CORPUS CHRISTI GLASS ARTISAN, BRAD PEARCE, RETURNS TO ROCKPORT, WHERE HE FIRST LEARNED HIS CRAFT
MAIDEN SOLO EXHIBITION OPENS DURING ROCKPORT STUDIO TOUR WEEKEND, APRIL 7-8
(ROCKPORT, TX.) Sixteen years ago, a young high school student approached Steve Russell, a multi-media Rockport artist, about learning the art of glass-blowing. This simple interaction launched the artistic journey of the Coastal Bend’s most prominent traditional glass artisan, Brad Pearce.
For the next 13 years, Pearce travelled across the country as both student and educator in glass. Moving from Texas to Taos and then Ohio, he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Institute of Art in Cleveland in 2009. He worked with renowned glass artists at the Pilchuck School of Glass; the Penland School of Craft in Spruce Pine, North Carolina; the Haystack School of Craft in Deer Isle, Maine; and the Wheaton Village Arts & Cultural Center in Millville, New Jersey.
In 2015, Pearce returned to his hometown, Corpus Christi, and opened the first of its kind glass art studio in the budding museum district. The Texas Project Glass Studio is where Pearce creates and sells exquisitely crafted objects of art in glass. His work combines elegant form with complex pattern of ribbons, reminiscent of the thousands of waves that break in nearby Corpus Christi Bay.
“The first time I saw glass art was in the pages of a Dale Chihuly book. I remember being instantly attracted to the vivid colors and shapes of the work" says Pearce.
In April 2018, Full Circle, a solo exhibition featuring Pearce’s work, brings him back to the city where he first fell in love with the art of glass-blowing. The opening reception takes place April 7, at 5 pm, at Rockport Center for the Arts. A walking gallery talk will precede the reception at 4:30 pm. The weekend of April 7-8 is a celebration of the town’s art community as the Art Center presents its first ever Artists’ Studio Tour.
About his solo show, Pearce states, “I am excited and truly honored to be showing my latest works at the new Rockport Center for the Arts. It’s amazing to think it was only 15 short years ago that I first encountered glass making right here in Rockport. After all that I have done and seen in the time between its pretty incredible that the journey has come full circle.”
Exhibitions Curator, Elena Rodriguez states, “We are so excited to host this exhibition.” She adds, “Brad Pearce came to Rockport and discovered his inner artist. I wonder how many people’s lives will be changed by the art they will see this weekend.”
Full Circle will be on display through May 19.
