Selections are complete. Congratulations to the accepted artists! Special Thanks to Juror Leandra Urrutia!
Juror’s Statement by Leandra Urrutia:
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Out of over 470 entries submitted to this exhibition, I have selected 50 for you to enjoy. I want to acknowledge all the artists who shared their work for consideration – Thank you!
As a juror, approaching a call without a defined theme can feel daunting, akin to facing a blank canvas or a lump of clay at the start of a new studio project. However, I was delighted by the range of talent and ideas presented for this Biennial. With so many entries, the main challenge was identifying strong individual works that could coalesce into a harmonious exhibition. As I reviewed the art, certain pieces immediately caught my attention, and I began noticing patterns connecting them in various ways, which I’d like to share briefly.
I have a penchant for figurative work. Yet, my selections aren’t necessarily straightforward displays of naturalistic representations of the body and local color; abstraction captivates me just as much. Still, the subtle indications of human presence always draw me in. We can see this interest reflected in several pieces on display, from the delicate finger poking in Greg Reuter’s ,“Bird in the Hand”, to the finger-like looping of coils and tendrils in Lauren Clay’s ,”Brick’s + Blue Skies Series 1”. This reverence for the figure is especially prominent in works like Fatima Jamil’s, “Vestige of a Dream - Deconstruction and Liberation of Form and Whispers of Renewal”, and Joshua Brinlee’s, “Self-Portrait as Churned”.
The selected works also offer distinct perspectives relevant to our world and time. Looking around at the show, I observe clear and implied portals—hollows, frames, and sometimes literal circular formats—that visually transport me from one realm of the work to another.
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These characteristics echo the unique nature of vision itself. Thresholds can both reflect and skew our gaze, urging us to explore contrasting or surreal details, much like the tension we find in Jonathan Durham’s piece, “A Dream Split Into Unequal Parts Grinds Its Teeth to Powder”, and J. Michael Simpson’s video, “Underflow”.
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Another connective trait among these artworks is the concept of hybridization. Examining the exhibit, I witness a collision and fusion of images, processes, materials, ideas, and experiences that create compelling compositions. I find pleasure in the visual layering, allowing myself to mentally peel back layers or lose track of time in the soft edges accented by hints of crispness. Many pieces exemplify this, including Lauren Peterson’s, “Maquette for Ambiguous Meaning (Fossil 02)”, and Jack Girard’s, “Migrants”.
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My sensibility toward color could be described as schizophrenic. On one hand, I have a deep appreciation for the innate color and texture of materials, especially in three- dimensional forms, as seen in Zena Stetka Howe’s, “Chariot”, and Jaimie Speck's, ”The Laundress’ Loom”. Conversely, I am naturally drawn to warm colors, particularly the vivid spectrum from red to hot pink, evident in works such as Annieo Klaas’, “Daydream No. 6”, and the Muscle Memory Collective’s, “Windfall”.
Finally, I must highlight the many pieces that possess a psychic or psychological allure. Notable examples include Brenda Burmeister’s, “My Sumptuary Blues, Old Enough”, with its haunting embroidered message set against a specter-like cyanotype image, and Saffron William’s, “SQUEEZEMEHOLDME”, featuring a tangled mass of arms reaching out for human interaction. In this last work, I find myself resisting an urge to touch, yearning to feel its textures against my skin.
Together, these attributes form the constellation of work in this exhibition. Please join me in congratulating the Third Coast Biennial artists and prize winners. I hope you find a lot to love.
Awards:
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Honorable Mention: "Colony #3" by Nicholas Wood from Arlington, Texas
Honorable Mention: "A Dream Split Into Unequal Parts Grinds Its Teeth to Powder" by Jonathan Durham from Corpus Christi, Texas
5th PLACE - "Reef Guardian" by Jeanna Pena from South Padre Island, Texas
4th PLACE - "Self Portrait as Thirst Trap" by Joshua Brinlee from Memphis, Tennessee
3rd PLACE - "Bricks + Blue Skies Series 1" by Lauren Clay, from Huntsville, Texas
RUNNER UP - "Vestige of a Dream- Deconstruction and Liberation of Form and Whispers of Renewal" by Fatima Jamil from Irvine, California
BEST IN SHOW - "Windfall" by Muscle Memory Collective (Bree Lamb and Joshua Clark), Las Cruces, New Mexico
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2025 List of Artists & Accepted Works
Brandin Baron, The Eyes of Sister Roma
Michelle Belto, Abide With Me
Joshua Brinlee, Self-Portrait as Thirst Trap
Joshua Brinlee, Self-Portrait as Churned
Brenda Burmeister, My Sumptuary Blues, old enough
Jeanne Ciravolo, No to Impunity
Lauren Clay, Bricks + Blue Skies Series 1
Jalen Colton Sanchez, Idolatry in The Sun
James Dees, Attention Training 2 (Ghosts of Culture.../Smart TV/Body as Sedimentation ...)
Marcus Delzell, Psyches Hypercubica (Inner Architecture)
Jonathan Durham, A Dream Split into Unequal Parts Grinds Its Teeth to Powder
Tamara English, Vital Matter III
Jack Girard, Migrants
Nabil Gonzalez, Mi Privilegio: American
Leah Gose, Transplantations 20
Cliona Gunter, All The Cigarettes You Never Smoked
Sharon Harper, i remember
Fatima Jamil, Vestige of a Dream- Deconstruction and Liberation of Form and Whispers of Renewal
Deborah Kapoor, Cradle
Norman Kary, It’s in Our Hands
Louis Katz, Zn30z
Joshua Kight, Saturnine Saturday
Jinsun Kim, Cocoon and Space
Susan Kirchman, Before the Flames
Annieo Klaas, Daydream no. 6
Lawrence Lange, The Intoxication of Commerce
Marietta Patricia Leis, Bifurcation
Marcy McChesney, Lulu's Back in Town
Remy Miller, Scott's Creek
Muscle Memory Collective (Bree Lamb & Joshua Clark), Windfall
Muscle Memory Collective (Bree Lamb & Joshua Clark), Forehead Kiss
Jeanna Pena, Reef Guardian
Lauren Peterson, Maquette for ambiguous meaning (fossil02)
Jean Plough, Three Muses
Samantha Proa, Pink Glow Game Show
Greg Reuter, Bird in the Hand
Clayton Reuter, Separation
Mariana Ruvalcaba Cruz, Bugambilias
H. Jennings Sheffield, Names I Still Say
J. Michael Simpson, Under Flow
Jamie Speck, The Laundress' Loom: One Dozen
Jamie Spinello, Kaledioptera
Zena Stetka Howe, Chariot
Gary Sweeney, The Building of the San Antonio River
Abigail Waddle, Acts of Service
Cristina White-Jones, Looking out a window at a world on fire
Saffron Williams, SQUEEZEMEHOLDME
Nicholas Wood, Colony # 3
Koichi Yamamoto, Hanami
Lauren Yandell, We Were Young Once
About:
​The Third Coast Biennial is a national juried exhibition of innovative contemporary art, which began in 2007. For the first ten years (2007 to 2016), Third Coast National was an annual exhibition. It is now a biennial exhibition held in the odd numbered years. Past Jurors include internationally renowned artists Sharon Kopriva and Trenton Doyle Hancock, San Antonio Museum of Art Curator of Contemporary Art Suzanne Weaver (now retired), and independent curator, Rigoberto Luna.
Our 2025 Juror is Leandra Urrutia, an object maker and storyteller based in Corpus Christi, Texas. Borrowing parts of the human form, she makes powerful compositions and installations that showcase her unconventional creative sensibilities. Her studio work illustrates struggles between body and mind from a woman-centered standpoint as one experiences injustice, injury, aging, fate, and fortitude. Her Mexican-American heritage, Catholic upbringing, interest in aggressive sports, and visits to China continue to bring an unorthodox influence to the ceramic and mixed media sculptures she invents.
Leandra’s honors and awards include a Windgate Artist-in-Residence Award from the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art in Kennesaw, Georgia, a McKnight Residency award from the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, an ArtsMemphis Emmett O’Ryan Award for Artistic Inspiration, and a National Council for the Education of Ceramic Arts NCECA Emerging Artist award. Examples of her sculpture can be found in the Lark Book Series 500 Figures in Clay and 500 Ceramic Sculptures. Leandra is a co-founding member of the TETRA Collective: Women in Clay in the Texas A&M University System and Studio Nong: An International Sculpture Collective and Residency Program that originated in Nanning, Guangxi Province, PRC. In addition to making sculptures, she also creates functional pottery and jewelry. She served on the faculty of Memphis College of Art in Memphis, Tennessee, Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Mississippi, and presently leads the Ceramic program at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, Texas. Examples of Leandra's work are shown below.
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2025 THIRD COAST BIENNIAL CALENDAR
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June 14: Entry Deadline
June 27-28: Artists Notified by Email
July 9 to July 19: Receiving Hand-Delivered and Shipped works. Please time your shipments to arrive during these dates. Please hand-deliver Artworks during gallery hours: Wed-Sat. 11 am to 5 pm, Sun. 12 to 4 pm.
July 25: All selected works are due.
August 1 (Friday), 6:00 to 10:00 pm: Exhibition Opening with ArtWalk
August 1 - Sept. 25: Exhibition Dates
Sept. 26-27, 11am-5pm, Sept. 28, 12 to 4pm: Pick Up Hand-Delivered works
Oct. 1: Begin returning shipped works. If you are scheduling a pick up, please schedule it for Oct. 1.
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ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS
Eligibility: Artists age 18+ living in the USA may enter. Entries must be original works of art completed within the last 2 years. Works previously exhibited at K Space Contemporary or Schaudies Gallery at K Space Art Studios are not eligible. Failure to comply with the following submission guidelines may disqualify your entry. Entry fee is non-refundable.
Media: All visual art forms and media are acceptable. Artists must be available to install complicated works. Artists must exhibit original works if accepted; we do not exhibit reproductions of original paintings, drawings, etc., such as giglee/inkjet prints, high quality copies or offset lithograph prints. Accepted video works will be shown on a flat screen television or projected, unless artist provides other means.
Format: Works are juried from digital images submitted online. Artists may submit one image for each 2D work of art and two images for each 3D work of art.
Size Limitation: Two-dimensional works must not exceed 5 feet in either direction. Three-dimensional works (and shipping crates) must fit through a 36 x 80-inch doorway and must be manageable by two people.
Awards: $2500 in Cash Awards. Honorable Mentions are given at juror discretion.
Sales: All works must be For Sale. KSC collects payment and retains 40% commission. Include gallery commission when pricing your work. The label information and price typed into the online entry form is the label info displayed with the work.
Entry Fee (non-refundable): $40/non-members ($35/members) for 1 to 3 works of art. Each additional entry is $5. Enter online through our website. The Entry fee can be paid via PayPal or by mailing a check or money order payable to K Space Contemporary. Paying with PayPal through the online system automatically completes your submission.
Payment Notice: If you have problems with the PayPal button, please email us at info@kspacecontemporary.org. We will send you an invoice so that you can complete your entry. If you prefer, you may call the gallery between 12 and 4 pm to pay over the phone - 361-887-6834.
Results Notice: Notice of acceptance or denial will be emailed to the address included in your PROFILE in the online entry application/Entrything form. Please click MY PROFILE to confirm that your email address is correct. Selected works will also be posted on this website.
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INFO FOR ACCEPTED WORKS -
FRAMING, SHIPPING AND DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS:
Framing Requirements: 2-D works must be properly prepared for exhibition with wire securely attached. Shipped works requiring glazing must use Plexi-glass or equivalent. Only white, off-white or black mats are acceptable. We prefer that drawings and prints be framed for protection; however, we will exhibit works on paper using magnets or clips. Unframed paintings on canvas must be painted around the edges in solid black, white or grey or with continued image. The following are not accepted: wet paint, clamp/clip frames, fragile frames, glass, colored mats, and thick, bulky, decorative frames not represented in the juried image as part of the work of art.
Label: Each accepted work must arrive with proper labeling (name, email address and phone number, title, media, date, retail price) securely attached to the back of frame or bottom of sculpture.
Shipping: All shipping costs and liability for damage are the responsibility of the artist. Accepted works must be shipped via UPS in reusable containers. Make sure your name is on your crate in permanent marker on the outside. Do NOT use packing peanuts. Shipped works must arrive at KSC no earlier than July 9 and no later than July 19. Note: Pack your work well with at least 3 layers of bubble wrap or surrounded by styrofoam in a sturdy box. Works that arrive in broken or damaged crates will be returned immediately.
Ship Accepted Works to: K Space Contemporary, 623 N. Chaparral Street, Corpus Christi, Texas 78401
Return Shipping: A pre-paid shipping label for return shipment must be included with your work OR emailed to info@kspacecontemporary.org by Sept. 19 with 3RD COAST SHIPPING LABEL; in the subject line. Create a return shipping label at www.ups.com. If your work is 2D, attached the return shipping label to the back. If your work is 3D, include an envelope with the return shipping label inside your crate where it can be easily identified. If there are special instructions for return shipping, such as a freight carrier, make a note of it and staple to the return label.
Hand Delivery: Artists may deliver accepted works of art to KSC on dates and times noted in the Calendar.
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If you have questions, please call 361-887-6834 or email info@kspacecontemporary.org