3 exhibits on display at Old Jail

By Melinda L. Lucas

In conjunction with the celebration of the Old Jail Art Center’s 40th anniversary celebration a couple of weeks ago was the opening of three new exhibitions, which will continue on display at the local museum through Aug. 20.

Although these particular collections were not the ones originally planned to coincide with the beginning of the museum’s fourth decade, OJAC executive director Patrick Kelly was more than pleased with how it all turned out.

The anniversary party, initially planned for March 2020, was postponed for two years because of the pandemic, finally held on Feb. 26 of this year.

The 2020 exhibitions were “thematically and conceptually curated” specifically for the museum’s anniversary, but went on display as scheduled that year despite the lack of a party.

“Though the party could be re-tooled, the exhibition calendar had been established well in advance,” said Kelly. “And yet, by luck or serendipity, the three exhibits scheduled to debut (in 2022) were actually a perfect fit for recognizing 40 years of the institution and its exhibitions.”

Fort Worth artist Chris Powell was one of the first young Texas contemporary artists that OJAC founder Reilly Nail selected to exhibit at the OJAC in the late 1980s. Powell has created a new installation of his work in the OJAC Cell Series titled “then now.”

New York artist Jeffrey Brosk, whose current gallery exhibition at the Old Jail is entitled “Territory,” was actually the second artist, selected in 2009, to participate in the museum’s Cell Series.

Finally, after a hiatus in the storage vault for some six years, the OJAC’s Ancient Americas collection has been reinstalled. The pre-Columbian objects are some of the museum’s most important and popular pieces.

“We can celebrate two artists returning home as well as enjoy a fresh look at works that have been a vital part of the permanent collection,” Kelly said. “In this manner, we can look back at where we were then and celebrate where we are now. Isn’t this the perfect type of homecoming?”