2022

Mario Perez joins Rockport Center for the Arts as Preparator

Mario Perez, of Los Fresnos, Texas, has joined the Art Center family as Preparator, supporting Curatorial staff in the display of exhibitions. The new facilities feature 5 gallery spaces. Born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, Mario studied graphic design in Houston. After graduation, he embarked on a lifelong career as a contemporary painter and photographer. His work has been exhibited in galleries across the State of Texas. For his work, Mario has received excellence awards from the Dallas Museum of Art and the National Endowment for the Arts. For the past 20 years, Mario has worked as a Preparator for San Antonio’s major museums, including the San Antonio Museum of Art, Artpace San Antonio, The Witte Museum, The Briscoe Western Art Museum, and most recently the McNay Art Museum. Throughout his life, he has enjoyed travelling to Mexico City and photographing street scenes, hand painted signs, and art found in public spaces. In August 2022, his photographs were featured in Designbloom Magazine in an article about the banning of Rótulos (hand painted street signs).

Donate to the Ceramic Studio

We’re raising funds to purchase new equipment for the new Ceramics Studio. We have a lead gift of $10,000. Our goal is to raise an additional $30,000 to cover the cost of purchasing and installing the new state of the art equipment. If you would like to help, please add a note to your contribution field letting us know you wish for your donation to go towards new ceramic studio equipment.

Donate
 

Donate to the Silent Auction

Thank you for donating to the Rockport Art Festival Silent Auction. The Silent Auction will take place Friday, July 1, on the festival grounds near Rockport Beach. Proceeds from the Auction go to support the many FREE to low cost cultural programs of Rockport Center for the Arts. We appreciate your support for the Art Center and the Arts community of Rockport.

Important Dates | Online Donation Form

 

Important Dates

APRIL 29 - Donation form live & accepting donation information

JUNE 10 - RCA MEMBERS, please deliver your donation by this date to Art Center staff and volunteers

JUNE 18 - ART FEST ARTISTS, please fill out this form by this date to let us know what you are donating

JULY 1, 1PM - ART FEST ARTISTS, please deliver your donation to the big tent (if not already delivered to RCA)

JULY 1 - 6PM - ART AUCTION GALA featuring the silent auction

JULY 2-3 - 2022 Rockport Art Festival

 
 

Catalog of Paintings by Mike LaFleur

A Catalog of Paintings by

Cerulean Gallery and Rockport Center for the Arts have partnered to bring you a collection of work by Mike LaFleur. LaFleur, a West Texas native, discovered his love for art at the age of six when he first painted with his grandmother, and has continued to create beautiful works of art ever since.  From the winter torn pueblos of the Taos Valley to the tattered flags of the lone star state, his subject matter remains traditional despite his modern style.

A portion of the proceeds from this catalog will go to the Rockport Center for the Arts Imagine campaign.

 
 

To purchase work in the catalog please call Rockport Center for the Arts at (361) 729-5519.
Download a pdf of the catalog here.

 
 

NEW Beach Day SCULPTURE Arriving in Time for Beach Weather

ROCKPORT, Texas (April 20, 2022) — Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA) today announced the completion of Beach Day, its new work by nationally recognized figurative sculptor Kathy Wardle. Currently in transit from the bronze foundry in Loveland, Colorado, the sculpture is scheduled to arrive in Rockport by May 3 with installation scheduled for Wednesday, May 4, in the heart of downtown.

Made possible by a contribution from an anonymous donor, Beach Day is a 700-pound, one-of-a-kind bronze work conceptualized by the donor, the artist, and RCA with Rockport in mind. Comprised of five individual bronze sculptures depicting a family walking the beach, shells and sand at their feet, the three-quarter life-size pieces will be displayed with prominent visibility at the intersection of South Austin Street and Wharf, on the same block as the new $12.3 million campus currently under construction.

“In 2019, we began work to find a representational sculpture that had a deep connection to who we are in the small coastal community of Rockport, Texas,” said Luis Purón, RCA executive director. “Wardle is one of six artists we interviewed and her design for Beach Day surfaced as the strongest candidate because the concept was specifically tied to our community.”

Wardle completed the long and intricate process of clay molding the sculpture in spring of 2021. The clay sculpture was then enlarged by DuChateau Sculpture Services, a professional 3-D scanning and digital resizing provider in Loveland, Colorado, using 3-D digital scanning and custom-designed milling machines to replicate the specific details of the sculpture in an armature- a high-density foam version of the piece. Dan Ochs of Ochs Wax Pouring of Loveland then began his part of the process, carefully separating the sculpted figures into sections, brushing on coats of rubber over the clay sculpture pieces, followed by a plaster mold. Separated into 30 pieces, wax was then poured into the plaster molds followed by a silica sand mixture used to make ceramic shells over the wax forms as part of the cire perdue (lost wax) process to be completed at the foundry.

Beach Day’s molds were then sent to Bronze Services, Inc. of Loveland, Colorado for the bronzing process. Known as the highest quality bronze fine art foundry in the U.S., the company utilizes top-of-the-line materials and specializes in the lost wax casting process, providing high-end service to acclaimed artists from around the world. Once the bronzing process was completed and the molds were removed, the 30 individual Beach Day sections were carefully welded together and re-sculpted into the five figures using specialized tools to refine the piece to exactly match the original clay sculpture, with the patina added as the final step.

“I use multi-colored patina in my sculptures that allows bright colors other than the traditional browns and ochres to be part of the finished look,” Wardle stated. “I think it adds visual excitement and heightened reality to my work.”

With a Master of Visual Arts and vast experience studying with internationally acclaimed artists, Wardle has been teaching three-dimensional design and creating representational sculptures in bronze for four decades. The work of this Colorado-based artist is technically correct as each piece of clay is shaped and positioned to maximize her intellectual and emotional interpretation of the desired message. Wardle often finds herself marveling over the artistic act of making a lump of clay come alive, becoming intimately involved with the texture, shape, rhythm, and emotion her art conveys.

“I attempt to depict humankind’s finest traits in my artwork,” Wardle said. “Courage, bravery, triumph, hope, kindness, joy and love are emotive themes I have tried to communicate in past works. In Beach Day, I revisit emotions that I believe are eternally important to our humanity. Beach Day shows a family filled with love and joy as they head to the beach for a wonderful day of fun and togetherness.”

In addition to RCA’s first edition Beach Day sculpture, up to four other editions are permitted to be cast by the artist. Including Wardle’s Beach Day, RCA’s public art program will feature a total of 17 pieces of art in its permanent collection.

“One of our primary goals has been to use sculpture to create a conversation about Art that stretches from downtown Rockport to the new campus on Austin Street, and onto the sculptures that are part of the permanent collection located near Aransas Bay and Little Bay,” said Purón.

About Rockport Center for the Arts
Rockport Center for the Arts has moved temporarily to 401 S. Austin Street at the Baker Law Building, first floor, while awaiting the August 2022 completion of a new facility. Hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Thursday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. For general information, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519. For information on event space, or to book an event, contact Venue Manager Carla Ligon at (361) 779-6801.

RCA Announces Sculpture Acquisition

Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA) today announced it is acquiring new work by nationally recognized figurative sculptor Kathy Wardle, the second new piece to be procured this year for RCA. 

Made possible by a contribution from an anonymous donor, Beach Day is a one-of-a-kind bronze piece conceptualized by the donor, the artist, and RCA with Rockport in mind. Depicting a family of five walking to the beach, the 400-pound, three-quarter life-size sculpture is scheduled to be completed December 2021 and will eventually be displayed with prominent visibility along South Austin Street, near the new $8.7 million RCA campus currently under construction in the heart of downtown Rockport.

“I attempt to depict humankind’s finest traits in my artwork,” said Wardle. “Courage, bravery, triumph, hope, kindness, joy and love are emotive themes I have tried to communicate in past works. In Beach Day, I revisit emotions that I believe are eternally important to our humanity. Beach Day shows a family filled with love and joy as they head to the beach for a wonderful day of fun and togetherness.”

With a Master of Visual Arts and vast experience studying with internationally acclaimed artists, Wardle has been teaching three-dimensional design and creating representational sculptures in bronze for four decades. The work of this Colorado-based artist is technically correct as each piece of clay is shaped and positioned to maximize her intellectual and emotional interpretation of the desired message. Wardle often finds herself marveling over the artistic act of making a lump of clay come alive, becoming intimately involved with the texture, shape, rhythm, and emotion her art conveys.  

“In late 2019, we started working on the concept for a representational sculpture that had a deep connection to who we are as a people in the small Coastal community of Rockport, Texas,” said Luis Purón, RCA executive director. “We interviewed a total of six artists from across the United States. We asked them to study our community and present concepts. Wardle’s Beach Day surfaced as the strongest candidate because the concept was specifically tied to our community. In November of last year, we signed an agreement with Wardle, and she started work on Beach Day right away. At the end of August, we visited her at the foundry in Loveland, Colorado, where the sculpture is now, ready to be cast.”  

Wardle is hands-on start to finish, from the block of clay she uses to create the piece to supervising every step through the finished bronze sculpture and the patina process, so it’s only natural she would work with professionals equally dedicated to their craft in this lengthy and meticulous process.

Wardle completed the long and intricate process of clay molding the sculpture this spring. The clay sculpture was enlarged by DuChateau Sculpture Services, a professional 3-D scanning and digital resizing provider in Loveland. Using 3-D digital scanning and custom designed milling machines, DuChateau replicated the specific details of the sculpture to create the armature, a high-density foam version of the piece. Dan Ochs of Ochs Wax Pouring of Loveland then began his part of the process. Serving artists for more than 30 years, Ochs carefully separated the sculpted figures into sections and brushed on coats of rubber over the clay sculpture pieces, followed by a plaster mold. The sculpture was separated into 30 pieces. Wax was poured into the plaster molds followed by a silica sand mixture used to make ceramic shells over the wax forms as part of the “lost wax” process to be completed at the foundry.

Beach Day’s molds are now at Bronze Services of Loveland, Inc. where they are beginning the bronzing process. Known as the highest quality bronze fine art foundry in the U.S., the company utilizes top-of-the-line materials and specializes in the "lost wax" casting process, providing high-end service to acclaimed artists from around the world. Once the bronzing process is completed and the molds are removed, the 30 individual Beach Day sections will be carefully welded together and re-sculpted, using specialized tools to refine the piece to exactly match the original clay sculpture. The last step is to patina the finished five elements that comprise the sculpture. 

“I like multi-colored patina in my sculptures that allows bright colors other than the traditional browns and ochres to be part of the finished look,“ Wardle said. “I think it adds visual excitement and heightened reality to my work.” 

In addition to RCA’s first edition Beach Day sculpture, up to four other full-size sculptures are permitted to be cast by the artist. Including Wardle’s Beach Day, RCA’s public art program will feature a total of 17 pieces of art in its permanent collection.

Spring Art Fair in Rockport Announces Exhibitors for 2022

Presented by Salemi’s Ace Hardware, the March 25–27 event features national and international artists from galleries across Texas

ROCKPORT, Texas (Feb. 9, 2022) — Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA) is busy preparing for its second annual Spring Art Fair, presented by Salemi’s Ace Hardware, March 25–27.

Featuring fine art created by artists represented by 14 galleries, the two-day booth-style show will be held at the Fulton Convention Center Saturday, March 26 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday, March 27, from 11 a.m.–4 p.m., with a VIP-Preview Party Friday evening, March 25, starting at 6 p.m.

“We are ready to kick off our 2022 event season with the Spring Art Fair,” said Luis Purón, executive director for RCA. “Last year, for our inaugural Art Fair event, we featured the work of local galleries and artists. We are excited to expand the format to include galleries from across the State of Texas and are pleased to announce the exhibitors for this year’s event.”

Throughout the weekend, guests may stroll through the spacious Fulton Convention Center while acquiring fine art for their private collections from reputable and established galleries, including:

  • Art Everywhere, Bayside, Texas

  • A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, Texas

  • Cerulean Gallery, Dallas and Amarillo, Texas

  • Hausmann Millworks, San Antonio, Texas

  • K Space Contemporary, Corpus Christi, Texas

  • Mi Vida Loca Gallery, Corpus Christi, Texas

  • MJP Art Services, Houston, Texas

  • Mockingbird Handprints, San Antonio, Texas

  • Moroles Art Co, Rockport, Texas

  • Presa House, San Antonio, Texas

  • Texas A&M Corpus Christi Faculty, Corpus Christi, Texas

  • The Gallery at Anita Diebel Studio, Rockport, Texas

  • Wind Way Gallery, Rockport, Texas

The Spring Art Fair kicks off Friday evening, March 25, from 6–8:30 p.m., with a special VIP-Preview Party at the convention center featuring heavy hors d’oeuvres, live music by Gulf Coast Jazz, and valet parking. Individual tickets to the VIP Preview Party are $125 per person for RCA members, $150 for non-members, and are now available for purchase. Patrons attending the VIP Preview Party will get to see the work first and have the opportunity to acquire it that evening directly from exhibitors before the event opens to the public on Saturday, March 26.

This year, attendees will also have a unique opportunity to interact with Mark Prendergast of MJP Art Services, a AAA certified appraiser of fine art, antiques, and collectibles. Prendergast, who has worked with RCA on art auctions in previous years, will be providing free verbal valuations of up to three items per person on a first-come, first-served basis. Guests may bring the items (no jewelry) in person or have photographs on a mobile device to receive current secondary sale market values or insurance valuations.

Single-day tickets are now on sale for the weekend Art Fair, Saturday and Sunday, March 25 and 26, for $6 per person, ages 13 and up; children 12 and under are free. Refreshments will be available throughout the weekend.

Salemi’s Ace Hardware returns as title sponsor for the second-year event along with other sponsors including Teal Construction Company, Richter Architects, Baker Law, Luce Properties LLC, Karen Mella Realtor, First Community Bank, New Beginnings, NavyArmy Community Credit Union, and media partners: KIII-TV and iHeart Radio. Government supporters include the Texas Commission on the Arts, the City of Rockport Texas, and Aransas County.

The Official Hotel for the Spring Art Fair, Fairfield Inn by Marriott, located at 2950 Hwy 35 North Business in Rockport, is offering a guaranteed room rate of $149 per night for those needing accommodations.

For a detailed exhibitor list and more information on the Spring Art Fair and VIP-Preview Party, visit www.RockportArtFair.com or call (361) 729-5519.

About Rockport Center for the Arts

Rockport Center for the Arts has moved temporarily to 401 S. Austin Street at the Baker Law Building, first floor, while awaiting the August 2022 completion of a new facility. Hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Thursday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.– 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. For general information, visit Rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519. For information on event space, or to book an event, contact Venue Manager Carla Ligon at (361) 779-6801.

Rockport Center for the Arts Parking Groundbreaking Ceremony Invitation to the General Public

Date: Friday January 28, 2022 ⸙ Time: 11:00 am

Venue: Rockport Center for the Arts Parking Lot, corner of S. Live Oak St. and North St., Rockport, TX

ROCKPORT, Texas (Jan. 11, 2022) – Construction on Rockport Center for the Arts’ (RCA) Parking Lot is scheduled to start in late February. Located on North Street between N. Magnolia and Live Oak Street it is scheduled for completion September 2022, around the same time RCA new campus will be completed. The parking lot will surround the historic Train Depot on three sides. The depot was saved through Aransas County’s acquisition of a grant, which allowed for the purchase of the property and having its sole structure donated to the Rockport Cultural Arts District for preservation.

The parking lot will comprise 60 spaces, overhead lighting, landscaping, an irrigation system and sidewalks that connect the lot to RCA new campus located one-block away on S. Austin St. through existing sidewalks. It will provide parking for RCA, community events and general parking for downtown merchants. Construction on the lot will start in late February. The engineer for the project is Hanson Engineering and the contractor is Marshall Construction, both from Corpus Christi, Texas.

The parking lot is made possible through a Community Development Block Grant administered by the Texas General Land Office, and is part of a $53.9 million block grant Aransas County obtained after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

“One of Downtown Rockport’s needs has been to have parking for citizens and tourists to enjoy the unique offerings of the area. Aransas County is happy to have obtained the grant to make this project and many others happen,” said Judge “Burt” C.H. Mills. Luis Purón, RCA executive director said “We are thankful to the leadership of Aransas County forhaving the foresight to include parking that will support 22,000 square feet of new RCA facilities for conventiontourism, programs in all forms of Art, and the many activities in downtown Rockport.”

For more information about the block grant visit: https://www.glo.texas.gov/the-glo/news/pressreleases/2020/may/cmr-george-p-bush-announces-more-than-43-million-in-disaster-recovery-funds-for-aransascounty.html

To RSVP to the groundbreaking email pio@aransascounty.org