Rock Star

There’s been a lot of talk about Jesus lately. Maybe you’re sick of hearing about Jesus. Or perhaps it’s just a momentary Jesus overload. Well, buck up. We’ve just started the season of Jesus. There are months and months ahead of talking about Jesus. There’ll be discussions of his passion, his strength, the magnitude of his work, how inspiring he’s been, the overall grandeur of Jesus’ labor. And, really, it’s no surprise since Jesús Moroles already has exhibits of his granite sculptures open at the Latino Cultural Center, the McKinney Avenue Contemporary and Gerald Peters Gallery. Another exhibit opens Sunday at the Dallas Museum of Art. Two more are scheduled for the Crow Collection of Asian Art’s galleries in April and September.

Though all of the exhibits have a slightly different focus or intent, the one opening at the Dallas Museum of Art is the most peculiar and, in a way, the most insightful when it comes to Moroles’ work, because it allows visitors to try their hand at being a granite sculptor. Called Jesús Moroles: Rock, Roll, and Play, the exhibit consumes the FINA Foundation Gallery. Moroles created a site-specific installation within the gallery space. The work is bordered by granite walls that open up into a temple of sorts highlighted by a 10-foot column. But this is no stare, walk a few feet, stare some more, walk a few, stare again kind of affair. The centered column turns, reminiscent of a Tibetan prayer wheel. Also, there are pieces of granite left within the structure, making it even more interactive as visitors can move, pile and arrange their own temporary rock art.

Granite isn’t just a rock. It’s one of the hardest substances in nature. But Moroles–who works in his studio in Rockport, Texas, with his family, assistants and diamond saws–doesn’t let this intimidate him. In fact, he doesn’t even see his process as “carving” into these solid chunks. He “tears” the granite, he says, and then he weaves pieces of it into huge, heavy works of art and nature and man. It’s like fabric to him, and he chooses many different kinds, from brown earth tones to speckled pink ones found in Texas. He stacks, he curves, he squares off. He takes something already beautiful and shapes it into his own work of beauty. From the “Tres Mujeres,” three tall female figures, at the Latino Cultural Center, to a 7-foot replica of his own hand on display at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary to the Dallas Museum of Art’s indoor rock garden, the majesty of Moroles’ work will amaze and maybe even leave you speechless. Which might be for the best. Some people are already tired of hearing about the guy.