ROCKPORT, Texas (Nov. 24, 2020) — As the holidays approach, Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA) is decking the halls with the work of its member artists for the annual “Currents: The All-Members Exhibition,” running Nov. 25 through Dec. 28, 2020.
“Currents” features one art piece from each of the 90-plus participating member artists, with all media represented, including paintings, sculptures, ceramics and pottery. From this show, three Merit Artists will be selected by a guest juror to participate in an RCA group show in winter 2021. This year’s guest juror is Caroline Crockett Kneese, a Dallas-born artist and founder of Cerulean Gallery located in Dallas and Amarillo, Texas.
Merit Artist selections will be announced Saturday, Dec. 12, during a public reception being held from 5–6:30 p.m. RCA Curator of Exhibitions Elena Rodriguez will also announce the artist selected to create the 2021 Rockport Art Festival event poster, now a 29-year tradition that began with the 1993 festival. A maximum of 70 attendees will be admitted at any one time in the galleries, and all attendees, including visitors, staff, and volunteers, are required to wear face masks and maintain social distancing.
“This annual all-member exhibition highlights our family of artists and provides an opportunity for three of them to stand out as a Merit Artist the following year,” said Luis Purón, executive director of RCA. “I believe guests will be impressed by what they see from Rockport’s talented artists and will perhaps find one-of-a-kind holiday gifts as we launch extended hours through the end of 2020.”
About This Year’s Juror, Caroline Crockett Kneese
Caroline Crockett Kneese was born and raised in Dallas, a 5th generation Dallas native on both sides of her family. After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2002 from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Kneese immediately began participating in gallery exhibitions around Dallas, creating commissioned artworks, teaching children’s art classes, and interning at the Dallas Center for Contemporary Art. In 2003, Kneese began working for Art Ability, an art consulting firm located in the Dallas Design District, serving as manager and lead consultant for three years before deciding to venture out and open her own art gallery. She opened Cerulean Gallery in University Park’s Snider Plaza in March 2006, hosting more than 75 artists in 33 exhibitions in addition to dozens of private events and charity fundraisers. In September 2009, Kneese moved to Amarillo, Texas, opening her Cerulean Gallery there in January of 2015. She now lives in Dallas once again, reopening Cerulean in its original space in Snider Plaza.
About the Rockport Art Festival Poster Artist Tradition
Every year, a diverse committee of artists and art patrons gathers to select one master artist to create the official poster for the annual Rockport Art Festival, a tradition dating back to the 1993 festival and master artist Harold Phenix. This select group of chosen artists are known for their achievements in the Arts, for their engagement and contributions to the Rockport Center for the Arts, and for their ability to capture the coastal aesthetic that is uniquely Rockport and that is recognized across the State of Texas. The first Rockport Art Festival was hosted in 1969 and has grown to become one of the most respected, and longest running juried art festivals in the United States.
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