Crystal Bridges Exhibit to Put American Artists in Spotlight

"Abstraction: Kiowa by Design," by Teri Greeves

Officials with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art said they travelled more than 100,000 miles to visit with artists across the United States last year in search of pieces for the museum’s new exhibit.

The free exhibit, “State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now,” opens Saturday and runs until Jan. 19. Museum President Don Bacigalupi said he and assistant curator Chad Alligood met with more than 1,000 artists, mostly in the artists’ studios.

The exhibit, which will cover 19,000 SF in two galleries at the museum, has more than 200 pieces of art from 102 artists, including four from Arkansas: Guy Bell of Little Rock; Linda Lopez of Fayetteville; DeLita Martin of Little Rock; and John Salvest of Jonesboro.

Bacigalupi said the museum wanted to get a diverse collection of art that used a variety of different materials and canvases. The museum also wanted to give a forum for lesser-known artists across the country.

“Artists who are not yet part of the national conversation,” Bacigalupi said during a preview tour Thursday. “We’re not claiming these artists aren’t well known. They haven’t been the beneficiary of national attention.”

The exhibit contains some pieces created for Crystal Bridges, but Bacigalupi said they weren’t exactly commissioned. He said the museum wanted to showcase American art that had become prominent in the three years since Crystal Bridges opened in 2011.

Alligood said the hardest part was narrowing the exhibit down to 102 artists and their works. Other museums have expressed interest in showcasing at least partial forms of Crystal Bridges’ exhibit.

“It truly is a national show,” Alligood said. “There are different visions of who we are. America is a place with many voices and many backgrounds.”

The exhibit is already attracting national attention. Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on several artists featured in the collection.