Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas — A West Texas A&M University art instructor will offer a glimpse into his creative process with an upcoming exhibition.

Rob Weingart’s “Attunement” will hang March 3 to 26 in the Dord Fitz Formal Gallery in Mary Moody Northen Hall. An opening reception is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. March 3.

“My art is a litany of problems that I work through and solve,” Weingart said. “It’s not a bad thing. I appreciate design conundrums. My art ends up happening very intuitively. Sometimes it takes a long time to finish because the answer doesn’t always immediately come to me.”

That’s where the show’s title originates from.

“There’s a German word for mood, ‘stimmung.’ It’s like tuning into a particular vibe,” Weingart said. “‘Attunement’ is alluding to the idea that I’m looking for a well-tuned, complete composition.”

That may come as a surprise to students in Weingart’s foundations of art classes, where he encourages a less-controlled approach to making art.

“I work very meticulously, but I love for my students’ work to be messy, for them to show a sense of confidence in leaving in the mistakes,” Weingart said. “Many of them are coming from schools where artmaking isn’t part of their curriculum, so I want to encourage them to operate intuitively, to trust themselves.”

Weingart’s small-scale works will fill the walls of the Fitz Gallery, said Jon Revett, the Doris Alexander Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts and art program director.

“Rob was the cool upperclassman in the same art class when I was a freshman at Amarillo High School,” Revett said. “I thoroughly enjoy his works, which focus on materials and form. He’s a tinkerer in the very best sense.”

Weingart earned a bachelor’s in fine arts from the University of North Texas and a master’s of fine arts from the Art Institute in Chicago. He worked for Phillips Auction House in New York for a decade before returning to the Amarillo area.

Fitz Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and by appointment Fridays and Saturdays. Email [email protected].

A commitment to the arts and humanities is a pivotal piece of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs, 39 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.