MEDIA CONTACT:
Vanessa Ormsby, RCA Communications Director
(361) 320-2064 / vanessa@rockportartcenter.com
SUMMER HEATS UP WITH HOT EXHIBITIONS AT ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Unique ceramics of James Tisdale round out summer lineup
ROCKPORT, Texas (May 22, 2025) — The galleries of Rockport Center for the Arts are set to sizzle this summer, including “Reflections,” by artist James Tisdale, June 17– August 10 in the Jeanie and Bill Wyatt Gallery, featuring the artist’s colorful and unique larger-than-life ceramic figures.
“Reflections” is an entirely new body of work from the Austin, Texas-based Tisdale, featuring 10 figures constructed using the coil method. Once the heavy grog white clay body form is established, the surface is then finished with several layers of underglazes, stains, and glazes, while some are painted. With each added layer, the work is subjected to another firing. This process of layering colorants is used to add depth to the surface and a look of distress to the piece. The larger works are quite labor-intensive, with the largest work standing 83” high.
The work will be on view and available for collection through August 10, with an opportunity to meet the artist at a special reception Saturday, August 9, from 5–7 p.m. Free and open to the public, the event will coincide with the monthly Austin Street Art Walk, a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring RCA and other galleries located in downtown Rockport.
“Tisdale’s work is both deeply human and wonderfully unexpected,” said Catey Arnold, Barrow Foundation Curator of Exhibitions for RCA. “The ceramic characters are emotive and process-driven, and thanks to the physicality of the work, there’s a really enjoyable tension between play and introspection coming through—I’m really looking forward to bringing it all together in the Wyatt Gallery next month.”
With a personal iconography rich with references to the cultural, social, political and religious experiences of growing up in Mississippi, Tisdale’s outlook is humorous, poignant, and sometimes confrontational, as he observes the world around him. His work draws upon both the beauty and the ugliness of this region, exploring the concepts of what society ordains as acceptable or beautiful, as well as what it condemns as being ugly and undesirable. Having grown up in the south, he discovered that many situations, events and people are a mixture of both definitions. For him, the intrigue lies not only within the borders of these interpretations but also in how these labels can influence a lifelong attitude.
Tisdale attended the Penland School of Arts and Crafts, receiving his B.F.A. in Ceramics the the University of Mississippi in Oxford, and his M.F.A. in Ceramics from the University of Georgia in Athens, also participating in a UGA studies abroad program in Cortona, Italy.
A past National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient, Tisdale is currently the Ceramic Program Coordinator at The Contemporary in Austin, Texas. He has appeared in well over 100 solo and group exhibitions across the U.S. and around the world, served as a visiting assistant professor of ceramics for several universities, including his alma maters, has conducted workshops and lectures, and received numerous awards, fellowships and grants for his work.
During his career, Tisdale has enjoyed numerous opportunities to serve as resident artist, including the Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China, in 2010; the International Ceramic Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary; The Clay Studio in Philadelphia; and the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana. In 2021, he was invited to Uzés, France, to participate in the residency program at Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, which had a lasting impact on him. Tisdale notes that the dual influences of Southern folk tradition from his upbringing and European Renaissance sensibilities from his time in Europe continue to shape his work today.
For more information on Rockport Center for the Arts, visit rockportartcenter.com follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.
About Rockport Center for the Arts
The 1.2-acre Rockport Center for the Arts, the Coastal Bend’s first multidisciplinary arts organization, is located a block away from Aransas Bay in the heart of the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Designed by the award-winning team at Richter Architects, the state-of-the-art campus features a two-story, 14,000-square-foot, visual arts and education building with four galleries and five classrooms (204 S. Austin St.); The Rockport Conference Center, a one-story, 8,000-square-foot conference and event center, known as The ROCC, (106 S. Austin St.); with a 16,000-square-foot Sculpture Garden serving as a visually inspiring transition space between the two buildings. The hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. For information on event space or to book an event, call (361) 450-8033. For general information and to become a member, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.
###