Exhibition: “Wilderness” by Texas Sculptor Allison Evonne Streett
Dates: September 2 - 20, 2024
Location: Ira M. Taylor Gallery at the Frost Center for the Visual Arts,Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, Texas
Reception and Artist Talk: September 20, 2024, 5:45 PM - 7:00 PM
Abilene, Texas – The Ira Taylor Gallery at Hardin-Simmons University is proud to present “Wilderness,” an evocative exhibition by renowned Texas sculptor Allison Streett. This exhibition will be on view from September 2 to September 20, 2024, culminating in a special reception and artist talk on September 20th from 5:45 PM to 7:00 PM, as part of the biennial Abilene Outdoor Exhibition and SculpTour.
“Wilderness” explores the complex and often paradoxical nature of our world through a series of compelling sculptures. Inspired by the poignant words of her great-aunt, “This world is a wilderness,” Streett delves into themes of beauty, suffering, temptation, and hope. Her work features relief sculptures of poisonous plants, symbolizing the fine line between life and death, and figures and portraits that narrate the human experience in a world that is both broken and beautiful.
Streett’s sculptures are deeply rooted in Christian theology, reflecting the tension between the freedom from sin and the ongoing struggle within a world that is not yet fully renewed. Her art captures the essence of living in a wilderness that is filled with glimpses of promised restoration, life, and beauty amidst chaos and danger.
About the Artist: Allison Streett creates expressive, narrative sculptures in clay to be cast in bronze. Through the language of the human form, she tells stories of human suffering and hope, alienation and connection, doubt and faith—the broken beauty of the human experience. Her work often focuses on the feminine and maternal perspective of war, displacement, discrimination, and prejudice. In addition to commissioned portraits, her recent work includes a series of self-portrait masks exploring the challenges of motherhood and personal identity.
Allison has worked in the tradition of figurative sculpture for over two decades. Specializing in portraits and figures cast in bronze, she has received local and national recognition in many group exhibitions and competitions. Among her recent awards, in 2023 her portrait entitled Introspect won the Gloria Spevacek Award at the 126th Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Open Exhibition in New York City, and Becoming won second place in the National Sculpture Society Texas and Oklahoma Exhibition. In 2022, How the Light Gets In was awarded the Harriet W. Frishmuth Memorial Award for Bronze Sculpture at the 125th Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Open Exhibition. Her sculptures were featured in the Annual National Sculpture Society Awards Exhibitions in 2023 and 2021, Emerging Stars in American Sculpture hosted by the National Sculpture Society at Brookgreen Gardens, and the Portrait Society of America’s Tri-State Competition in 2019.
Currently based outside of Fort Worth, Texas, Allison is the daughter of a poet, the mother of six fascinating children, and the wife of a Biblical scholar. In addition to sculpting and home-educating her children, she enjoys being outside and reading poetry, literature, theology, and philosophy, from which many of her artistic inspirations spring.
Regular Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Contact Information:
Ira M. Taylor Memorial Gallery at Frost Center for the Visual Arts
Hardin-Simmons University
2341 Cedar Street, Abilene, TX 79698
Phone: (325) 670-1941
Email: art@hsutx.edu
