Rockport, Texas — Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA) is pleased to present upcoming exhibitions showcasing the work of contemporary artists Lauren Selden, Janavi Mahimtura Folmsbee, and Jennifer Arnold. Opening this spring and continuing into the summer across RCA’s campus galleries, these exhibitions bring together distinct artistic approaches that explore nature, memory, and material through immersive environments, layered imagery, and sculptural forms.
“This exhibition cycle is unique, with each upstairs gallery operating as a world of its own. Lauren Selden speaks in metal and metaphor, weaving observation and memory through natural and architectural forms. Jennifer Arnold and Janavi Mahimtura Folmsbee also begin with lived experience, using photographic imagery as a point of departure for materially driven, interdisciplinary bodies of work.
Across all three exhibitions, there is a shared intensity of observation and care. Each offers a distinct perspective, inviting viewers to become immersed and connect more deeply with themselves and the worlds in which they live.” — Catey Arnold, Executive Director, Rockport Center for the Arts
In the McKelvey Charitable Fund Gallery, Lauren Selden: What I Discovered Was Familiar will be on view April 3 through May 17, 2026. Lauren Selden is an artist and professor living in East Texas. Her work spans sculpture, installation, fine art, and craft, blending organic and geometric forms to explore themes of adaptation and memory. Selden says, “Endurance is central to this body of work—not as steadiness, but as persistence shaped by interruption and discovery. I am drawn to moments where growth disrupts order and where memory presses against structure. In Invasive Species, organic, fabricated metal weeds emerge from rigid geometric forms, interrupting architecture and reminding us that neither natural systems nor social ones remain fixed. In Returning Home, I use thin wax to create small-scale replicas of the homes where I have lived. Formed with heat and care, these fragile structures hold memory in their surfaces and recall places shaped by displacement, rising water, and time.”
A reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, April 11, from 5–7 PM.
Artist Website: seldenart.com
In the H-E-B Gallery, Janavi Mahimtura Folmsbee: Magic Water will be on view April 18 through June 7, 2026. Folmsbee, based in Houston, Texas, is an interdisciplinary installation artist known for her work in marine conservation. She creates immersive, image-based environments inspired by her global scuba diving expeditions. Her work which includes public art, lenticulars, marinescapes and port holes, sculptures, photography, textiles, watercolors, and more blends science and art, drawing attention to the beauty and fragility of marine ecosystems through lenticular imagery, sculpture, and large-scale installations.
Magic Water is an official Participating Space of the 2026 FotoFest Biennial and an endorsed activity of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Through vivid color, layered imagery, and intricate forms, Folmsbee invites viewers into an experiential underwater world that emphasizes interconnectedness and environmental awareness.
This exhibition is presented by The Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation.
A reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, May 9, from 5–7 PM.
Artist Website: janavimfolmsbee.com
Also, on view in the Jeanie & Bill Wyatt Gallery, Jennifer Arnold: A Layered Space: Coming Up For Air (v.6) will be exhibited May 7 through August 9, 2026. Arnold is based in Corpus Christi, TX, where she has maintained a studio practice since receiving her MFA from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in 2009. Arnold serves as Co-Chair for the Board of Directors, and Chair of the Exhibitions Committee for K Space Contemporary; a 501(c)3 non-profit contemporary art space in downtown. She served as adjunct professor as well as the academic advisor for the arts at TAMUCC for many years. She is now Assistant Professor of Art and Director of University Galleries for the Department of Art + Design at TAMUCC.
Arnold communicates her observations, with often delicate pieces, and integrates her thoughts into photography, collage, sculpture, utilizing a photographic technique Canvas Peels. The Canvas Peels are her most unique works. The process began as an accident, and fortunately, through tireless experimenting, was able to reproduce it and control it. Each leaf, article of clothing, etc. is photographed individually, printed on canvas, and then the image is released from the canvas leaving a transparent, archival image/object. These images are pliable and are adhered to a wire armature creating an object both real and surreal.
These pliable image-objects are arranged into immersive environments that blur distinctions between the natural and the constructed. In this latest iteration, Arnold transforms plants, textiles, and everyday materials into hybrid landscapes that challenge perception and create dreamlike, disorienting spaces.
A reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, June 13, from 5–7 PM.
Artist Website: jenniferarnoldstudio.com
These exhibitions highlight RCA’s commitment to presenting dynamic contemporary artists working across disciplines and scales, offering visitors a rich and engaging gallery experience.
For more information, visit rockportartcenter.com.
About Rockport Center for the Arts
The 1.2-acre Rockport Center for the Arts campus is located in the Rockport Cultural Arts District and features multiple galleries, classrooms, a sculpture garden, and The ROCC conference center. RCA is dedicated to supporting the arts through exhibitions, education, outreach, and community engagement. Admission to the galleries is always free. For more information, visit rockportartcenter.com or call (361) 729-5519.