MEDIA CONTACT:
Vanessa Ormsby, RCA Communications Manager
(361) 729-5519 / vanessa@rockportartcenter.com
FROM COILS OF CLAY TO COLORFUL CREATIONS
Ceramics by artist Ariana Heinzman one of three January 2024 shows at Rockport Center of the Arts
ROCKPORT, Texas (Jan. 3, 2023) — “Stack.Loop.Shift,” featuring a unique collection of ceramic sculptures, wall works and functional objects by artist Ariana Heinzman, will kick off the New Year at Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA), joining fellow artists, sculptor Greg Reuter and photographer Ansen Seale, as the first RCA exhibitions of 2024.
Heinzman’s work will be on view and available for collection Jan. 9–Feb. 11, 2024, in the McKelvey Charitable Fund Gallery, with a public artist reception Saturday, Jan. 13, from 5–7 p.m. to officially launch the show. Admission is free and open to the public. The reception also will coincide with the monthly Austin Street Art Walk a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring RCA and other galleries located in downtown Rockport.
Heinzman creates quickly and intuitively, keeping her hand in her work, a direct process that captures the urgency and joy of making and acknowledges the agency of the materials. The raw clay retains memory and reacts to Heinzman’s touch. Forms are coil-built and smoothed by hand with each layer in turn defining the path of the next. Pigmented slip is applied in layers with brushes in gestural strokes forming bold lines and patterns. Form and surface are used to build illusion. There is a contrast between the naked clay body — soft and imperfect — and the bold, graphic finishing adornments.
“The joy from which the artist creates is evident,” said Catey Arnold, RCA exhibitions curator. “Heinzman’s vibrant vessels and whimsical sculptures are truly a sight to behold. We are delighted to present ‘Stack. Loop. Shift.’”
Representing the dueling desires of succumbing to nature and controlling it, Heinzman’s work embraces the utilitarian nature of pottery while also comparing it to forms in nature and the body. Various art movements and genres have influenced and developed her process, including traditional folk art and craft, specifically Pennsylvanian German Fraktur, as well as the graphic arts and intersections of craft and fine art throughout history, most notably William Morris.
Born in Cincinnati, Heinzman lives and works on Vashon Island located in Puget Sound near Seattle. Receiving her BFA in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2013, Heinzman has exhibited at the Vashon Center for the Arts and Pottery Northwest and has work included in the Seattle University Collection. She has been featured in The Seattle Times, as a noted Emerging Artist in Ceramics Monthly Magazine, and published in Pottery Making Illustrated. She is currently represented by J. Rinehart Gallery in Seattle.
For more information on "Stack.Loop.Shift,” visit rockportartcenter.com follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.
About Rockport Center for the Arts and The Rockport Conference Center (The ROCC)
The new 1.2-acre Rockport Center for the Arts is located a block away from Aransas Bay in the heart of the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Designed by the award-winning team at Richter Architects, the state-of-the-art campus features a two-story, 14,000-square-foot, visual arts and education building with four galleries and five classrooms (204 S. Austin St.); a one-story, 8,000-square-foot conference and event center, known as The ROCC, including a 4,400-square-foot ballroom and culinary arts kitchen (106 S. Austin St.); with a 16,000-square-foot Sculpture Garden serving as a visually inspiring transition space between the two buildings. The hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. For information on event space, or to book an event, call (361) 450-8033. For general information and to become a member, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.
About Austin Street Art Walk
Austin Street Art Walk is a collective effort of the Rockport Center for the Arts and Moon Over Water Gallery in partnership with Rockport galleries, restaurants, and businesses located along Austin Street in the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Scheduled the second Saturday of each month, April through December, from 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Art Walk is a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring an ever-changing mix of participants and art mediums such as paintings, ceramics, jewelry, photography, textiles, as well as live music, artist demonstrations, food and more. Follow us on Facebook for more information.
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