Presented by Legacy Wealth Partners
June 13th - Aug 2nd, 2026
H-E-B Gallery
Reception Saturday, June 13 | 5-7PM
Elena Rodz - Oil Painter
The 2026 Master Artist - the 34th recipient of the prestigious title, Elena Rodz, former RCA Curator, is known for her evocative nocturnal oil paintings that reflect her surrounding environments. Elena continues a celebrated tradition that began in 1993 with Harold Phenix. The honor includes a solo exhibition during Rockport Art Festival, one of the longest-running juried art festivals in the U.S., held annually on the July Fourth weekend.
Rodz will also create an original work for the Art Auction Gala, a long-standing kickoff event for the festival. A limited edition fine art print, produced by Hare and Hound Press in San Antonio, will be available for order from Rockport Center for the Arts.
Born in Chalk Mountain, Texas, Elena Rodz spent her childhood among barn cats and open skies. Her early love of art was nurtured by visits to the Dallas Museum of Art and the Amon Carter Museum with her grandmother. After earning a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis and an MFA in Painting from the New York Academy of Art, she established studios in Brooklyn before returning to Texas in 2013.
Rodz fell in love with the flat, vast landscape of the Gulf Coast and made Corpus Christi her permanent home. She served as curator for Rockport Center for the Arts for a decade, helping to connect a small town with the larger contemporary art world. Since 2023, she has taught at Del Mar College, mentoring the next generation of artists. Her home is lovingly shared with pets who outnumber the people two-to-one.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025 — TBA, South Texas College-Pecan Campus, McAllen, TX
2024 — As the Sun Goes Down, Wind Way Gallery, Rockport, TX
2023 — We’ve All Been There, Produce Gallery, Corpus Christi, TX
2022 — Dilly Dally, Redbud Gallery, Houston, TX
2021 — It’s Only For a Moment, K Space Contemporary, Corpus Christi, TX
(Top 5 Solo Exhibitions by Glasstire Magazine, June 24, 2021)
2019 — Where I’ve Been, Gallery at Anita Diebel Studio, Rockport, TX
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 — Summer Show, New York Academy of Art, NYC
— Celebrating Community Art, All Saints Episcopal Church, Corpus Christi, TX
— La Merienda, Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX
2024 — Texas Contemporary Artists, Gotham Art Gallery, NYC
— New Texas Talent, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX
— Target Texas, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
— Posies, Fort Works Art, Fort Worth, TX
— Small Works Show, 400h Gallery, Fort Worth, TX
2023 — 10th Annual Juried Exhibition, Artspace 111, Fort Worth, TX
2022–2011 — Exhibitions in Houston, Fort Worth, Seattle, NYC, and more