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 ktimberlake@amset.org

AMSET is ‘Dancing on the Water’ to celebrate 32 years

(Beaumont, TX; August 27, 2019) Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host its 32nd Anniversary Gala: Dancing on the Water, Saturday, September 28, 2019, 7:30 – 11 p.m. at the Event Centre. AMSET invites the community to celebrate 32 years of education, inspiration, and creative vision.

Cocktail hour begins at 7:30 p.m. Fine dining by Bando’s Catering will be served at 8 p.m. Silent and live auctions will feature enticing items and packages such as a beach cabin retreat and a pre-symphony dinner. There will be a live performance by The Flava Band. Attendees are encouraged to wear shimmering attire.

The Gala will feature honorary gala chair John Alexander and recognize our gala honorees, internationally recognized artists, James Surls & Charmaine Locke, and the extraordinary museum patron Albert E. Nolen.

A powerhouse gala committee of Judy Black, Sandra Clark, Sandra Fertitta, Kathé Hendricks, Aggie In, Janey Phelan, and Kim Steinhagen make this anniversary event possible. Led by emcee Roy Steinhagen and auctioneer Gary Moncla, a talented auction committee of Nikki Albanese, Karen Babineaux, Lisa Coon, Gerald Farha, and Candice Walters will be sure to delight party goers with creative live and silent auction packages. 

Individual seats are $250. Table reservations range from $2,500 to $15,000. A $15,000 table can seat up to 10 guests. Top table packages include premium seating, pre-party champagne at AMSET, and an original Dancing on the Water print created by Charmaine Locke and James Surls.

All proceeds benefit AMSET exhibitions and educational programs.  For more information or to make a reservation, visit amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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The Legacy of Narcissus explores intersection of social media, art and politics

(Beaumont, TX; August 15, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will exhibit Prince Varughese Thomas: The Legacy of Narcissus, from September 21 through December 1, 2019 in the main galleries.

On Friday, September 20, 2019, 6-8 p.m., AMSET will host a free and open to the public opening reception where the artist will be present. Light appetizers and beverages will be provided complimentary of AMSET.

This exhibition will feature works by Prince Varughese Thomas, a multidisciplinary artist who is part of what has come to be known as the Indian Diaspora. Thomas is Indian by birth, naturalized in the US, and raised primarily between India and the United States. His work reflects his sense of the world growing up outside of the dominant culture in which he exists.

Thomas’s immersive multimedia exhibition will fill the entire gallery space of the museum including brand new works of photography, video, drawings, and three-dimensional installations. The Legacy of Narcissus explores the intersection of Social Media, Art, and Politics that speak about our collective Narcissism as a culture.

Thomas received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington, and his M.F.A. from the University of Houston. He is currently a professor at Lamar University. He is an Art Prize 7 award recipient in time-based media, and is a Texas Biennial Artist. His work has been included in over 200 solo and group exhibitions at museums, galleries and alternative spaces nationally and internationally. His most recent exhibitions include a solo exhibition of charcoal drawing at Hooks-Epstein Galleries in Houston, a multimedia exhibition at the Asia Society Texas Center, and video at the CICA Museum in South Korea. He is currently represented by Hooks-Epstein Galleries in Houston, Texas. 

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

This exhibition is generously funded, in part, by Kathé and Jim Hendricks, Kim and Roy Steinhagen, the City of Beaumont, the Wesley W. Washburn M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment fund, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation.

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Prince Varughese Thomas, Logan Paul, from the series Masters of the Universe, 2019, Pigment Print on Velvet Paper, 20 x 20 inches, 

Image courtesy of the Artist & Hooks-Epstein Galleries

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Beaumont artist finds inspiration from daily life in Café Arts Series

(Beaumont, TX; August 7, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host CRAIG ODLE: Experiments and Evolution August 29 – November 17, 2019 in AMSET’s Café Arts Series for Local Artists. On Sunday, September 15, 2-4 p.m., AMSET will host a free and open to the public artist’s reception.

Born in Houston in 1987, Odle grew up in Beaumont, where he now resides. A pop-surrealist/lowbrow painter, Odle finds inspiration in day-to-day life. The concepts he uses in his paintings come to him from conversations, music, movies, dreams and at times just odd thoughts. The titles for his pieces generally speak to whatever idea that was used in the conception of the piece. Sometimes, his artwork has a deep or dark meaning while other times the piece may insinuate a riddle or a pun.  Most of his work is done on canvas using acrylic paint.

Odle believes that his life experiences have shaped the way he views and creates art.

“If we look at life and the world all around us, we can see evolution firsthand,” he said. “I believe that my experience and progression with my passion to create is no different. I had an experience around four years ago that changed my outlook on art and what it would take to move forward with my craft, and since then I have, one day at a time, moved further away from my comfort zone.”

A mixture of experimentation and evolution, as evidenced by the series’ title, has influenced Odle’s work.

“Over time I have begun to believe that my art is a living thing – when it is pushed and nourished it evolves like every other living being in the universe,” he said. “These pieces showcase many of the experiments that took place to help my painting practice grow into what it is currently. Only time, and the evolution that takes place during that time, will tell as to what the future holds for me and the canvases that cross my path.”        

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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Craig Odle, I Don't Want No Water Ma!, 2019, mixed media on canvas, 16 x 20 inches 

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LU art professor to give talk on summer exhibit, Gulf Coast Lore & Lure

(Beaumont, TX; July 30, 2019) Lamar University art history assistant professor, Stephanie Chadwick, will give a talk on Gulf Coast Lore & Lure: Selections from the Permanent Collection at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas’s summer Taste of the Arts Lecture Series, Friday, August 30 at 12:30 p.m. The talk is free and open to the public. A buffet-style lunch for $14.02 (includes tax) per person will be served following the lecture. All are welcome to join us as we continue the conversation in the AMSET library.  

Chadwick is an assistant professor of art history with the art department at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, where she teaches classes in Art Appreciation, Modern and Contemporary Art, the History of Photography, and Global Perspectives. Her research interests include modern European art and theory; relationships between art, literature, and colonialism; and art as multicultural exchange. She served as a teaching assistant and earned her PhD at Rice University in 2015 with the dissertation Disorienting Forms: Jean Dubuffet, Portraiture, Ethnography. Her research has been supported by a number of significant grants and has resulted in publications and presentations on Jean Dubuffet and other modern and contemporary artists. She is writing a book titled Jean Dubuffet, Bricoleur: Portraits, Pastiche, Performativity, contributes essays to the educational art history website Smarthistory, and has served on the Board of Directors at the Art Studio and the Acquisitions Committee of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas.

Gulf Coast Lore & Lure: Selections from the Permanent Collection will be on view until September 1, 2019 in the main galleries. Works in this exhibition relate to the rich wonders of the Gulf Coast, whether through imagery or storytelling. Modern and contemporary works by artists such as John Alexander, Derek Boshier, Keith Carter, Dixie Friend Gay, Melissa Miller, Richard Stout, and many more, are on view, as well as a dynamic selection of regional folk art works.

For more information, visit amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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Lamar University Professor Stephanie Chadwick

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David H. Gibson, Lotus Stems and Cloud Reflections, Texas Gulf Coast, gelatin silver print, selenium toned,

16 3/4 x 23 1/6 inches, 2005, museum purchase, PC 2013.01.05

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Join AMSET for a back-to-school beachy Family Arts Day, Aug.10

(Beaumont, TX; July 11, 2019) As back-to-school quickly approaches, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) invites children and their families to finish their summer with an artistic flair and join in AMSET’s summer Free Family Arts Day on Saturday, August 10, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Children and their families are encouraged to explore the museum and learn about the artwork currently on display. Art activities are inspired by AMSET’s current exhibition, Gulf Coast Lore & Lure: Selections from the Permanent Collection. Children and their families will create their own innovative artwork such as stacked animals inspired by the sculptures of David Everett, fish prints, sand drawings, seashell necklaces, mermaid tails, and woven seascapes.

Throughout the day, AMSET will draw winners for backpacks full of school supplies for the new school year. Rounding out the fun will be live demonstrations by Gator Country and their reptilian friends.

Complimentary cookies and punch will be provided.  A concession stand serving ballpark-style food will be available, as well as free face painting.

Admission to this event is free and open to the public.  For more information, visit amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

This program is made possible in part by Carla and Josh Allen, American Valve and Hydrant, Bill Clark Pest Control, Sandra Clark, Goodyear Beaumont Chemical, Helen Caldwell Locke and Curtis Blakey Locke Charitable Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Stanley K. Price, Regina Rogers – In loving memory of Julie & Ben Rogers, Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation, and the City of Beaumont.

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

AMSET to host The Art of Flowers as part of First Thursday, Aug. 1

(Beaumont, TX; July 3, 2019) To kick off its August First Thursday, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will partner with The Music Studio and Blumen Farms to host The Art of Flowers, a one-night only exhibition consisting of floral arrangements from local florists inspired by artwork created by Southeast Texas artists. The event will take place Thursday, August 1, 2019, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the museum’s café and foyer.

Joining in on the First Thursday fun downtown, AMSET will offer wine and beer for purchase as well as light refreshments. Admission is free and open to the public.

In addition to The Art of Flowers, attendees will have the opportunity to view AMSET’s summer exhibition, Gulf Coast Lore & Lure: Selections from the Permanent Collection, in the main galleries. Jennifer G. Thompson: un peu de tout will also be on view in the Café Art Series for Local Artists.

“As part of our Downtown Beaumont Cultural Arts District (DBCAD), the Art Museum of Southeast Texas hopes to join First Thursdays and keep it as a monthly event to raise cultural awareness in our area,” Lynn Castle, AMSET executive director, said.

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432. 

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 ktimberlake@amset.org

Artist explores American culture in Café Arts Series

(Beaumont, TX; June 14, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host Jennifer Thompson: un peu de tout June 27 – August 25, 2019 in AMSET’s Café Arts Series for Local Artists. On Saturday, July 13, 2-4 p.m., AMSET will host a free and open to the public opening reception, where the artist will be present.

 Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Thompson grew up in Mississippi, where she attained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with an emphasis in painting. Thompson now lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area where she teaches high school art, sculpture, and AP 3D while also pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communications. Her teaching skills have been extended while serving as Camp Director at AMSET for the past 5 years.

Her personal life experiences impact her roles as designer and creator, Thompson said.

“Photos, billboards, magazines, colors, shapes and symbols have become increasingly present before my very eyes,” she said. “These images become part of my current visual culture. Throughout most of the 20th century, depictions of food, clothing, customs and every aspect of daily life were publicized in magazines providing a visual context of my American culture.”

Thompson believes our lives are all intertwined by a single thread, strand, or fiber. 

“In each of my designs, a common thread is presented between each element whether it be tangible or intangible,” she said. “Found objects, such as magazines from the 1920s to the 1980’s, and other various materials build up a sense of history, authenticity and objectivity. Through my creative practice of collaging vintage images or creating new compositions out various media, I find the context to a narrative.”

Dance and music have wielded a constant influence on her life as well, Thompson said. 

“The arts have not only played an important role in my life but also in American history,” she said. “The arts bridge the gap of cultural differences and help to find a common ground where at times words have failed. My artistic inspiration and future endeavors have so much to yet to be expressed as I continue to explore my personal life experience and American culture through my creative process.”

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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Jennifer Thompson, Color Field Dancing, 2016, vintage magazine collage and watercolor on paper, 13.25 x 20 inches

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AMSET to host art sale fundraiser, “In the Eye of the Beholder”

(Beaumont, TX; May 30, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host “In the Eye of the Beholder: An Evening of Art & Hors D’oeuvres,” an art sale and museum fundraiser, on Thursday, June 27, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. at the museum.

Tickets are $25 per individual. Heavy hors d’oeuvres and drinks are included in the ticket price.

Over 100 pieces of artwork will be on display and available for purchase. Some pieces include those that were a part of John Gaston Fairey’s collection of Mexican Folk Art. Fairey donated over 1,000 objects from his collection to AMSET with the intent of offering some pieces for sale. Proceeds will help offset the expenses of caring for the objects designated for the permanent collection. There is a wide selection of ceramics among other splendid forms of Mexican folk art.

The sale will also include works on paper by the late George Wentz, a local Beaumont artist, as well as original drawings by the late Ruth Orr, a Beaumont-area artist and art teacher, as well as a selection of international posters.

There will also be a curated silent auction comprised of 20 pieces of artwork, including premier selections from the Fairey Collection.

The event is chaired by Jan Fulbright and Kathy Gober.

Proceeds benefit AMSET’s Permanent Collections Care and Management.

For more information or to purchase your ticket, visit amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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Tree of Life, Garden of Eden, Lilly Soteño

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AMSET to showcase permanent collection pieces with a seaside theme

(Beaumont, TX; May 16, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will exhibit Gulf Coast Lore & Lure, featuring selections from AMSET’s permanent collection. Works in this exhibition will relate to the rich wonders of the Gulf Coast, whether through imagery or storytelling. The exhibition runs from June 15-September 1, 2019 in the main galleries.

Modern and contemporary works by artists such as John Alexander, Derek Boshier, Keith Carter, Dixie Friend Gay, Melissa Miller, Richard Stout, and many more, will be on view, as well as a dynamic selection of regional folk art works. Also on view will be a selection of recent acquisitions, giving visitors a window into the actively growing permanent collection.

On Friday, June 21, 2019, 6 – 8 p.m., AMSET will host a free and open to the public opening reception, featuring a Reading and Gallery Talk with Pete Gershon, author of Collision: The Contemporary Art Scene in Houston, 1972-1985, executive director Lynn Castle, and curator of exhibitions and collections, Mariah Rockefeller. Light appetizers and beverages will be provided complimentary of AMSET.

Gershon is also the author of Painting the Town Orange: The Stories Behind Houston’s Visionary Art Environments. From 1997 to 2013, he was the founding publisher of Signal to Noise: the Journal of Improvised and Experimental Music. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Non-Fiction from Hampshire College (1995) and a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas (2015).

AMSET strives to provide education, inspiration and creative vision throughout Southeast Texas through our unique collections, exhibitions and public programs. Over the years, AMSET’s permanent collection has grown from 200 to nearly 2,000 objects, focusing its collections on contemporary Texas artists and regional folk art. The generous donations of museum patrons, collectors and artists allow the museum to continuously build its collections. This exhibition of selections, solely from the permanent collection, will feature works of art that draw inspiration from our rich coastline.

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

This exhibition is generously funded in part by an award from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Beaumont, the Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund, the C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation, and the members of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas.

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David Bates, Low Tide, 1990, oil on canvas, 86 x 48 inches, 

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Carol Tyrell Kyle bequest and the gift from Mrs. Anna Marie Brown

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Step into a new world at AMSET’s Free Family Arts Day

(Beaumont, TX; April 18, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) presents its spring Free Family Arts Day on Saturday, May 18, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Art activities are inspired by AMSET’s current exhibitions. JOOYOUNG CHOI: Big Time Dreaming in the Age of Uncertainty features soft sculptures, mixed media paintings, and a video station, and JULES BUCK JONES: Future Fossils includes large-scale, mixed media paintings, drawings, and an installation featuring a 36-foot suspended sculpture of a Mosasaur, influenced by biological concerns, mythology, fact and fiction. Children and their families will create their own innovative artwork such as Felt Flowers, Mosasaur Mask-Asaurs, Nature Silhouettes, Puppets, and Potato Rocks.

Complimentary cookies and punch will be provided as well as live entertainment.  A concession stand serving ballpark-style food will be available, as well as free face painting. 

Admission to this event is free and open to the public.  For more information, visit amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

This program is made possible in part by Anonymous, Carla and Josh Allen, American Valve and Hydrant, Bill Clark Pest Control, Edaren Foundation, Goodyear Beaumont Chemical, Helen Caldwell Locke and Curtis Blakey Locke Charitable Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Stanley K. Price, Sheila and Jerry Reese, Regina Rogers – In loving memory of Julie & Ben Rogers, Rob Clark & Jerry Thacker, Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation, and the City of Beaumont.

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Beaumont native Sandy Walker inspired by natural world in Café Arts Series

(Beaumont, TX; April 12, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host Sandy Walker: Nuances April 18 – June 23, 2019 in AMSET’s Café Arts Series for Local Artists.

Walker is an artist directed by her own sense of color, form, and light inspired by the natural world. Although she studied drawing at the University of Houston under Beaumont native John Alexander during her college years, Walker dedicated her career to social work and retired after 45 years as a curriculum developer and director of community services programs. She has always incorporated drawing into her daily routine, sketching interiors and design elements that come alive in her newest paintings. She also spends time in Sanderson, Texas, where she is constantly inspired by the landscape and sky colorations that call so many artists to the west Texas region. Her work has been exhibited at the Beaumont Finder’s Fayre, and is included in private collections throughout Texas.

Her paintings evolve much like children to Walker – playing with one another, becoming disobedient, learning from and teaching lessons to the artist as she nurtures them into their final realized compositions.

The paintings in Nuances are abstract revelations of Walker’s search for truth in natural beauty, and her dedication to studying the processes and interactions between paint and the canvas. To her, abstract art is “total freedom,” and she enjoys allowing the paintings to tell her where they want to go.

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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Sandy Walker, The Tropicale, 2014, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches, Collection of the Artist  

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LU professor to give talk on AMSET spring exhibitions

(Beaumont, TX; April 9, 2019) Lamar University art professor, Xenia Fedorchenko, will give a talk on JOOYOUNG CHOI: Big Time Dreaming in the Age of Uncertainty and JULES BUCK JONES: Future Fossils at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas’s spring Taste of the Arts Lecture Series, Monday, April 29 at 12:30 p.m. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the galleries with lunch to follow in the Two Magnolias café, Dutch treat style.

Fedorchenko received her Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. Joining Lamar’s art department in 2006, Fedorchenko serves as the associate professor of color theory, drawing and printmaking. She is represented by Water Street Studio in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her work is in the permanent collections of several museums as well as university, corporate and private collections throughout the country.                                                                                                                                              

Per Fedorchenko’s faculty bio on the Lamar University website, in teaching, she aims to balance formal training and commitment to a high level of craftsmanship with an environment that cultivates community, honesty, curiosity and willingness to push the challenge inherent to any piece. Instruction in her courses occurs through incremental skill-building exercises that lead to assignments based on content. Overall, Fedorchenko wishes her student to find the visual language that propels her or him to get excited, discover and articulate his or her knowledge. In her research, Fedorchenko is drawn to the human figure as a universally comprehensible symbol for our kind and to the baggage it contains.           

JOOYOUNG CHOI: Big Time Dreaming in the Age of Uncertainty and JULES BUCK JONES: Future Fossils will be on view from March 16-June 2, 2019 in the main galleries.                

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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