AUSTIN, TX.- Arthouse Texas announced that Katrina Moorhead has been awarded the 2007 Arthouse Texas Prize. Presented by independent art critic and curator Dave Hickey at the 2007 Arthouse Texas Prize Party on the evening of November 2, the $30,000 juried prize is one of the largest regional arts awards in the United States. The first-ever prize in Texas created to acknowledge the accomplishments of an emerging or under-recognized Texas-based artist, the Arthouse Texas Prize distinguishes Moorhead as an exceptional and innovative talent and recognizes her contribution to the energetic and growing Texas art scene.

Katrina Moorhead, who was born in Northern Ireland, has resided in Houston for more than ten years. Her practice centers on exploring the contrast between human and natural creation, often revealing new and beautiful relationships through otherwise mundane objects. In 2005 she participated in the Northern Ireland Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale, and her work was recently the subject of a solo exhibition at the Blaffer Gallery, University of Houston. For the 2007 Arthouse Texas Prize Exhibition she has meticulously handcrafted boxes of spent fireworks and strings of unexploded fireworks using paper mâché, archival paper, and silver leaf. Each firework!s potential explosion refers to the forms of dragons, flowers, and the like, and the strings serve to symbolize a chain of events in the three different romantic courtships.

According to the jury, “The 2007 Arthouse Texas Prize finalists all created new work that demonstrates a level of maturity, individual ambition, and execution. Because the five artists! works were strong, our selection becomes one of subjective response. Katrina Moorhead, the prize recipient, brings together in her work ideas and concepts related to her recent experience in Iceland. Her installation at Arthouse expresses her exceptional ability to create objects resonant with individual and universal meaning. The clarity and complexity of the artist!s vision as well as her distinctly personal touch, evident in the handcrafted quality of her objects, are among the qualities that informed our decision to award Moorhead the 2007 Arthouse Texas Prize.”

The prize was awarded during the Arthouse Texas Champagne, Caviar, Hog & Hominy Party, a tribute to Texas Flash and Texas Trash—the highs and lows of Texas style—at Stubb!s Bar-B-Q Restaurant. The party began with cocktails and conversation as burros with chilled beers on their backs moseyed through the crowd. The guests were then seated for the much-anticipated announcement of the prize recipient by Dave Hickey. As the crowd settled down for barbecue, the legendary Kilgore Rangerettes kicked up their heels with a performance to celebrate the announcement. Following dinner, the Texas-dressed crowd then vied for a grand prize giveaway hoping to attain the highest score at a selection of Texas-themed carnival games, while dancing to the music of Austin-based band Heybale!. With the encouraging crowd cheering them on, some guests even braved the mechanical bull.

Guests at the Party included: Arthouse Texas Prize Party Chair Erin Driscoll; Deborah Green and Clayton Aynesworth; Johnna and Stephen Jones; Jeanne and Michael Klein; Chris Mattsson and John McHale; Carla and Jack McDonald; Don Mullins and Cameron Larson; Brad Parman; Lora Reynolds and Quincy Lee; Julie and John Thornton; Alexa and Blaine Wesner; Mary and Howard Yancy; the 2007 Texas Prize Jury: Frances Colpitt, Deedie Potter Rose, Chair, Art History, Texas Christian University; Elizabeth Dunbar, Curator, Arthouse; Eileen Maxson, 2005 Arthouse Texas Prize recipient; Franklin Sirmans, Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, The Menil Collection, Houston; prize presenter Dave Hickey; Arthouse Executive Director, Sue Graze; and the 2007 Texas Prize finalists: Dawolu Jabari Anderson of Houston, Justin Boyd of San Antonio, Margarita Cabrera of El Paso, Bill Davenport of Houston and Katrina Moorhead of Houston.

The Arthouse Texas Prize encourages the growth of the state!s artistic community by providing the means for artists to develop their work while remaining based in Texas and by bringing prominent international art professionals to the state. Artists living in Texas for the past three years are eligible for nomination but could not have had a solo exhibition at a major museum during that time. Works created especially for the Arthouse Prize exhibition by prize recipient Katrina Moorhead along with the other four finalists Dawolu Jabari Anderson, Justin Boyd, Margarita Cabrera, and Bill Davenport are featured in a special exhibition at Arthouse where they will remain on view until November 11, 2007. A catalogue accompanied by a DVD featuring images, essays and videos of the works being created was produced for the exhibition. Proceeds from the party will be used to support the Arthouse Texas Price and general operations for Arthouse, whose mission is to promote the growth and appreciation of contemporary art and artists in Texas.

The Arthouse Texas Prize Jury - The second biennial Arthouse Texas Prize jury was chaired by Arthouse!s Executive Director, Sue Graze, and includes Frances Colpitt, Deedie Potter Rose Chair of Art History, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth; Elizabeth Dunbar, Curator, Arthouse; Eileen Maxson, 2005 Arthouse Texas Prize recipient; Debra Singer, Executive Director and Chief Curator, The Kitchen, New York; and Franklin Sirmans, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Menil Collection in Houston. In February 2007, the jury convened to select the five finalists from 136 nominations.

2007 Arthouse Texas Prize Sponsors - The Arthouse Texas prize is supported in 2007 by Johnna and Stephen Jones, Jeanne and Michael Klein, Chris Mattsson and John McHale, Mary and Chris Ozburn, Lora Reynolds and Quincy Lee, Julie and John Thornton, Mary and Howard Yancy, The Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, the Still Water Foundation, and the Susan Vaughan Foundation. 2007 Arthouse Texas Prize Public and Education programs are supported by AT&T. Additional support for 2007 Arthouse Texas Prize is provided by the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Arthouse Texas Prize Founders - The Arthouse Texas Prize is generously supported by Deborah Green, Johnna and Stephen Jones, Chris Mattsson and John McHale, Mecom/Mullins Family, Mary and Chris Ozburn, Julie and John Thornton, Ed Vaughan, Mary and Howard Yancy, Austin Ventures, the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation and the Still Water Foundation.