Trespassers: James Prosek and the Texas Prairie

September 16, 2023–January 28, 2024
Mezzanine

Less than 1 percent of native prairies exist across the state of Texas. This conservation concern is the catalyst for more than 20 new works created by artist and naturalist James Prosek. Over the past two years, Prosek has traveled to grassland habitats across the state, ranging from urban restoration projects to unplowed remnant prairies, documenting the rich plant and wildlife diversity of these spaces. Trespassers: James Prosek and the Texas Prairie features a new large-scale silhouette painting, one of Prosek’s signature working styles; watercolor portraits of plants collected during his travels; and trompe l’oeil clay and bronze sculptures of wildflowers. Through these works, Prosek investigates the allure of Texas’s grasslands, while raising broader questions about the boundaries that shape, limit, and define prairie spaces in the present day.

Header Image Credit

James Prosek (b. 1975), detail of Butterfly weed and other elements (Easton, Connecticut), 2022, watercolor, gouache, powdered mica, graphite, and colored pencil on paper, Courtesy of the artist, © James Prosek

Image: James Prosek (b. 1975), Butterfly weed and other elements (Easton, Connecticut) (detail), 2022, watercolor, gouache, powdered mica, graphite and colored pencil on paper, Courtesy of the artist, © James Prosek

Trespassers: James Prosek and the Texas Prairie is organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. The exhibition is supported in part by Kim and Glenn Darden, the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Waqas Wajahat, and Fernando Yarrito.