June 18 - August 1
Opening Reception June 19
With an interest in art that began as a child, the paintings, drawings and printmaking creations of Robin Hazard are now exhibited across the U.S. and are part of both corporate and private collections. Hazard’s Rockport Center for the Arts maiden solo exhibition, Follow Me, will showcase her colorful, impressionistic style.
With a fine arts degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Hazard works in pastels, oils and acrylic. When not painting en plein air, she will draw a small sketch and add notations of colors to use, then create the painting. She has always been inspired by color as is evident in her strong and vibrant paintings.
“I loved drawing and coloring when I was a child,” Hazard said. “In college, my favorite artists were Matisse, Van Gogh and Gaugin. Later I discovered Milton Avery, and he is still my favorite today. I continued my art career through the years as life permitted and in the early ‘90s, I discovered pastels and thought, ‘what would Milton Avery paint?’ I still see these artists’ influence in my work. I love color. Color excites me!”
Hazard’s June 18–Aug. 1 show at Rockport Center for the Arts will feature almost 35 works created specifically for this exhibition, including the original work of art selected as the poster art that represents this year’s Rockport Art Festival, scheduled for July 3–4, 2021. There will be a public unveiling of the poster piece along with a reception on Saturday, June 19, from 5–7 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. A gallery talk with Hazard will take place at 5:30 p.m. The original work of art used to create the poster will be auctioned live July 2 at the Art Auction Gala, helping to raise funds for RCA’s education programs. One-hundred seriated and signed giclées and non-seriated and unsigned posters will be available for sale at the gallery and at the Art Festival Store during the event weekend.
“Robin Hazard’s bright colors and bold marks infuse her artworks with energy and joy,” said Elena Rodriguez, curator. “She abstracts her landscapes and florals into cubist scenes that are simultaneously nostalgic and otherworldly.”
Born in Freeport, Texas, and now residing in Rockport, Hazard’s work has graced private and corporate walls, gallery exhibits and publication pages over the years, including the 500 Exposition in Dallas, the Dallas Women’s Caucus for the Arts’ Pastel Journal and Dallas Life Magazine. Her drawings were featured at the Kimbell Museum’s Creative Process – Drawing Symposium (1983) in Fort Worth, and her vibrant pastels have been featured in solo and group exhibits at the Baum Gallery of Fine Art at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway; St. Vincent Center for Women and Children; Garvan Woodland Gardens’ Plein Air Exhibitions; and Arts in the Air at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, University of Arkansas in Morrilton, Ark.
Hazard remained busy throughout 2020. She was one of the featured artists included in the grand re-opening celebration of Cerulean Gallery in Dallas, was accepted into the prestigious Arkansas Arts Center 62nd Annual Delta Exhibition, and was one of four artists featured in Corpus Christi’s The Bend magazine's Artist Issue in June. Hazard was selected as a recipient of The New Normal: Rockport grant program which culminates with a group show in August of this year. In October, her work was featured through the Art Museum of South Texas’ Local Art Connections during their “Across the Atlantic,” exhibition. She is represented by Felder Gallery in San Antonio, Cerulean Gallery in Dallas and Boswell Mourot Fine Art in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Her vibrant, colorful style made her a perfect choice as the 2021 Art Festival poster artist, a tradition the last 29 years of the annual Art Festival, which is now in its 53rd year.
“After a year filled with uncertainty about the future, Hazard’s work was the perfect choice to brand this year’s Art Festival,” said Luis Purón, executive director for Rockport Center for the Arts. “Every year, a diverse committee gathers to select one master artist, to join a select group of individuals known for their excellence in the Arts, their engagement and contributions to the Rockport Center for the Arts, and their ability to capture a coastal aesthetic that is quintessentially Rockport. For many reasons, including her use of a robust color palette and mark making that has become uniquely her own, Robin Hazard exceeds these standards.”