The Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts and Juanita and Ralph Harvey School of Visual Arts present, in partnership with Zavala Hispanic Cultural Initiative, a Mata Ortiz Ceramics Exhibition at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Texas. This international art exhibit is funded by the City of Wichita Falls Arts & Culture Grant Program, awarded through the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture.

Mata Ortiz is a small town in Mexico that is known for its reinterpretation of Casas Grandes ceramics, a pre-Columbian pueblo and artistry that is attributed to the Mogollon culture. Work from the Quezada family will be on display. The Quezada family are known to have brought this ceramic art form back to prominence in the 1970s and have been making and exhibiting the art form and hosting workshops since the early 1980s. Their work has been covered in various books, doctoral theses, and periodicals and can be found in major museums in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Art Historian and Retired Executive Director of the Texas Commission on the Arts Ricardo Hernandez says, “In almost 50 years as an artist, arts administrator and cultural advocate, I have come to understand that the true purpose of making art is to preserve one’s patrimony. Juan Quezada, his family and colleagues do so with the utmost respect for the achievements of the peoples that inhabited Casas Grandes, in the Northern State of Chihuahua, Mexico. Like it’s architects, the potters of Mata Ortiz practice their craft with a heightened sense of quality and strong aesthetic values. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to engage this spectacular contemporary work, rooted in pre-Columbian craft, ingenuity and excellence.”

Margie J. Reese, Executive Director of the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture says, “The City Arts & Culture grant program is designed to support programs and projects that increase tourism, serve as a catalyst for economic growth, and encourage public participation in arts and cultural activities. This exhibition salutes the diversity of our community and further notes our commitment to bringing excellent programs to Wichita Falls.”

The exhibition will be open to the public at the WFMA from May 14-17 and will end with a reception from 6-8 p.m. May 17. Admission is free.