As the world came to a standstill in 2020, artists Mary K and Anthony Huff took to their studios to create an astounding body of new work. The duo created over 100 new artworks for their upcoming exhibition, Dry Land Dreaming, scheduled to open at the Center for Contemporary Arts at the end of July.
The inspiration behind this prolific artist couple’s latest exhibition was gleaned from the land they live and create on. Anthony cites their “dry and dreamy” surroundings in Potosi, where their home and studio sits, as a muse and source of inspiration that fed into their latest artistic endeavor. Anthony says, “Dry Land Dreaming is the result of my surroundings coming together through my thoughts and dreams: just letting it happen.”
The couple met in the 1980s at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, where they both majored in art, and the rest, as they say, is history. Since fortune brought them together, they have been creating art side-by-side all while balancing their respective careers and family life. Mary K retired from her position as an art educator at Cooper High school in 2015, and Anthony recently retired in December of 2020 from his career as an art handler and transporter with Displays Fine Art Services.
In June of 2019, their son, Casey, passed away, and the Huff’s turned to their creative practice to heal, process, and celebrate a lifetime of memories and love. Throughout these life changes, Mary K and Anthony spend their time reflecting, creating art, and traveling.
The couple refers to a quote from the British art critic, novelist, painter, and poet John Berger, that serves as a summation of their lives as artists:
“Art is what artists make. So the process is to become an artist, it’s not to make art. And that’s the journey as a person… to get to a point where you are at ease with yourself, where you are open to all the possibilities, and then it will be re-channeled through you as an artist… So the process is actually the process of you. The process is working on yourself.”
“We continue to make art. We may take a few breaks here and there, but we always come back to making art,” Mary K says. “We’re pretty down to earth. We don’t B.S. We tell it like it is.”
As this exhibition opens, the Huffs will no doubt return to their studios in Potosi, with their dogs Sister, Pearl and Luna, to continue their artistic processes on the dry land, dreaming.
Dry Land Dreaming will be on view in Breed and Gallery 4 at the Center for Contemporary Arts from July 29th through Sept. 18, 2021. A public exhibition reception is scheduled for Aug. 5 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Contributed By The Center For Contemporary Arts
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