The Art Museum of Southeast Texas to Show Texas Artists Meredith Jack & Robert Pruitt

Written by Marshall MacDougall Sunday, 15 January 2012 02:08

Beaumont, Texas.- The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) is proud to present its winter exhibitions showcasing artwork by two prominent Texas artists. "Meredith Jack: Back in Black" and "This Rejection of the Conqueror: Works by Robert Pruitt" will both be on view at the museum from January 21st through April 8th 2012. An opening reception for both exhibitions will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, January 20th, both Meredith Jack and Robert Pruitt will be present to conduct discussions about their work.

"Meredith Jack: Back in Black" will include recent works by this Houston-based artist who is widely respected in Southeast Texas as a sculptor, molten metal caster, fine arts instructor and mentor. Jack’s exhibition title reflects the theme of the exhibition which is all non-referential, black sculptures created in a variety of metals including bronze, steel and aluminum. The recently retired Lamar University professor earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and printmaking from the University of Kansas in Lawrence and Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Tyler School of Art/Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "This Rejection of the Conqueror: Works by Robert Pruitt" will feature large-scale figurative drawings, sculptures, and an instillation by the Houston native whose subject matter addresses timely political and cultural identity issues with an element of subtle humor. Inspiration from comic book superheroes, hip-hop and urban street culture from his predominately African American Third Ward of Houston neighborhood all play into his artwork. “The notion of black identity has been complicated and largely misunderstood,” Pruitt explains.  “We control neither the construction, nor the distribution of our varied and multilayered stories of self.  I am attempting to interrupt the existing narratives with my own.” Currently a Texas Southern University professor, Pruitt received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Texas Southern University in 2000 and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003.


Incorporated in the state of Texas on September 14, 1950, the Beaumont Art Museum was originally housed on the lower floor of a two-story rented house on Calder Avenue in Beaumont. In September of 1956, the S. Perry Brown family donated funds to build a facility on the Southeast Texas State Fairgrounds. This building now houses the Beaumont Art League. In 1969, the family of J. Crooke Wilson donated their estate to the City of Beaumont for the purpose of housing the Beaumont Art Museum. The donation was contingent upon the City of Beaumont providing professional direction and a serious educational focus to the Museum. The five-acre property was located in Old Town, Beaumont’s historic district. On September 10, 1987, after completing a comprehensive capital drive which brought in $4.2 million, the Beaumont Art Museum was re-born as the Art Museum of Southeast Texas and found its current home at 500 Main Street in Beaumont. The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) has been acquiring works of art for its permanent collection since 1950. In those early days as the Beaumont Art Museum (BAM), new additions came from purchases from the annual members show and from gifts of generous donors. Just as each member had their own diverse taste in art, so did the collection result in a widely assorted group of various styles of artwork. As AMSET has grown into maturity, so has the focus of its collecting. For the better part of the last two decades, AMSET director, curators and the Acquisitions Committee, an ongoing assembly made up of AMSET board members and other community members, have continuously worked to assemble a cohesive but integrated body of artwork. The areas of concentration have evolved to include modern and contemporary American art with a focus on the Texas region, including painting, prints, photography, sculpture, as well as contemporary folk art and a core collection of earlier 19th and 20th century works that can provide context in which to view later work. As of 2009, the AMSET permanent collection includes approximately 1,000 pieces. AMSET is extremely proud to have Beaumont natives and internationally renowned artists John Alexander and Paul Manes represented in its permanent collection. The Beast by John Alexander, a large pastel and charcoal drawing of a crocodile in a swamp-lke setting, and Daedalus by Paul Manes, a large multi-panel painting of the frontal view of an airplane that hangs in AMSET’s foyer, are both incredibly amazing pieces by these accomplished artists. Other highlights of the permanent collection currently include I Fled Him Down the Days and Down the Nights by Mary McCleary, which features an assortment of interesting media in collage; Ratoo Barada Nictoe by Al Souza, a large circle collage of puzzle parts; Low Tide by David Bates, an oil painting of a bird eating a fish with the ocean in the background; and X-Log by Helen Altman, a, X-shaped, lighted log sculpture which currently hangs in the Quinn Lecture Hall. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.amset.org/

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