Museum of New Mexico Media Center Press Release

Jesús Moroles Fountain at New Mexico Museum of Art to be Renovated

New Mexico Museum of Art

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2011

MEDIA CONTACT

(Santa Fe, NM, April 27, 2011)—Since 1985, sculptor Jesús Moroles’s fountain has welcomed visitors in the summer months to the New Mexico Museum of Art, enlivening its historic central patio with the sound and ambience of cascading water. Last summer the patio was silent as the fountain was turned off due to repair needs. In early May 2011, Moroles and his crew will be at the museum to repair Mountain Fountain so it can be enjoyed once again by the museum’s many visitors.

The work to be done includes pouring new cement supports upon which the Dakota granite pillars rest; sealing the reservoir beneath the fountain to prevent loss of water; replacing the pump and piping; powercleaning and resurfacing the granite, removing calcium build-up to bring the stone back to its former glory; and resetting and realigning the pillars. The work is scheduled to begin on May 5, and is expected to take 5-7 days to complete.

Visitors will be able to see the work in progress during regular hours as part of their museum visit. “The flow of water over this sculpture brings out the intrinsic beauty of the stone, and creates as sense of oasis within the museum’s beautiful courtyard. It’s an added bonus that our visitors will have the opportunity to see the artist at work on such an evocative piece,” commented Museum Director Mary Kershaw.

The renovation project has been generously funded by museum supporter Blaine Gutermuth, in memory of his wife Shirley Gutermuth. Blaine and Shirley previously donated a Jesús Moroles sculpture, Figure Inner Column (1997), which is now sited in the museum’s O’Shaughnessy Memorial Sculpture Garden.

ABOUT Jesus Moroles

Jesús Moroles was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1950. He received a BFA from North Texas State University in 1978, then apprenticed with sculptor Luis Jiménez in El Paso in 1978-1979. He next spent a year working in Pietrasanta, Italy, a Tuscan town near the renowned Carrara marble quarries favored by Michelangelo, and many other artists, since the 15th century. Upon his return to the United States, Moroles embarked on his sculptural work with granite, for which he has become widely known. In 1983 he established his studio in Rockport, Texas, where he continues to be based today.

Moroles has been a steady presence in New Mexico over the years, exhibiting regularly at galleries in Santa Fe beginning in 1980. In 1985 he bought the former Cerrillos school properties, including an old gymnasium, and in 1996 established the Cerrillos Cultural Center, a studio and performance/exhibition space where he would invite international artists to work and exhibit in the summer months

To date, Moroles’ work has been included in more than 160 one-person exhibitions and more than 200 group exhibitions. He has more than 2,000 works in place in China, Egypt, France, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States, in museum, corporate, public, and private collections. Museum collections with holdings of Moroles’ work include the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution; the Dallas Museum of Art; the Palm Springs Art Museum; the Albuquerque Museum; and the New Mexico Museum of Art.

Among Moroles’ numerous accolades are an Award in the Visual Arts Fellowship (1982), a National Endowment for the Arts grant (1984), two American Institute of Architects awards (1995, 1998), the Texas Medal of the Arts Award for Visual Arts (2007), and the prestigious National Medal of Arts (2008). Since 1996 Moroles has been a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.

Media Contacts

Laura Addison, Curator Contemporary Art

505-476-5118

laura.addison@state.nm.us

 

Steve Cantrell, PR Manager

505-476-1144

505-310-3539 – cell

steve.cantrell@state.nm.us

 

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