CEO, Museum of Art DeLand, Florida
JIM HOUSER: FOCUSING ON THE IRREDUCIBLE Much of the art of this century deals with reduction and elimination, and conjures up an image of a man taking apart a boat in the middle of the ocean in order to determine the minimum support he requires to stay afloat. Or an image of a writer trying to distill all he knows into one perfect sentence with which to begin his book. Although Jim Houser, like other American artists, was influenced by Cubism as well as by Constructionism – and was also anxious to create art of cultural significance, he could never quite rid himself of the notion that art began in reality. And not only in the reality of the mind and spirit, but in the reality encountered through sight, touch, and smell. Even his most abstract-looking paintings are so drenched in naturalistic associations that one immediately senses and perceives the seascape or objects from which the picture is derived. All hues, shapes, forms, textures and colors in his art have their point of origin in the everyday world. Jim Houser built his paintings from the ground up. Nothing was left to chance, everything was meticulously planned and ordered with almost mathematical precision. And yet, his oeuvre is rich in association. We don’t just see the painting, we are flooded by memories and feelings triggered by what we see “in” the painting: by our memories and feelings about comfortable, seaside vacation homes, sitting on the beach with the one you love, and lunch at the boardwalk sandwich shop. Depending on our interest in the formal aspects of art, we may or may not also be aware of how beautifully the various elements in his compositions play against one another and how delicately the curve of a boat’s hull completes a highly complex series of thrusts into space. If we are aware of these things, a period of adjustment between small tensions and balances takes place. The associative elements are weighed against the formal. And since Houser was an artist, and was able to steer a central course between both realities, the end result of the viewing experience is a wonderful feeling of completeness, harmony and balance. The Jim Houser paintings that comprise this exhibition represent a centuries old tradition, which includes Vermeer, Chardin and Cezanne. He has updated it by modifying it in the light of 20th century formal discoveries and attitudes, but it is solidly traditional nonetheless. g.s.b.
Swings II, undated, Acrylic on canvas, 51 x 8 inches
Bait and Tackle, 1998, Acrylic on canvas, 54 x 48 inches
Selected Biography Education High School – Andrew Jackson High School, Jacksonville, Florida 1947 Undergraduate Ringling School of Art, B.S. Florida Southern College, 1951 Art Institute of Chicago Graduate – M.F.A., University of Florida Work at John Hopkins University, 1952
Teaching Experience Public Schools in Duval County, Florida and Baltimore County, Maryland Kentucky Wesleyan College, 1954-1960 Palm Beach Junior College, 1960 to present: Chairman of the Art Department 1964-1970 Retired 1991
Galleries Grand Central Moderns, New York City, 1966 to Closing Rudolph Galleries, Woodstock, N.Y. and Coral Gables, Florida 1964-1989 Findlay Gallery, New York City, 1974 to 1984 Camino Real, Boca Raton, Florida 1972 to closing 2008 Sherry French, New York City 1985
Awards EF’s Gallery Award, Maryland Artists Show, 1954 Second Prize, Art Center Annual, Louisville Kentucky, 1957, Honorable Mention, 1958 Purchase Award, Artists Guild Show, Norton Gallery, West Palm Beach, Florida, 1961 Atwater Kent Award Contemporary American Painting Exhibition, Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida 1964 Best in Show Purchase Award, Seventh Annual Hortt Memorial Show, Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Arts, Florida 1965 Channing Hare Award, Contemporary American Painting Exhibition Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida 1965 Hors de Concours, Society of the Four Arts Contemporary American Painting Exhibition, Palm Beach, Florida 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969 Best in Show Purchase Award, ft. Lauderdale Museum of Arts, Florida 1969 Verna Lammi Memorial Award, Norton Gallery of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida 1974 Merit Award, 16th Annual Hortt Competition, Ft. Lauderdale Museum, Florida 1974 Atwater Kent Award, Contemporary American Painting Exhibition, Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida 1976, 1989 Akston Foundation Award, Contemporary American Painting Exhibition, Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach Florida 1977 Phillip Hulitar Award, Contemporary American Painting Exhibit, Society of 4 Arts, Palm Beach, Florida 1982 Society of the Four Arts Award 1992
Selected Public and Private Collections Contemporary Collection, Evansville Museum, Indiana Contemporary Collection, Norton Gallery of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida Contemporary Collection, Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Arts, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida International Harvester Company, Design Division The Virgil Barker Memorial Collection of American Art, Joe and Emily Lowe Art Gallery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana Cornell University, Ithaca, New York New York University, New York City Bethlehem City Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, Tennessee Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida General Mills, Minneapolis, Minnesota Prudential Insurance, Newark, New Jersey Kettering Advertising Displays, Inc. Englewood, New Jersey Technimetrics Advertising Displays, Inc. Englewood New Jersey Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida Syracuse University Art Collection, Syracuse, New York Hunt Knight Partnership, Los Angeles, California Owensboro Museum of Art, Owensboro, Kentucky Private Collections in the United States, Canada and Europe
Crossing, 2000, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 inches
Connie on the Beach, 2015, Acrylic on canvas 30 x 30 inches
Katrina’s Cafe, 2009, Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches
catalogue 1. 9/11, 2001, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 36”, Collection of the artist 2. Approaching Storm, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 24”, Collection of the artist 3. Bait and Tackle, 1998, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 54”, Collection of the artist 4. Beach House, 2002, Acrylic on canvas, 48” X 54”, Collection of the artist 5. Beach Stairs, 2014, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 48”, Collection of the artist 6. Beautiful Beach Umbrella, 2006, Acrylic on canvas, 10” x 8”, Collection of the artist 7. Beyond the Wall, 1999, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 54”, Collection of the artist 8. Cola Stand, 1999, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 54”, Collection of the artist 9. Connie on the Beach, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 30” x 30”, Collection of the artist 10. Crossing, 2000, Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 24”, Collection of the artist 11. Dock Light, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 48”, Collection of the artist 12. Drink Stand, 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 36”, Collection of the artist 13. Fences Along the Way, 2001, Acrylic on canvas, 32” x 30”, Collection of the artist 14. Fishing Boat, 1963, Acrylic on canvas, 39” x 40”, Collection of the artist 15. Gomez Stop, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 36”, Collection of the artist 16. Green Roofs, 1999, Acrylic on canvas, 54” x 48”, Collection of the artist 17. House by the Road, circa 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 30” x 30”, Collection of the artist 18. Jackson Transfer, 2009, Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 36”, Collection of the artist 19. Joe’s Market, 2004, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 48”, Collection of the artist 20. John’s Pass, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 50.5” x 50”, Collection of the artist 21. Jupiter Lighthouse, 2000, Acrylic on canvas, 20” x 22”, Collection of the artist 22. Kat’s Café, 2009, Acrylic on canvas, 30” x 30”, Collection of the artist 23. Lounge Chair (long), 2012, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 48”, Collection of the artist 24. Mail Box, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 54, Collection of the artist 25. Manhole Cover, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 51”, Collection of the artist 26. Marker on the Way, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 54”, Collection of the artist 27. My Front Door, 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 36”, Collection of the artist 28. Old Fishing Houses, 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 36”, Collection of the artist 29. Our Chairs by the Window, 2010, Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 36, Collection of the artist 30. Pier, 1997, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 54”, Collection of the artist 31. Porch, 1999, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 50”, Collection of the artist 32. Quiet Café, 2002, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 50”, Collection of the artist 33. Red Swings II, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 50” x 50”, Collection of the artist 34. Road Ends, 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 12”x 12”, Collection of the artist 35. Row Boat by the Sea, 2011, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 36”, Collection of the artist 36. RR Crossing, 2001, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 54”, Collection of the artist 37. Sm. Orange Lifeguard Station, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 12” x 12”, Collection of the artist 38. Stand Flags, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 60”, Collection of the artist 39. Striped Umbrella, 1997, Acrylic on canvas, 72” x 72”, The Boca Raton Museum of Art 40. Umbrella, 1999, Acrylic on canvas, 54” x 96”, Museum of Art – DeLand Permanent Collection 41. Umbrella and Green Chairs, 2002, Acrylic on canvas, 48”x 50”, Collection of the artist 42. View out the Door, No date, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 54”, Collection of the artist
Gomez Stop, 2014, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches Cover: Drink Stand, 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches Museum of Art - DeLand 100 N & 600 N Woodland Blvd | DeLand, FL 32720 |386.734.4371 Gallery Hours: Tue - Sat 10 am - 4 pm | Sun 1 pm - 4 pm Admission: $5 | Museum Members & children under 12: Free Special Exhibitions $10 Experience the Benefits of Membership MoArtDeLand.org Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.