August 19 - October 12, 2025
Jeanie & Bill Wyatt Gallery
Reception Saturday, September 13th 5-7PM
Jessica Ninci - Sculptor
A Field Guide is a collection of ceramic sculptures inspired by the Texas Gulf Coast. Collected objects and beach-combed shells are mimicked in clay in a kind of echo. Having grown up frequenting Galveston and now as a resident, Ninci has a connection and reverence for the Texas Coast and has been collecting “souvenirs” from its shores for about three decades. Somewhere between scientific study and revery, Ninci carefully recreates objects gathered from the beaches of Galveston to the shores of Rockport, as well as those from small local shops, and second-hand stores. Depicting both the natural and artificial – from the skeletal remains of a sand dollar to a knotted nylon rope – these sculptures are set within a backdrop of abstracted dunes covered in native, gulf coast flora – including the Evening Beach Primrose, Cucumber-leaf Sunflower, Dollarweed, Indian Blanket, Camphorweed, and various native grasses.
“When I find an object to re-create, there’s a shift of importance - no longer a mass of forms along the coastline or in a shop, but this particular shell, or bit of rope, or book, or post-card… it’s an exercise in careful observation.”
Jessica Ninci is originally from Houston, Texas. She earned her MFA from the University of Houston in 2013 and her work has been exhibited in various spaces including the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Lawndale Art Center, The Blaffer Museum, Box 13, Jonathan Hobson Gallery, Front Gallery, the Glassell School of Art, the Galveston Artist Residency, Picnic (Dallas), Rising Tide Projects in Galveston, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In 2017, Ninci completed a seven-week residency in the North Set Studios through Bea Ying Projects in Houston, Texas. She currently lives in Galveston, Texas and co-runs an art space and gift shop called Rising Tide Projects with her partner and fellow artist Dan Schmahl. They are 2019 and 2025 recipients of The Idea Fund artist grant.
Artist Website: Jessica Ninci