PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), is showcasing one of Portugals' most important art forms during its exhibition, "Azulejo: Five Centuries of Portuguese Ceramic Tile."

"Azulejo: Five Centuries of Portuguese Ceramic Tile" offers the most comprehensive opportunity to view this art form outside of Portugal. Jayne Stokes, Museum of Art, RISD associate curator of decorative arts and project curator for this exhibition, assures that the "80-plus pieces in the show enable museum visitors to study all aspects of Portugal's five-century history of tile-making." The rich variety of tile styles and types range from a ten-foot long Baroque period maritime scene, comprised of dozens of individual tiles, to the single tile Art Nouveau "Grasshoppers' of Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro.

"Azulejo" is organized in two parts, historical and contemporary. The historical tile works are drawn from Portugal's national tile museum, Museu Nacional do Azulejo in Lisbon, which houses the foremost collection of Portuguese tile in the world. The contemporary section presents pieces by Portugal's leading artists including Jorge Martins, Menez and Paula Rego. The inclusion of recent work by internationally-recognized ceramist Arnold Zimmerman highlights the influence of the Portuguese tile-making tradition on this American artist's unique style (the result of his International Artists fellowship in Portugal). The work of these and other artists of this century are also accompanied by drawings and other preparatory art works.

"The Arts of Portugal" is open in conjunction with the celebration of Portuguese art and culture. This exhibition, on view through February 25, features Portuguese painting, furniture, ceramics and textiles from the Seventeenth through Twentieth centuries. The show is drawn from the Museum of Art, RISD's permanent collection, supplemented by loans from the Providence's Portuguese Cultural Foundation and private lenders. Among the highlights is a Seventeenth Century ivory sculpture made in Goa, the capital city of Portugal's colony in India, and examples of silk and porcelain made in China for export to Portugal. According to Thomas Michie, Museum of Art, RISD curator of decorative arts: "The loan of works by Rafael Pinheiro from the Portuguese Cultural Foundation offers visitors the rare chance to see the decorative plates and satirical stone figures for which this early Twentieth Century master is known."

The Museum of ARt, RISD, at 224 Benefit Street in Providence, houses a collection of more than 100,000 works of art representing every period, culture and genre. Museum hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10:30 am to 5 pm; Thursday, noon to 8 pm; Sunday and select holidays, 2 to 5 pm. The museum is closed on Monday and some holidays.

RISD's exhibition is drawn from a multi-media project entitled, "Waves of Influence," assembled by the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island. The historical survey section of this exhibition was curated by Joao Castel-Branco Pereira, director of the Museu Nacional do Azulejo, Lisbon. The contemporary survey was curated by Olivia Georgia, director of Visual Arts for Snug Harbor, with the collaboration of Ana Maria Viegas, Galeria Ratton Ceramicas, Lisbon; Manuel Costa Cabral, formerly of the Centro De Arte E Communicacao (AR.CO), Lisbon; and the Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon.