A special quiet runs throughout the galleries of Arts Fort Worth late last Saturday morning — a proverbial calm before the storm of visitors sure to come as the weekend wears on. The atmosphere settles my mind as soon as I walk in. Cedars Union Programs Manager Taylor Gibson greets me with that same calm, guiding me assuredly through a number of galleries to reach our final destination. I’m here to see a show called Community Potluck, a collaboration between two Dallas-Fort Worth organizations dedicated to nurturing emerging local artists: the Cedars Union and Arts Fort Worth. In the space, I’m delighted by what I see, even as the show is undergoing finishing touches ahead of its July 5 opening reception. The exhibition lives up to and perhaps exceeds its name, and gives a taste of the immense talent the DFW art scene has to offer.
Installation view of “Community Potluck” at Arts Fort Worth
As far as collaborations between local arts organizations go, Community Potluck is distinctive because of the sheer variety it offers. Gibson, who is a practicing artist himself, gives me the rundown: every artist who is a member of the Cedars Union is featured in this show to some degree, be it Community Members or Cohort Artists. That means 29 individuals are all represented in this space at least once, their work spanning mediums, styles, and subject matter. Such volume might seem messy, but for Community Potluck, it feels just right. The interplay of textures, dimensions, and colors makes the show a real feast for the eyes.
When asked about the meaning of the exhibition’s title, Gibson jokes that it had originally been a placeholder name. Whether a happy accident or a stroke of luck, the intuition that prompted Gibson to title it Community Potluck permeates the show from beginning to end. As Programs Manager, his constant interaction with Cedars Union artists gives him a sense of how to best translate what that community feels like for a wider audience, even going so far as to advise artist members on works to submit. Kay Seedig, who juried Community Potluck, excelled in curating a cohesive body of work from such a diverse collective. The art ranges from figurative works to sculpture, audiovisual media to textile art. Every placement feels intentional, honoring individual pieces and their makers while simultaneously establishing a larger harmony. As Seedig expresses, “The work of the immensely talented members at the Cedars Union will inevitably delight the senses and prompt a reaction — whether it be curiosity, awe, or tension.”
From left: Cristina Ayala, “Bougainvillea Blanket,” 2024; Victoria Brill, “It’s too late for me now, I am altered,” 2022; Carlin Flores, “Sometimes I Miss It,” 2023
Gibson’s and Seedig’s efforts have brought out an underlying theme of community, and ultimately generate moments that reveal subtle connections between artists without overly homogenizing the experience. In one case, works by Cristina Ayala, Carlin Flores, and Victoria Brill explore the idea of tactility, each in their own way. Ayala’s fiber work Bougainvillea Blanket (2024) prompts a sensorial imagining of what it would feel like to touch its thick magenta strands. Flores captures a moment of bittersweet tension in the colors and composition of hands in Sometimes I Miss It (2024), and Brill’s larger-than-life double portrait turns the idea of touch inwards, exploring the contained and the changed selves through a body.
Installation view of “Community Potluck” at Arts Fort Worth
In another moment of inter-artist transcendence, a ceramic sculpture from Eric Thayer’s imperfect structures series (2024) is placed at an angle in the middle of the gallery space. The sculpture seems to draw a diagonal line across opposing corners of the room that may have otherwise remained independent from each other. One corner features paintings by Lauren Fleniken, Brianna Moore, and Katie Covarrubias that present figuration in varying materialities and degrees of abstraction. Across the way, works by Douglas Dover, Fari Rahimi, and Heather Deskins are more object-oriented, playing with composition and form. Thayer’s sculpture spatially links these seemingly oppositional groupings, creating a sightline that may draw viewers from one corner to the other, and vice versa.
Katie Covarrubias, “Mother,” 2023; Brianna Moore, “Intergalactic Janet,” 2024; Lauren Fleniken, “With Voyeuristic Intention,” 2023
What makes Community Potluck such a robust show is the mission of the Cedars Union, which seeks to provide resources and opportunities for local creatives. Cedars Union artists come from all backgrounds, age groups, and walks of life. Some have received academic art training or have been members of the DFW scene for years, while others have pursued their practice outside the scope of the classroom or have only recently embarked on their creative journeys. The subjects and messages of the artworks included vary even more, each one a mediation of its creator through their chosen medium. Community Potluck expands and contracts to give artists and their works the room they need to breathe, playing on visual and conceptual dynamics to deliver harmony where one might first fear dissonance.
Variety, equity, and collaboration shine through in the show, stressing both the Cedars Union’s and Arts Fort Worth’s commitment to nurturing local creatives, generating opportunities for exposure, and widening avenues of accessibility. Community Potluck promises a vibrant future for art in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, one that hopefully expands in the years to come.
Community Potluck is on view at Arts Fort Worth from June 28 through July 20, 2024.
