Gary Hudson Exhibition Opens at Madison-Morgan Cultural Center
Art Lives: Gary Hudson 1936 – 2009.
The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center is proud to announce the opening of Art Lives: Gary Hudson 1936 – 2009 on Friday, April 16. Curated by Jean Westmacott and Christie Hudson, the exhibit is a memorial retrospective of the lifework of Abstract Expressionist Gary Hudson. The show continues through July 9 and presents works ranging from a 1967 shaped canvas to Hudson’s most recent Quark Series, which explores the proximity of beauty and energy in unbounded color. The opening reception on April 16 is from 6 – 8 pm and will be a special celebration of the life of this extraordinary artist and a memorial service to him.
Gary Hudson began studying art in 1945 at the age of nine and solidified his desire to be a painter upon seeing his first Jackson Pollock as a young adult living in New York City. By that time, Hudson was confined to a wheelchair, the result of a peacetime accident while enlisted in the Marine Corps. Following his desire to learn and paint, Hudson crisscrossed the country and the Atlantic Ocean, living at various times in New York City, California, and Europe. In order to teach at the collegiate level, Hudson entered the School of Art and Architecture at Yale University and earned a B.F.A. and M.F.A from Yale in 1966. The first major breakthrough for Hudson came in 1969 when his acrylic Red Rim was selected for the biennial show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. From there, his paintings began to be appreciated through a series of one man and group shows at museums including the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art; Corcoran Museum, Washington, D.C.; Indianapolis Museum; “Out of Sight” Museum of Fine Art, San Diego, California; and the Cleveland Museum, Cleveland, OH. Currently, his works are held in the collections of the Whitney Museum; San Diego Museum of Fine Arts; Republic Insurance Company, Des Moines, Iowa; Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, S.C.; Worcester Museum, Worcester, MA; and numerous private collections around the United States.
A native of upstate New York, Hudson and his wife Christie, a custom clothing designer, moved to Jefferson, GA in 1988, and then to Madison in 2001. Artist Gary Hudson was also an advocate of historic preservation: He was head of the Historic Preservation Commission in Kingston, N.Y., and, upon moving to Georgia, bought and renovated structures in both Jefferson and Madison where he and Christie lived and worked.
In addition to presenting significant exhibits throughout the year such as Art Lives: Gary Hudson 1936 – 2009, the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center invites the public to see its permanent exhibits about the development of the Piedmont area of Georgia, including a restored turn-of-the century class room. The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center is a non-profit visual and performing arts center housed in an 1895 Romanesque Revival school building. The Center is located at 434 S. Main Street in historic Madison, GA. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm, and Sunday from 2 – 5 pm. For additional information about the Center, please visit the website at www.mmcc-arts.org or telephone 706-342-4743 (toll free 877-233-0598) during business hours.