MEDIA CONTACT:

Vanessa Ormsby, RCA Communications Manager

(361) 729-5519 / vanessa@rockportartcenter.com

EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY AT ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS

“Make the Dog Bark” to feature Greg Reuter sculptures; artist to host sculpture class

to benefit the acquisition of a new permanent sculpture.

ROCKPORT, Texas (Dec. 18, 2023) — In his new exhibition, "Make the Dog Bark,” sculptor Greg Reuter invites viewers to explore their emotions through his many hand-sculpted iron, aluminum, bronze, and ceramic depictions of man’s best friend.  

Featured in the Jeanie and Bill Wyatt Gallery at Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA), "Make the Dog Bark” will be on display and available for collection Jan. 12–March 17, 2024. A public reception with Reuter will be held on Saturday, January 13, from 5–7 p.m. to officially celebrate 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.

“Inspired by my own pets and the iconic look of a particular stray dog I saw while traveling in Mexico, I often use the image of a dog as an accessible entry point to bring viewers into deeper explorations of complex emotions,” said Reuter. “In recent years I have juxtaposed birds and dogs in my work to explore the relationship between the wild and the domestic. While birds represent the wild and enigmatic side of nature in my work, dogs reflect the unambiguous qualities of love and loyalty.”

Reuter will also lead a “Make the Dog Bark” Sculpture Class at RCA on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, from 10:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Reuter will demonstrate hand-building techniques, helping students as they work on their own clay dog sculptures, as well as the process of gilding a bisk-fired piece with copper leaf. Held in the visual arts and education building at 204 S. Austin Street, the class is $100 for RCA Members and $150 for non-members with online registration available at rockportartcenter.com.

Proceeds from the workshop and exhibition sales will be added to funds already being raised for RCA’s acquisition of a new permanent Reuter sculpture. Once acquired, the 7 ft tall x 11 ft long x 4 ft wide bronze dog sculpture will be placed in the Patricia Bennett Moore Sculpture Garden.

“Over the past five decades, Greg Reuter has been tantalizing audiences across the globe with witty and thought-provoking ceramic and metal sculptures that depict a lifelong fascination with flora and fauna,” said Luis Purón, executive director for RCA. “For his second solo exhibition at Rockport Center for the Arts, he celebrates man’s best friend, specifically a street dog he saw while traveling in Mexico named Espinazo (Backbone). A huge dog lover, Reuter has created different representations of the domestic animal for many years, in different sizes, and using various materials — including cast iron fabricated in molds at iron pours. This fascination has led to a new sculpture project for the new facility that will become a celebrated feature in the Sculpture Garden. We hope the entire community will help Make the Dog Bark at Rockport Center for the Arts.”

While living in South Texas, Reuter has created and collaborated on several public art pieces, including five for the city of Corpus Christi and two for TAMU-CC. For his first public art commission in Corpus Christi in 1988, he collaborated with ceramic artist William Wilhelmi to create a mosaic tile floor in the city hall rotunda. In 2006, he collaborated with the Ken King Foundry in Houston to produce the bronze The Year in Sand, commissioned by the Harte Research Institute at TAMU-CC.

Reuter received his BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts, earned an MFA in sculpture and ceramics from the University of Hawaii, and in 1978 joined the faculty of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) teaching ceramics and sculpture. After retiring from teaching in 2018, he established a full-time studio practice. Reuter has lectured throughout the U.S. as well as Mexico, Germany, and Japan; his work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be found in numerous private and public art collections. In 2015 Greg traveled to Tokyo and showed his work at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. During two stints at the Atelier Haus Hilmsen, Greg created sculptures which were exhibited in the Monchskirche Museum in Salzwedel, Germany in August 2017. He continues to pursue projects and make work that allows him to express his vision and share messages of conservation, loyalty, and love with his community.

For more information on the exhibition "Make the Dog Bark,” 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.–6 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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