Sculpture project the first announced for new arts facility slated for completion August 2022
Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA) today announced it has entered into an agreement to procure a new sculpture from Ullberg Studios, Inc.
Recognized as one of the world's foremost wildlife sculptors, Kent Ullberg is now a resident of Padre Island just east of Corpus Christi, Texas. Often inspired by nature and in this case, the wildlife of the Texas coast, Merry Time Romance will feature a pair of seahorses, scaled up from an original 19.5-inch mantel piece to a finished size of 8 feet and approximately 300 pounds.
Made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor, the bronze sculpture will be prominently displayed in the 16,000-square-foot outdoor sculpture garden of the new RCA campus currently under construction in the heart of downtown Rockport.
“Seahorses pair for life, and every morning the couple greets each other in intricate, rhythmic, pair-bonding dances, interpreted in my design with the upside-down heart,” said Ullberg. “At breeding time, the female then places her eggs in the male’s belly pouch, and the father carries the embryos through gestation until he gives birth to sometimes hundreds of babies.” Resident of the waters of the South Texas Coast, the lined seahorse (scientific name Hippocampus erectus) is a diurnal species with an approximate length of 15 centimeters and lifespan of one to four years.
There are 20 Ullberg sculptures currently on display in the Coastal Bend, including two already owned by RCA. Ullberg’s other sculptures in RCA’s permanent collection are Preening Heron, featuring an 5-foot tall abstracted bird, and Rites of Spring, his famed monumental 13-foot tall bronze sculpture of two whooping cranes that was the genesis of the original RCA sculpture garden located on Aransas Bay.
“The sculptures of Kent Ullberg are some of the most realistic and breathtakingly beautiful depictions of wildlife ever created,” said Luis Purón, executive director for RCA. “From his beautiful mantel pieces to the striking public monuments he has created, his work is recognized worldwide. We are so pleased to be adding yet another one of his magnificent pieces to our collection. I will be visiting Kent’s studio and the foundry where casts his work at the end of the month. It will take roughly a year to deliver the work, about the same time our new art campus is completed.”
The new $8.7 million RCA will be home to hallmark programs in the 14,000-square-foot visual arts and art education complex, an 8,000-square-foot performing arts facility and convention center featuring a culinary arts education kitchen and multiple break out rooms for meeting space, along with the sculpture garden housing works from the permanent collection by nationally and internationally recognized artists such as Ullberg.
A native of Sweden, Kent Ullberg is recognized as one of the world's foremost wildlife sculptors. He studied at the Swedish University College of Art in Stockholm and worked at museums in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Africa and Denver, Co. After living in Botswana, Africa, for seven years he has made his home permanently in the United States where he now lives on Padre Island, near Corpus Christi, Texas. He also maintains a studio in Loveland, Co.
Ullberg is a member of numerous art organizations and has been honored with many prestigious awards. In 1990 his peers elected him a Full Academician (NA), thus making him the first wildlife artist since John James Audubon to receive one of the greatest tributes in American art. A selection of his memberships include the National Sculpture Society; the American Society of Marine Art; the Allied Artists of America; Nature in Art, Sandhurst, UK; the National Academy of Western Art in Oklahoma City, Okla., which awarded him the Prix de West, the foremost recognition in Western Art. In 2010 he received the Briscoe Legacy Award and in 2016 the lifetime achievement award from the Society of Animal Artists.
Best known for his monumental works executed for museums and municipalities across the globe, his Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and his Omaha, Neb., installations are the largest bronze wildlife compositions ever done, spanning several city blocks. Both earned him the coveted Henry Hering Medal Award from the National Sculpture Society, NYC. His most recent monumental installation is "Snow-Mastodon," a life-size bronze Mastodon placed outside the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
About Rockport Center for the Arts
Rockport Center for the Arts has moved temporarily to 401 S. Austin Street at the Baker Law Building, first floor, while awaiting the completion of a new facility in August 2022. Hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Thursday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Friday and Sat from 10 a.m.– 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. Visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519 for more information.
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ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS ANNOUNCES NEW ACQUISITION BY CELEBRATED SCULPTOR KENT ULLBERG