New gallery showcases contemporary art

Fort Worth, TX

2/27/2008

By Kathryn Hopper

TCU's new Fort Worth Contemporary Arts gallery opened Friday with a debut exhibit that brings together ciabatta bread, cigar boxes and a goldfish tank.

Nestled in a strip center at 2900 W. Berry St., the gallery is an exciting addition to the local arts scene and TCU's department of art and art history designed to give students hands-on experience staging exhibitions while also providing valuable exposure for emerging artists.

"What we are looking at doing is profiling those who are operating at the front of contemporary practices, who are changing the way we consider visual art," said Gavin Morrison, (left) the museum's curator. "It's almost like a test or experimental lab we're running."

Opening night drew more than 250 art lovers who took in the debut exhibit, Material Culture, spotlighting three-dimensional works by a dozen Texas artists including San Antonio artist Chris Sauter, whose work Bread features miniature utility lines atop ciabatta loafs. The exhibit also features Fort Worth artist Helen Altman's works titled Feeder Tank, an aquarium stand filled with plastic goldfish, and Harvester 11, which uses three cigar boxes.

TCU recruited Morrison from the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston to develop a dynamic series of exhibitions and events for the 2,500-square-foot gallery, which will supplement the university's J.M. Moudy Exhibition Hall.

Morris, a native of Scotland whose career has also taken him to the south of France, said he and his wife are settling into Fort Worth, but he noted there is at least one thing he hasn't been able to locate in Cowtown.

"The other night it was Robert Burns' Night (January 25) and we really wanted some haggis," he said. "We weren't able to find it anywhere – I think that's the one thing they don't have at Central Market."

Fort Worth Contemporary Arts is supported by a grant from TCU's Vision In Action program and the Material Culture publication was made possible by support from Robert Sunkel.

The gallery is free and open to the public 1 to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.