April 28 - 28, 2025
From Bihl Haus Arts:
“Bihl Haus Arts presents “Natural Legacy,” an exhibition of oil paintings by Terry Allen Jones and sculptures by Lauren Browning. It opens with a reception from 6-9 p.m. Friday, May 9 at the Bihl Haus gallery, 2803 Fredericksburg Road inside the Sorento Apartments. The exhibition runs through May 31. One of Browning’s stunning works included in the exhibition is a hand-carved, bristlecone pine sculpture entitled, “Venerable Witness.” She acquired the pine piece legally after a wildfire killed the tree during the late 1800’s on a Colorado ranch. “As far as I can tell from an online search, they may be the only carved bristlecone sculptures in existence,” Browning explained. “Bristlecones are the most ancient trees in the world and can get up to 5,000-years-old. They only grow in a few places along mountain tree lines in California and Colorado. I feel a special connection to them.” As for the title of the wood sculpture, Browning said that it relates to the bristlecone’s enduring time on earth and worthy of special recognition. “It’s very old and has been through a lot,” she said. “It used to be alive and was standing tall at one time seeing for so long and living through so much of world history.” About the Exhibition “Natural Legacy” explores the most fundamental impressions that the Texas Hill Country has left on two artists’ aesthetic sensibilities. For more than a half century, Terry Allen Jones and Lauren Browning have observed the colors, textures, and forms of the Texas Hill Country as they existed under different lighting conditions, during different seasons, and across different settings. Individual works in this exhibition highlight multiple fondly remembered impressions of nature that the artists have recombined in their own playful ways. In one of Lauren’s sculptures, for example, viewers might recognize the shape of weathered limestone hillsides melded together with the curve of a buck’s graceful haunches or the petals of a favorite flower. Similarly, one of Terry’s paintings of old Texas barns or an approaching storm cloud might adopt the color palette of another scene that he remembers fondly. Each abstracted work is an assemblage of the artist’s memories of the land they love. Terry’s and Lauren’s lifelong admiration of the Texas Hill Country has been a larger gift for both artists, enabling them to “see” other places of natural beauty more clearly, influencing many of their life decisions and defining their times of meditation. For Terry Allen Jones and Lauren Browning, the natural legacy of the Texas Hill Country is an enduring love, respect, and appreciation for the aesthetic nuances of nature and the many windfalls of living in Central Texas. About the Artists Lauren Browning: Growing up around Austin, Lauren’s favorite pastime was traipsing up spring fed creeks in search of secluded swimming holes where she could rest and admire the shapes, colors and textures of the beautiful Texas Hill Country. After working as a research geochemist for more than a decade, Lauren’s love of Texas landscapes found its outlet in art. She studied rock carving under Rachman Ulmer, completed numerous art classes at the Southwest School of Art, and has gratefully learned from every artist with whom she has interacted. For the past fifteen years, Lauren has created abstract stone and wood sculptures that reflect the sensual beauty of the Hill Country that she loves. Lauren Browning is a “direct sculptor”—she does not work from a preconceived design when she carves. Her process is to continuously create and refine the shape and texture of her sculptures while she carves them. She believes that this time-intensive approach facilitates the creation of fully three-dimensional designs, because every creative decision is made while looking directly at her sculptural work-in-progress. Lauren has exhibited her award-winning work in galleries, universities, and museums across central and north Texas since 2011. Terry Allen Jones: Terry Allen Jones was born in Uvalde, Texas in 1948. His grandparents on both sides were ranchers in Hill County near Utopia, Texas. During these years he developed a love for nature that guided him during his years as an environmental investigator and as an artist. His high school class voted for him as the class artist. At Southwest Texas Junior College he studied and painted with instructor Kurt Johnson. In 1974 he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Angelo State University where he studied with Otis Lumpkin. During his career as an investigator, he continued to paint and exhibit. He has won several awards over the years. He is a charter member of the Texas Pastel Society. He has five pastels in the UTSA collection. His current paintings reflect a continuing passion for working with form and color as it relates to landscapes.
About Bihl Haus Arts Founded in 2005, Bihl Haus Arts is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that improves the health and quality of life for active older adults and veterans through art education and further creates community through the arts with exhibitions, performances, literary events, artist talks, and the annual On and Off Fredericksburg Road Studio Tour. For more information, visit www.bihlhausarts.org or call (210) 339-8982.”
Artist talk: April 28, 2025
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