Curated by Rita Barnard.
Opening Reception:
Saturday, July 7, 2007 – 7-9 PM
Free and open to the public.
The Bath House Cultural Center invites the public to enjoy fine art in a comfortable, intimate and relaxing Salon atmosphere. Back by popular demand, the Salon du FIT, a special invitational art exhibition featuring a wonderful variety of paintings, sculpture, photographs and mixed media art created by local artists, returns to the Bath House Cultural Center, July 7-August 4, 2007.
In current times, people are used to seeing art in non-traditional spaces - lobbies, coffee houses, even shopping malls - but the Salon experience transforms the formal art gallery into a living room full of art, chairs, couches, tables, lamps and games that, when presented together, truly create a vibrant artistic synergy.
The inspiration for this show comes from the Salon exhibitions from the 1920s and 1930s, which were designed to be bohemian audience retreats as well as places for discussion, debate, small performance pieces, workshops and coffee-talk. The art was an important part in creating a whole atmosphere of artistic exchange. During that period, prominent art patrons such as Gertrude Stein hosted cultural salons at their homes that became gathering places for leading artists, intellectuals and writers. Some notable artists that attended these salons included Pablo Picasso, Henry Matisse and Ernest Hemingway, among many others.
This summer, instead of Picasso, Matisse and Hemingway, the Bath House Cultural Center is featuring James Michael Starr, Eliseo García and Heather Gorham - artists, we assure you, just as eclectic and world-wise as their predecessors!
The curator of the Salon du FIT exhibition is Rita Barnard, a visual artist and designer who lives and works in Dallas. Ms. Barnard compiled a very diverse collection of art from the Dallas/Fort Worth art community and from other cities as well. New and unseen talent will be represented in this exhibition alongside a number of familiar artists.
The artists featured in this exhibition include:
Brad Abrams, Laura Abrams, Ann Adams, Mirtha Aertker, Kimberly Alexander, Rebecca Boatman, Ann Broadaway, J R Compton, Ray-Mel Cornelius, Ron Criswell, Eliseo García, Kristen Erwin, Nancy Ferro, Chris Fulmer, Heather Gorham, John Guzzino, Ann Huey, Niloo Jalivand, Norman Kary, Evamaria Kutscheid, Ippi Lincoln, Charlotte Lindsey, Ken Martin, David McCullough, Julia McLain-Echols, Robert Moore, Chet Morrison, Anna Palmer, Gaby Pruitt, Alison Starr, James Michael Starr, Debbie Stinson, T. Stone, Jeanne Sturdevant, Michael Tichansky, Jose Vargas and Cheryl Wolfe.
The Salon du FIT 4 exhibition will take place during the Bath House Cultural Center's 9th Annual Festival of Independent Theatres (FIT). FIT was created as an outlet for smaller companies without a permanent performance space to give them an opportunity to produce seldom seen, new, or avant-garde works. FIT exists to promote awareness and growth of Dallas area theatre through collaboration, participation and cultivation. To read more about FIT, please visit http://bathhousecultural.com/FIT2007.html
