Psychedelia, Flying Saucers, And Vintage Photo Booths: Three Exhibits To Catch At Webb Gallery

The Webb Gallery in Waxahachie has a saying, “We sell soul.” You might find something that stirs your soul with the three shows the gallery has opening this week.

• “Kingdom of Heaven” features drawings by musician and poet Powell St. John.
• “Dust It Off” are drawings and paintings by Esther Pearl Watson.
• And “Photo Booth” is a series of ink and collage pieces by artist Max Kuhn.

Exhibitions can be viewed online or in-person by appointment through May 9.

This is the first time the gallery will show works by Powell St. John. He was part of the Texas psychedelic music scene in the ’60s and ’70s. Most people may recognize St. John from his association with music acts like the Waller Creek Boys with Janis Joplin, the 13th Floor Elevator, and Mother Earth with Tracy Nelson.

It was while he was traveling and on tour, he would pick up his colored pencils and create small-scale paintings, “works of the mind” said Julie Webb, co-owner of Webb Gallery. Webb describes the works as truly visionary artwork.

“Powell’s drawings are beautiful and dreamlike and were executed, let’s say while flying on the spiritual plane of life.”

“It’s art that just is from that deep subconscious being expressed on paper and in the form of colored pencils and inks primarily.

“We talked to him the other day and he said ‘I always set out to make art that wasn’t like making art.’ He knows that it’s something inside that he’s expressing outside.”

In her series “Dust It Off,” Webb said, Esther Pearl Watson goes back to the journal of her youth with works that are largely autobiographical, colorful, humorous, and of course, the ever-present flying saucer that appears in so many of her pieces.

Last year, Watson created a series of paintings documenting life during the pandemic. This new series at Webb Gallery follows up that work with paintings and drawings that have messages of hope and perseverance with titles like “Dusted Off,” “Good Times Ahead,” and “A Perfect Place to Call Home.”

“They have real positive messages to help us get up and move down the road of recovery from the pandemic.”

Fresh off his residency at 100 W Corsicana, Max Kuhn is known for his dioramas. Check out the ‘In the Window’ tab of the Webb Gallery website to see the large-scale diorama he completed during his residency.

Kuhn has always had a fascination for vintage photo booths and the little photos that people created. “Photo Booth” is a series of about 20 ink and collage works including a miniature photo booth Kuhn made.

“His work is very timeless. People really identify with his work a lot. There seems to be something for everyone in his work,” said Webb.

“He’s really trying to represent the lost of the America, you know, like old signage, and old small towns, and things like that. He has a real appreciation for it so his work has a kind of a very vintage feel to it.

“That’s why no one can tell that he’s 29 because his work looks like another time period. It’s kind of a timeless quality to it.”

The gallery is open by appointment by calling 972-938-8085  or emailing the gallery.

You can follow Webb Gallery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Got a tip? Email Gila Espinoza at [email protected]. You can follow her on Twitter @espinoza_kera.

Art&Seek is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.