HWY 90 Gallery to Open with Work Inspired by Marfa

The streets of Marfa are the subject of work by artists Gretchen Lee Coles and Martha Hughes to be shown at the new HWY 90 Gallery.

Coles has created her work, titled “taking measure,” by measuring the streets of Marfa with lengths of twine and rolling it into a huge ball. The ball of twine is only one part of the piece, which will also include a map of Marfa and other components.

Hughes’ work is based on the detritus that makes up the visual noise of everyday life, such as candy wrappers and other litter collected on walks around Marfa. One piece comprises hundreds of individual images of artificial flowers found at Marfa’s Catholic Cemetery, blown off graves by the wind and faded by the sun.

HWY 90 Gallery will open to the public for the first time during Marfa’s Chinati Open House weekend. The gallery is located across from the “Judd Block” at 407 W. San Antonio Street (Highway 90), in a former furniture store recently renovated by Marfa mayor David Lanman. Hughes owns the gallery and is leasing the building from Lanman.

-- Coles has an MFA in sculpture from Indiana University and has been doing performance-based, site-specific installations for most of her career. During the 2004 Chinati Open House weekend, she drew much attention with her 64 x 84-inch map of Marfa created with feathers from Marfa’s feather factory.
-- Hughes received a BFA in studio art from the University of Texas. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums nationwide, and is included in numerous private and corporate collections. On her website, she posts a daily snapshot she takes of scenes around Marfa and work in progress at her studio.