FMAAA to have Best Seat in the House in March

FORT MADISON - Fort Madison Area Arts Association (FMAAA) is once again delighted to host oil paintings by surrealist painter, James Walker Henry of Burlington, Iowa in our Main Gallery during the month of March.
The exhibit Best Seat in the House will open with a reception on Thursday, March 5, 2026, from 5:00 – 7:00pm. Everyone is invited to come and meet the artist who will be on hand throughout the evening to help interpret and explain the stories and thoughts associated with each of his paintings.

The FMAAA Art Center is located at 825 Avenue G in Fort Madison, Iowa. Street parking is available in the area. This exhibition was made possible by donations from both ISP Inmate Spanish Affairs Group and Inmate NAACP Group. The FMAAA would like to thank these organizations for this support and is grateful for all sponsorships and donations from the community to help underwrite programming.

James Walker Henry has created well over 1,000 works of art and appears in permanent collections at major institutions in the United States. His work is also installed in Ireland, Holland, Germany, Brazil, France, England, and South Korea. His works have been featured in numerous art publications including Manhattan Arts, Surreal Magazine, and New Art Examiner. He has been in over three hundred art exhibitions. This exhibition will be on view through March 31 at the FMAAA Art Center during business hours 10am until 5pm Tuesday through Saturday.

Henry considers himself to be mostly a self-taught artist, continuing to learn as he created his extensive body of work. He began investigating his surrealistic style while attending Southeastern Community College, where he was influenced by the work of Salvador Dali. Henry reflects that he, “always felt like a life historian documenting happenings through paint and brush.” He encourages viewers to “stand back, and study the messages, symbolic and metaphoric,” as they unpack the meaning, messaging and symbolism that Henry pours into his work while they occupy “the best seat in the house” to take each piece in. Henry hopes viewers will come away with a positive outlook and thanks everyone in advance for coming to view this exhibition.