As another school year winds down and summer peeks around the corner, many parents are already searching for ways to keep kiddos active, engaged and off their electronic screens. The warmer months offer endless opportunities for children to explore new interests and make lasting memories.
Look no further than the Art Museum of Southeast Texas’ Free Family Arts Day on Saturday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 500 Main St. in downtown Beaumont.
It’s a day for of art activities, entertainment, concessions, and performances by Sonny “The Birdman” Carlin and his exotic birds.
The day is themed “The Art of H20,” which is inspired by two new exhibitions that are based around flow and nature of water – “Julius Stockfleth: Dawn of a Century” and “Bill Pangburn: Printed Traces – A Neches River Journal.”
Together, these exhibitions create a dialogue of water across time, offering both a historical perspective and a contemporary abstract exploration ranging from the gentle flow of the Neches River to the unpredictable nature of the Gulf of Mexico.
Stockfleth, a marine and landscape painter, was born in Germany in 1857 and died in 1935. He began painting at an early age, then immigrated to the United States in 1883 and settled in Galveston two years later. He listed himself as a portrait painter until he returned to Germany in 1907.
During two decades in Texas, Stockfleth produced a valuable artistic record of historic Galveston. This exhibition highlights his early work of documenting significant geographical locations and pivotal historical moments along the Texas coast most notable paintings depict moments before, during, and after the hurricane of 1900 in Galveston that took more than 6,000 lives.
His paintings present bright colors and precise detail with clear representational images of old Galveston’s ships, whether sailing vessels, steamers, freighters, fishing schooners, pilot boats, tugs, towboats, or barges. Other vessels that he depicted, such as clipper ships, racing yachts, and United States Navy battleships, may never have visited the port and were probably painted from photographs or prints.
This exhibition marks a meaningful return for Stockfleth’s work that was first presented at AMSET in October 1987, several weeks after the museum’s move to its new location in downtown Beaumont.
Stockfleth’s paintings offer a rare visual record of a pivotal moment in Texas history. Loans are courtesy of William Ray and Glenda Simpson, and The Bryan Museum.
Born in Amarillo, Texas, Pangburn studied fine arts at the Phillips-Universitaet, Marburg an der Lahn, Germany; Tulane University (BA in Fine Arts and German); and Pratt Institute (MFA in printmaking). A professional artist who works in painting, printmaking, and installations, he is also an arts administrator, curator, and educator at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and the director of the Anya and Andrew Shiva Gallery at John Jay College.
“Printed Traces – A Neches River Journal” presents a new body of work inspired by the reflection of light and movement of the Neches River. Pangburn is a mixed media artist and recognized for his large-scale abstract woodcut prints. This installation transforms the gallery with a print series which reflects his time on the Neches River through observations of shifting light, layered reflections, and the fluid movement of water.
Accompanying Pangburn’s exhibition, Texas composer Nathan Felix will present “Tales of the Neches: An Immersive Musical Experience” in partnership with the Symphony of Southeast Texas on Saturday, May 30, from 1-3 p.m. Admission is free, but reservations are encouraged online at amset.org.