Terrell James

Split the Lark — and you'll find the Music —
Bulb after Bulb, in Silver rolled —
Scantily dealt to the Summer Morning
Saved for your Ear when Lutes be old.

Loose the Flood — you shall find it patent —
Gush after Gush, reserved for you —
Scarlet Experiment! Sceptic Thomas!
Now, do you doubt that your Bird was true?

—Emily Dickinson, “Split the Lark — and you’ll find the Music” (861)

Terrell James, artist and fourth generation Houstonian, has lived and worked internationally including time spent in Berlin, Germany; different regions throughout Mexico; Beijing, China; Soho, Harlem, and Queens in New York; and Marfa, Texas before landing back in Houston, where she is an active member of the city’s rich artist community. In addition to being a prolific painter with exhibitions spanning the globe, James has worked as a researcher, curator, and a longtime professor of painting at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston’s Glassell School, where she served as chair of the Painting Department. For Tuesday Evenings at the Modern, James presents her paintings, research, and process in a presentation she has titled Split the Lark ― and you’ll find the Music.

Terrell James, whose work is featured in prominent international private and public collections, was awarded the 2016 Texas Artist of the Year Award by Art League Houston. Her work in public collections includes those of the Boston Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Menil Collection, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the Portland Art Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.