Gibson Sculpture at WV Gallery
By Clara Hieronymus for the Tennessean, September 15, 1976
Tennessee sculptor James Gibson, artist/teacher at Middle Tennessee State University, has just returned from Huntington, WV, where he went to install one of his metal sculptures at the Huntington Galleries.
He is a native of West Virginia and was showing his work in an invitational exhibition there last year when a member of the Junior League Garden Club of Huntington saw his work and talked with him about a possible project.
The club was interested in a sculpture for the entrance to their nature trail, which they called "The Bird Walk." Gibson was asked to submit a number of sketches; from these the club selected a drawing of a "portal" with a strong bird figure standing on the top. Since it was like a doorway through which people could walk, it appealed to club members as appropriate, and Gibson was commissioned to execute the work.
The finished sculpture is ten and a half feet tall and is constructed of corten steel. It is installed just inside the entrance to the Huntington Gallery grounds. The portal sculpture will be dedicated Sept. 15, with Gibson to be present for the ceremony.
Gibson is a member of the Nashville Artist Guild and has exhibited his work at Cheekwood and in group shows at the Parthenon. The sculpture fountain at the First American National Bank Plaza is his work.