81R18702 CBE-D
By: Crownover H.R. No. 1211
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Sculptor Jess Moroles of Rockport was one of only
nine people to receive the 2008 National Medal of Arts, which was
presented to him by President George W. Bush on November 17; and
WHEREAS, Born in Corpus Christi in 1950, Mr. Moroles earned a
bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of North Texas in
1978; he subsequently apprenticed under Luis Jimenez in El Paso and
lived and worked in Italy before building a studio in Rockport in
1983; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Moroles exhibited at Texas museums early on, and
after receiving the Awards in the Visual Arts Fellowship in 1982,
his works were included in a two-year traveling exhibition that
originated at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago; his
penchant for large-scale granite sculpture developed along the way,
and the results are now found in a variety of outdoor spaces
throughout the country, including CBS Plaza in New York City; his
largest sculpture is the Houston Police Officers Memorial, which
spans 120 feet by 120 feet and is the site of an annual procession
and wreath-laying ceremony; besides its size, a trademark of his
work is highly polished areas of granite juxtaposed with rough
natural surfaces; and
WHEREAS, The stunning sculptures of Mr. Moroles have
impressed audiences far beyond Texas and the United States;
included in more than 160 one-person exhibitions and some 200 group
exhibitions, they have also found permanent homes in China, Egypt,
France, Italy, Japan, and Switzerland and in numerous museum,
corporate, public, and private collections; and
WHEREAS, Recognized for his significant artistic
contributions, Mr. Moroles has been appointed to the Visual Arts
Advisory Board at the University of North Texas as well as to the
boards of the International Sculpture Center, the Art Museum of
South Texas, and the National American Art Museum; moreover, he is
the recipient of the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Visual Arts,
among many other honors; and
WHEREAS, Both remarkably talented and wholly dedicated to his
art, Jess Moroles has moved countless individuals with his
dramatic and inspiring sculptures, and the Lone Star State is
indeed proud to call him a native son; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Jess Moroles on his receipt of a
2008 National Medal of Arts and extend to him sincere best wishes
for continued success; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Moroles as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.