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. Panel discussion featuring artists and curators of the exhibition, Friday, August 30 at 4:30pm in Moudy North Building, Room 132. There will be an opening reception for the artists at Fort Worth Contemporary Arts on Friday, August 30, 6-8pm. Other programming and live events throughout the duration of the exhibition will be announced.

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 ahead of time theartgalleries@tcu.edu.

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 selection of works for exhibition are 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 and curatorial practice, and also emphasize the significant impact and enduring legacy of her mentorship of artists in Texas. The title of the exhibition - - Do you really believe that? - - is a phrase Colpitt often used to challenge her students and galvanize critical thinking and discussion in class.

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 relocated to the University Texas at San Antonio where she taught as an Associate Professor for fifteen years before moving to Texas Christian University where she continued to teach until 2022. 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. More recently she wrote regularly for Artillery Magazine, Los Angeles. Dr. Colpitt greatly influenced and supported a generation of young artists and arts professionals during her lifetime. Her students include many individuals who went on to become curators, writers, and artists in Texas and beyond.

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.