Exhibition Dates: June 2 – July 14, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 2 from 6 – 8 pm
Gallery Location: 432 Julia Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Contact Info: 504.522.1999; www.arthurrogergallery.com
The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present “Rings of Granite,” an exhibition of sculpture by Jesús Moroles. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger Gallery, located at 432 Julia Street, from June 2 – July 14, 2012. The gallery will host an opening reception with the artist in attendance, Saturday, June 2 from 6-8 pm.
Jesús Moroles considers granite “the core and heart of the universe.” His new sculptures exemplify his recognizable and revered technique, presented in small- to large-scale and utilizing a range of granite including Texas Pink, Dakota, Black and Fredericksburg. The abstract works continue to resound with suggestions of nature and man and explore the coexistence of the two. Trained formally in the United States and having spent a year in the quarries in Pietrasanta, Italy, Moroles is recognized internationally as one of the greatest sculptors working with granite today.
Each of Moroles’ works has roughly equal proportions of raw and smooth surfaces. The sculptor employs a “tearing” process, whereby wedges are inserted into small holes that have been drilled in the granite. When pressure is applied, the stone tears into a line or curve, exposing the untouched interior. The remaining surface is then smoothed and polished. Moroles encourages his audience to experience his pieces with multiple senses, to touch and explore.
Born in 1950 in the Texas coastal town of Corpus Christi, Moroles now resides in Rockport, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from North Texas State University. In 2007 the artist received the Texas Medal of Arts Award for the Visual Arts and in 2008 the prestigious National Medal of Arts. Moroles’ major commissions include an environmental installation of fountains and sculptures for the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Birmingham, Alabama; a 22-foot tall, 60-ton sculpture, “Lapstrake”, at the former E.F. Hutton Plaza, New York, located across the street from the Museum of Modem Art; and water sculptures at the Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico and the Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe. Since 1996 Moroles has been a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.
His work is included in numerous esteemed public collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.; the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas; Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas; New Orleans Museum of Art; the Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina; and The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, New Orleans, Louisiana.
