Tag Archives: artists

RAYMOND D. NASHER
Honorary Life Member  -  1998

Raymond D. Nasher, prominent real estate developer and banker, was Chairman of The Nasher Foundation and Chairman of Comerica Bank-Texas.  He was also a renowned world leader in the arts.  He was one of this country’s leading collectors of modern and contemporary sculpture.  He also was one of the first real estate developers in the United States to place art, primarily sculpture, in commercial retail complexes.  He did this believing that art nurtures intellectual and aesthetic curiosity and enhances the overall experience of every environment.

Mr. Nasher and his wife, Patsy, began collecting art early fifty years ago.  Over time the collection evolved into one of the most extensive and important collections of modern sculpture in private hands.  In 1965, when Mr. Nasher opened his first retail shopping center in Dallas, Northpark Center, he made a commitment to installing art throughout the Center.  To do this, he designed a structure inside and out that met the needs of retailers and had the space necessary to display large sculptures by artists such as Jonathan Borofsky, Mark di Suvero, Henry Moore, Beverly  Pepper, and George Segal.  The design also included special interior water features, open spaces, as well as exterior landscape, all of which complement the art.

NorthPark Center and the nearby NorthPark National Bank (now Comerica Bank) – another project of The Nasher Company – both won architectural and design awards, and have become models for other developers throughout the world.  Recently expanded, making it the biggest mall in the Dallas area, NorthPark Center generates annual sales volumes that make it one of the top shopping centers in the country.

Mr. Nasher played a leading role in the development and growth of many of the major arts organizations in Dallas.  He contributed to increased business support of the arts in Dallas by establishing the Dallas Business Committee for the Arts.  He was a member of the national Business Committee for the Arts, and a board member of the Dallas Museum of Art, the Dallas Opera, the Dallas Symphony, the Dallas Theater Center, Ballet Dallas, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.  He was appointed to serve on the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.  He served on the Texas Commission on the Arts and was the Ambassador of Cultural Affairs for the City of Dallas.  The Nasher Company has received Business in the Arts Awards in recognition of its outstanding commitment to business arts alliances.

In 2003, Mr. Nasher opened the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, which houses pieces from his collection of more than 300 works.  Personally financed by Mr. Nasher, the highly acclaimed Center, occupying a 2.5 acre site in Dallas’s downtown Arts District, consists of a 55,000 square-foot building designed by architect Renzo Piano and a 1.5 acre garden designed by landscape architect Peter Walker.

Mr. Nasher also established a Sculpture Garden in his name at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, which presents a rotating selection of sculptures from the Nasher collection.  In addition, he contributed $7.5 million to the development of the Nasher Museum of Art, which opened in October of 2005 at Duke University, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1943.  The Nasher Foundation contributed an additional $2.5 million to the Nasher Museum at Duke, which exhibits a large selection of modern and contemporary from the Nasher collection.

Mr. Nasher was a visionary with a deep understanding of what constitutes human and nurturing communities, contributing his time and resources in civic and cultural affairs to improve the human environment.

JOHN VOELKER
Honorary Life Member – 2009

John Voelker, a native of Ohio, received his education in fine and commercial art at the Columbus College of Art and Design.  After coming to Dallas, he worked for The Drawing Board, the Bloom Agency, WFAA-TV, Computer Language Research, and for many years as Art Coordinator for Coronet Packaging.  Activities with drawing and painting began with competitions -  local, regional, and national -  resulting in numerous awards and citations.  John currently works in ink and colored pencil on paper using sharp geometric designs in symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns.

In 2010 John had a number of pieces accepted in the summer exhibition at the MADI Geometric Museum in Dallas, after which one piece was selected for their permanent collection. In 1993 he was one of the nominees for the Joseph V. Canzani Award for Alumni Excellence (CCAD), and in 2009 was presented with an Honorary Life Membership of the Texas Visual Arts Association.

John served on the Dallas Chapter of the Texas Fine Arts Association as president from 1976-1977, and on the state board of the Texas Fine Arts Association.  He has continuously been on the TVAA board since then, serving the members of the organization.

Members still talk about when he was Vice President of Membership; he sent personal hand-calligraphed letters welcoming them to the organization.  He still works behind the scenes to keep the wheels of the organization in motion.  A favorite quote of his:  “Commercial art is fine art when it’s good, and fine art is commercial art when it sells.”

Under the Big Top

South of the Border

Ceremonial

ROWENA ELKIN
Honorary Life Member  -  1995

Rowena Caldwell Elkin was a tiny little woman who created sculptures of wood, bronze, copper, heavy rope, and paint.  Her works were usually much larger than she was.  That was part of their charm and interest – very simple with a sense of humor.  She remembered influences during childhood such as lessons in violin, drama, Shakespeare, concerts, awareness of shapes, textures; color in world museums and architectural ruins, zoos and wilderness areas.  She experienced great love from parents and family.  She learned at an early age that great spiritual and aesthetic experiences and humor can help us survive, and she tried to lift spirits through her art.

Ms. Elkin said, “Materials and textures stimulate ideas and feeling which I carry through.  Color becomes more important as I grow older.  From stage designs I have moved from carved wood sculpture, wood-rope-steel-iron constructions, sheet bronze, copper, brass, and cast bronze to aluminum.  I still pursue fascinating fields through literature, but my hands produce sculpture.”

Having received a B.S. degree in visual arts from Texas State College for Women in 1938, she designed stage sets for director Margo Jones in Houston.  She married Price Bush Elkin in 1942, and lived in New York, then Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Midland before moving to Dallas in 1963.

Rowena Elkin has four sculptures on display at the Dallas Museum of Art, and a large sculpture at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.  Her work is at the El Paso Museum of Art, the Los Alamos Gallery, the Clarksville Library, and in the president’s office at Texas Women’s University.

The Elkin’s were significant supporters of the arts in Dallas – they were members of the Dallas Arboretum, the Dallas Symphony, the Dallas Chamber Music Society, associate members of the Dallas Museum of Art, and Friends of Contemporary Art.

Rowena Elkin is remembered for her unconditional love of the arts, which made her a mentor to many artists.  One of her closest friends was Frances Bagley, Dallas sculptor of renown.  According to fellow sculptor and friend Linnea Glatt, “She had an equal amount of passion for everyone who was doing something creative.  Whether it was dance, music or art, she was passionate about it.”

Mrs. Elkin suffered for six years with an aneurysm, while continuing to create her sculptures.  She left directions for her daughter on how to finish her last project.  She died in May of 1996 at the age of 79.

DAVID B. HICKMAN
Honorary Life Member  -  2006

David Hickman, juror of the Sculpture & 3-D Design Show

Born in Gainesville, Texas in 1942.  Served in the U.S. Navy and attended Cooke County Junior College and the University of Texas in Arlington.  Studied sculpture with Octavio Medellin from 1967-1979.  Assisted Octavio Medellin on several large-scale commissions between 1975-1980.  In March 1987 resigned as Field Service Coordinator for Surgikos, Inc. (a division of Johnson & Johnson) after fifteen years of service to pursue a full-time career in sculpture.  Served on the Board of Directors of the Texas Sculpture Association for three years, and the board of the Dallas Visual Arts Center for six years.  Taught wood and stone carving classes at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas for ten years.  Works in carved wood and stone, hammered metals, and slumped glass creating and fabricating original designs of his own work as well as for architects and designers.    Selected by the Texas Commission on the Arts as the Texas State Artist Three-Dimensional category for the year 2004. Selected by the Dallas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects as Artist of the Year 2005.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2009        Bosque County Sculpture Expo, Clifton Texas (First Prize)
2008        Arts Assembly of Midland, Midland, TX
2006-2007    Art on the Green, Kemp Art Center, Wichita Falls, TX
2005        Art in the Park Sculpture Symposium, Lampasas, TX
2002        Sculpture in the Garden, Valley House Gallery, Dallas, TX
2000        Artistas De Las Americas, Ft. Worth Central Library, Ft. Worth, TX
1998        Neiman Marcus Christmas Windows, Downtown, Dallas
1997       50th Anniversary Exhibition Texas Visual Arts Assoc., NorthPark, Dallas, TX
1996        Ultimate Treehouse Exhibit, Flight of Fantasy, Dallas Arboretum, Dallas, TX
1995        Artist in Residence, North Lake College, Irving, TX
1994        Critics Choice, D-ART, Dallas, TX
Walkup Gallery, Solo Exhibit, Ft. Worth. TX
1993       Senses Beyond Sight, Abilene, TX
Sculpture in the Garden, Dallas, TX (Best of Show)
1992       Face of the Holy-Space of the Holy, Haggar Gallery, University of Dallas
Solo Exhibition, DeGolyer House, Dallas Arboretum, Dallas, TX
1991       Contemporary Visions Virgen de Guadalupe, Downey, CA
Sculpture in the Parks, Lubbock, TX

PUBLIC COMMISSIONS

2009        Dragon Dancers, Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, TX
2008        Kite Dancers, Children’s Hospital, Plano, TX
2007       Got You Covered, Fire Station #40, Dallas, TX
The Sky’s the Limit, Vivian Stark Park, Frisco, TX
Medsu Seating Elements, Bellaire, TX
2006        Wings of Hope, Methodist Hospital, Mansfield, TX
Meadow Dancers/Monarch, Parkland Foundation, Dallas, TX
Three mobiles and one ceiling sculpture, Lowe/Tasby Schools, Dallas, TX
Vortex and Flow, Northwest Service Center, Dallas, TX
On the Wind, Timberglen Library, Dallas, TX
2005        Oasis, Selected by Bellaire Arts Commission, Bellaire, TX
2004    Tree of Knowledge, City Hall/Library, Colleyville, TX
Through the Park, Haggard Park, Plano, TX
2003    Trajectory, Cedar Crest Golf Course, Dallas, TX
Butterfly, Hall Winery, St. Helena, CA
Pinwheel, Clyde Zellars Park, North Richland Hills, TX
On the Wing, Redbird Airport Entrance Sculpture, Dallas, TX
Four Limestone Boundry Markers, Richland Hills, TX
2002    Entry Markers Kinetic Sculpture, City of Irving, TX
2001    Globes of the Earth, Texas A&M, Laredo, TX
Thoughts of Sadako, Hockaday School, Dallas, TX
Virgin of Guadalupe, St. Bernard’s Catholic Church Garden, Dallas, TX
2000    Prairie Falls, Texas Sculpture Garden, Frisco, TX
Swimmer 2000, Texas Sculpture Garden, Hall Financial, Frisco, TX
Marker Tree, Stainless Steel Sculpture, DART Station, Irving, TX
Directions, Sidewalk Inlay, Dallas Nature Center, Dallas, TX
Aikido, Addison Circle Development, Post Properties, Addison, TX
Guiding Light, Limestone Relief, Martin Weiss Recreation Center, Dallas, TX
1999    Ner-Tamid, Eternal Flame, Emanu-el Mausoleum, Dallas, TX
Unitarian Chalice, Glass/Silver, 1st Unitarian Church of Dallas, Dallas, TX
A Stage Where Every Man Must Play a Part, Samuell-Grand Ampitheater Entrance, City of Dallas, Dallas, TX
1997    Stone Display Table, Isenberg Residence, Dallas, TX
1996    Gates to Eternity, Emanu-el Mausoleum, Dallas, TX
Chapel and Columbarium Light Fixtures
1998     AIA Religious Art and Architecture Design Award
(Faith and Form Magazine 1998/Awards Issue) Project Award: Landry & Landry Architects
Children’s Bible Stories Mobile, Orchard Hills Baptist Church, Garland,TX
1995    St. Michael the Arch Angel, St. Michael’s School, Dallas, TX
Declaration of Independence, (all the metal work), Dallas Public Library
1996     Texas Society of Architects Design Award (Texas Architecture Magazine/November 1996)
1996     Society of Environmental Graphic Designers Honor Award
Project Awards:  Max Levy, Architect
1994    Processional Cross. St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic Church, Dallas, TX
1991        Team Illusion, Edition #2, Synergen Coporation, Boulder, CO
1989    Proessional Cross, St. Bernard of Clairvaus Catholic Church, Dallas, TX
Hammered Bronze Cross, First United Methodist Church, Grand Prairie, TX
Team Illusion, Edition #1, Sar-Ko-Par Park, Lenexa, KS
1988    Tabernacle, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Austin, TX
The Lady of Guadalupe, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Austin, TX

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

2010     Savor the Moment, Newman Village, Frisco, TX
2009     Shift, Alexan Design District, Dallas, TX
Lobby Clock/Hunt Headquarters, Dallas, TX
2008    Welcome to the Hall Winery, St. Helena, CA
2007    Sky’s the Limit, State Fair of Texas, Dallas, TX
Meadow Dancers/Monarch #3/25, La Residence, Napa, CA
Meadow Dancers/Monarch #4/25, Hall Financial, Frisco, TX
2006    Journey, Mihalopoulous office, Dallas TX
2005     Aikido II, Neeley residence, Dallas TX
2004     Leaf Fountain, Rossi/Russell Collection, Dallas, TX
2003     Leap of Faith, Christina Sada, Monterey, Mexico
1998     Yola, Robin and Trey Herndon residence, Dallas, TX
1998     Sandhill Cranes, Naomi Williams residence, Dallas, TX
1997     Stone Display Table, Isenberg residence, Dallas, TX
1996     Escape, Frances Atwood Collection, Dallas, TX
Hearts of Texas, DiFiore Collection, Dallas, TX

Patsy Swank
Honorary Life Member  -  1980

Patricia “Patsy” Peck Swank was a Dallas cultural maven who began her career as a Dallas Morning News reporter.  She later ventured into broadcast journalism, where her credentials included being a charter member of the groundbreaking Newsroom staff at KERA-TV.  Her career spanned decades of newspaper and magazine articles. She worked in public relations and world affairs.  In 1991, she escorted Queen Elizabeth II at a command performance at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

Born in Sherman, Oklahoma, Ms. Swank grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and graduated as a Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Arkansas in 1940.  She was passionate about the arts from childhood.  Her daughter Sallie Swank of Ft. Worth said, “They couldn’t afford piano lessons, and her piano teacher begged her mother to please let her keep teaching her; she just felt like it was a mission from God to keep teaching Mom piano.”  In college, Ms. Swank couldn’t afford a record player or a radio, so she made her own music by checking sheet music out of the library.

Ms. Swank began her professional career at The News in the early 1940’s, reporting under the byline Patsy Peck.  During World War II, she served as a journalist with the American Red Cross, with assignments that included covering the Nuremberg trials.  After the war, she returned to The News, where she was an understudy to legendary arts editor John Rosenfield.

In the ‘50’s, she and her husband, architect Arch Swank, Jr., led an environmental effort to save much of Turtle Creek from a proposed road improvement project.  During the midpoint of her career, Ms. Swank raised four children and was a correspondent for Time and Life magazines.  She was instrumental in locating the Abraham Zapruder film of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination for Life magazine in November, 1963.

Ms. Swank began her career with KERA-TV in 1970 as an arts and environment reporter for Newsroom.  She later had her own shows, Swank in the Arts from 1978, and Portfolio in 1980, a magazine-style series examining the aesthetic side of North Texas.   In 1988, she entered the public relations field when she was appointed as Dallas deputy cultural ambassador, a post that led to her encounter with Queen Elizabeth II as escort to the Meyerson Symphony Center during the queen’s visit to Dallas.

Patsy Swank’s passion for art included many forms, from opera to modern visual arts.  Her daughter Sallie said, “She loved promoting, finding and bringing people together to make it possible for art to be shown and created.”  Ms. Swank died in February, 2006, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

DMagazine article by Patsy Swank: Remembering The Dallas Nine