The Beaumont Art League is hosting its annual Neches River Festival art exhibition with a free reception today from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. An additional reception will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., April 11 to honor Mike Persia III who was announced as King Neches LXXVI, April 3. Admission to both receptions is free.
The League has held an art exhibition to coincide with NRF for 70 of the festival’s 76 years, beginning in 1954.
This year’s exhibition features 78 pieces representing 46 artists. Juror Bob Avery will hand out awards during Sunday’s reception.
BAL assistant gallerist Adrien Connor said this year’s entries are heavily weighted to Southeast Texas’ wildlife and nature.
“The sort of things that are not necessarily unique to here but are indicative of our biosphere (that) we’ve got going on around here,” he said. “I was expecting to see more things that would lean into the culture of the area, but, honestly, it’s really mostly been wildlife, which is not too surprising, considering artists muses in nature.”
Connor said the exhibition has a wide range of media, from photography to ceramics to woodcarving, as well as acrylic and oil paintings.
As he was hanging the show, Connor said he was drawn to a large acrylic painting called “Tyrant Queen” by Tracey Baxley.
“It’s a giant mosquito that is quite accurate,” he said.
Connor is also represented in the show with a ceramic white deer he titled “Solstice.”
“It was winter at the time and I thinking about how we really don’t have much of a winter here,” he said. “And I was feeling a little melancholy about our lack of snow, the change of seasons being like a newborn deer.”
The exhibition is on display through May 29. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday, Noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
BAL is located at 2675 Gulf Street in Beaumont. For more, visit beamontartleague.us.
This story first ran in the April 7, 2024 Art ofLiving section of The Beaumont Enterprise.
English with a bit of Texas 