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The Art Galleries at TCU are pleased to present Do you really believe that?, a group exhibition in honor of the late art historian and curator Dr Frances Colpitt (1952-2022), August 30 – November 16, 2024 at Fort Worth Contemporary Arts. The title of the exhibition is a phrase Colpitt often used to challenge her students and galvanize critical thinking and discussion in class. A panel discussion featuring artists and curators of the exhibition will be held Friday, August 30th at 4.30pm in Moudy North Building, Room 132. There will be an opening reception for the artists at Fort Worth Contemporary Arts from 6-8pm on Friday, August 30th.

The group exhibition features the work of Terry Allen, Jesse Amado, Edith Baumann, Richie Budd, Jerry Cabrera, John Eden, Sharon Engelstein, Vernon Fisher, Tommy Fitzpatrick, Thomas Glassford, James Hayward, Felice Koenig, Casey Leone, Constance Lowe, John Miller, Yunhee Min, Aaron Parazette, John Pomara, Chuck Ramirez, Hector Ramirez, Susie Rosmarin, Chris Sauter, Cameron Schoepp, Hills Snyder, Terri Thornton, and John Wilcox

Do you really believe that? is conceived in honor and celebration of Dr. Frances Colpitt, her renowned scholarship, critical pedagogy, and unyielding commitment to teaching along with her profound respect for artists, their work, and critics alike. The exhibition is guided by themes coalesced from Colpitt’s work over the course of her career with a focus on abstraction, minimalism, and conceptual art. They illuminate her scholarship, curatorial practice, and emphasize the significant impact and enduring legacy of her mentorship of artists in Texas. 

Artists invited to participate in the exhibition represent a small selection of those Colpitt followed and supported through curatorial projects, art criticism, and mentorship, including students, colleagues, and artists in her personal art collection. Alongside these artworks, the exhibition features a selection of ephemera and documentary items that further highlight critical influences and essential relationships Colpitt nurtured for decades. Such items include correspondence with artists Donald Judd and John McCracken, audio interviews with artists Anne Truitt and David Novros, and Colpitt’s personal copy of Ed Ruscha’s artist book Every Building on Sunset Strip (1966).

An accompanying exhibition publication features key essays by Dr. Michael Corris, Jennifer Hope Davy, Michael Delgado, Anjali Gupta, Kathryn Kanjo and Tulsa Kinney. And in the spirit of Colpitt’s curatorial projects which often involved her students, many of the catalogue entries have been written by some of her former students and recent graduates from Texas Christian University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, together with affiliated writers: Fernando Alvarez, Wendy Weil Atwell, Katherine Deck-Portillo, Jen Earthman, Lisa Garcia, Auriel May Garza, Megan Gratch, Anjali Gupta, Alexis Meldrum, Janelle Montgomery, Kim Phan Nguyá»…n, Nicole Poole, Barbara Purcell, Patricia Ruiz-Healy, Lucy Schiller, Lauren Thompson, and Madison Vrazel.

The publication also documents temporary on-site installations by artists Gregory Ruppe and Terri Thornton who responded to Colpitt’s vacant office at Texas Christian University.

Do you really believe that? will travel to the Main Art Gallery at University of Texas at San Antonio for presentation January 22 – February 28, 2025. The two exhibition locations reflect Colpitt’s impact in Texas academic institutions where she taught and created exhibitions as a tenured professor.

About Dr. Frances Colpitt (1952-2022)

Frances Colpitt was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At the University of Tulsa, she earned her BFA in Painting (1974) and her MA in Humanities (1977) before moving to the west coast where she completed her PhD in Art History at the University of Southern California (1982). After teaching at Cornell University (1985-86) as a Visiting Assistant Professor, she returned to California as Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (1986-1988), and then as a Visiting Assistant Professor at USC, Los Angeles (1988-1990). Dr. Colpitt received a full professorship at the University of Texas at San Antonio where she taught for fifteen years. In 2005  Dr. Colpitt accepted the Deedie Potter Rose Chair, an endowed professorship in contemporary art history, at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth where she continued to teach until 2022. At both Texas universities, Dr. Colpitt was instrumental in inaugurating the off-site gallery spaces UTSA Satellite Space and TCU’s Fort Worth Contemporary Arts. During her distinguished career Dr. Colpitt published two books focused on American art after 1960, her area of expertise:  Minimal Art: The Critical Perspective (University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1990) and Abstract Art in the Late Twentieth Century (Cambridge University Press, UK 2002). She also published numerous book chapters, catalog essays, articles, book reviews and exhibition brochures, and was a feature writer and contributing editor for Art in America for nearly twenty-five years. Among others, she was a frequent contributor to the former Texas quarterly Art Lies and most recently Artillery magazine, Los Angeles. Dr. Colpitt greatly influenced and supported generations of young artists and arts professionals who have gone on to become active curators, writers, and artists in Texas and beyond.

Do you really believe that? Curatorial Advisory Team: Dr. Jennifer Hope Davy, artist & writer, Constance Lowe, artist, Dr. Sara-Jayne Parsons, Director & Curator, Art Galleries at TCU, Hills Snyder, artist & writer, and Dr. Scott Sherer, Professor & Director of Galleries, University of Texas at San Antonio.

The Curatorial Advisory Team would like to thank Alison Hearst, Curator, Modern Art Museum Fort Worth, for her contributions to planning conversations as a student and friend of Colpitt. In addition, the Curatorial Advisory Team is extremely grateful for the assistance of the following lenders and institutions in the production of the exhibition and publication: Mary Colpitt, Tulsa, OK; Paul & Ilene Barr, Austin; Talley Dunn Gallery, Dallas; Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas; L.A. Louver Gallery, Venice, CA; McClain Gallery, Houston; Ruiz-Healy Art, San    Antonio/New York; Sicardi l Ayers l Bacino, Houston; Texas Gallery, Houston; Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas; Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Michael Corris and Art & Language; Tim Davies, Associate Director, Sprüth Magers Gallery, London; Judd Foundation, New York; Estate of Craig Kauffmann; Ellsworth Kelly Foundation; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Ed Moses Estate; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; Gulf Coast: a journal of literature and fine arts, Houston; Dennis Oppenheim Estate, New York; Sprüth Magers Gallery, London; Texas Commission on the Arts; and the Art, Design & Architecture Museum at UC Santa Barbara.

At Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, the exhibition and publication is generously supported by the families of the We Lounge Suite: Tracee and Stefan Amling, Amy and Byron Biggs, Raney and Pete Chambers, Gina and Elliott Hill, Wesley Hoaglund, Courtney and Todd Hodnett, Matthew Minnis, Lisa & John Runyon, Lara and Don Thomas, and Thomas and Christine Tyng.

For more information about this exhibition, interview with the artist, images for press, or details about other activities of The Art Galleries at TCU please visit the Galleries website www.theartgalleries.tcu.edu, email theartgalleries@tcu.edu, or call 817-257-2588. You can also check out our social media: Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/tcuartgalleries; Facebook: The Art Galleries At TCU; Instagram: @tcuartgalleries; Artsy: www.artsy.net/fort-worth-contemporary-arts; and YouTube: The Art Galleries at TCU

Fort Worth Contemporary Arts (FWCA) is a satellite exhibition space located a few blocks from the School of Art, on the edge of the TCU campus. Situated on West Berry Street, a busy urban corridor, this 2,000-square-foot gallery is TCU’s public-facing art venue. At FWCA, the curatorial focus revolves around national and international artists at different stages of their career. It often includes work that has never been shown before or that is made on-site during a residency period, with direct support from the Art Galleries at TCU.

Fort Worth Contemporary Arts is located at 2900 W. Berry St. and is open Wednesday – Saturday 12 – 5pm. Admission is free. If you would like to bring your class or a group to the galleries, please contact us by email to arrange it ahead of time theartgalleries@tcu.edu. 

Contact: Dr. Sara-Jayne Parsons, Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, 2900 W. Berry St, Fort Worth, TX 76109, 817-257-2588, theartgalleries@tcu.edu.

Photo Credit: Fran at Barry Whistler Gallery (photo credit: Allison V. Smith).