Current Exhibitions

 

January 21 through April 8, 2012

The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) is pleased to announce its winter exhibitions showcasing artwork by two prominent Texas artists.  Meredith Jack: Back in Black and This Rejection of the Conqueror: Works by Robert Pruitt will be on view January 21 through April 8, 2012.

An opening reception for both exhibitions will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, January 20 at AMSET.  Both Meredith Jack and Robert Pruitt will be present to conduct discussions about their work.

Meredith Jack: Back in Black

Meredith Jack: Back in Black will include recent works by this Houston-based artist who is widely respected in Southeast Texas as a sculptor, molten metal caster, fine arts instructor and mentor.

Jack’s exhibition title reflects the theme of the exhibition which is all non-referential, black sculptures created in a variety of metals including bronze, steel and aluminum.

The recently retired Lamar University professor earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and printmaking from the University of Kansas in Lawrence and Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Tyler School of Art/Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Meredith Jack: Back in Black is organized by AMSET and funded in part by Sheila & Jerry Reese and Susan & Jordan Reese, Richard Ashley, the C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation, Helen Caldwell Locke and Curtis Blakey Locke Charitable Foundation, Southeast Texas Arts Council, Dorothy Anne Conn, City of Beaumont, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. 

Above artwork: Meredith Jack, Rosegarden 46, 2011, steel, 104 x 40 x 107 inches.

This Rejection of the Conqueror: Works by Robert Pruitt

Also on view is This Rejection of the Conqueror: Works by Robert Pruitt, featuring large-scale figurative drawings, sculptures, and an instillation by the Houston native whose subject matter addresses timely political and cultural identity issues with an element of subtle humor. Inspiration from comic book superheroes, hip-hop and urban street culture from his predominately African American Third Ward of Houston neighborhood all play into his artwork.

 

“The notion of black identity has been complicated and largely misunderstood,” Pruitt explains.  “We control neither the construction, nor the distribution of our varied and multilayered stories of self.  I am attempting to interrupt the existing narratives with my own.”

Currently a Texas Southern University professor, Pruitt received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Texas Southern University in 2000 and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003.

 

This Rejection of the Conqueror: Works by Robert Pruitt is organized by AMSET and funded in part by Tracie and James Payne, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Links Inc. Golden Triangle Chapter, Carla and Josh Allen Sr., Carolyn “Linda” and Dr. Charles Foutz,  C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation, Helen Caldwell Locke and Curtis Blakey Locke Charitable Foundation, Dorothy Anne Conn, the City of Beaumont and Texas Commission on the Arts.

Above artwork:  Robert Pruitt, Steeped, 2011, conte and charcoal on hand dyed paper, 50 x 38 inches