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McMurtrey Gallery is pleased to present paintings by Andrew Long, an Austin-based artist and choreographer, in his first solo exhibition in Houston. As an established choreographer of more than fifteen years, Mr. Long has scripted, choreographed, directed, and created music for Austin's well-known Johnson/Long Dance Company, as well as produced his own performance pieces. In the years since he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Univeristy of Texas, Mr. Long has continually created visual art, and in the last five years has once again come to focus on his painting with an increased fervor.
The body of paintings presented in Mr. Long's solo exhibition at McMurtrey Gallery for ArtsHouston 2005 is a result of more than two years of work. They start with the horizon. In his own words: "By using the horizon, landscape is a natural reference point and the works certainly reflect that. The horizon becomes a fixed point relationship. In this body of work, landscape occurs not only in the fore mentioned traditional sense. I am also inspired by cosmology and microbiology, as well as the inner landscape of emotion.
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In some of the paintings, I have redefined the horizon by its placement or configuration. Instead of the traditional horizontal line, it is now represented as an object or as color.
I paint through a process of unearthing without getting mired down in the conscious details. It is not a brain activity and I don't want the results to be predictable. I'm not planning anything. Over time, certain elements will appear, and if they repeat themselves, I let them. There is a comfort in this recognition with an unconscious alertness. My first choice, however counter logical it seems at times, is usually the best. Sometimes it temporarily destroys the painting, and weeks of work are seemingly lost. But if I remember to trust the process, something unexpected is revealed."
Mr. Long has been a fellow in many artists' colonies over the years, and has received numerous grants, including several from the Texas Commission on the Arts. His multimedia installations and site-specific works have been on view throughout the United States and in London. He is also a published poet and critic.
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 Interactive Exhibition
Andrew Long 2005 Bio
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