For press information, contact: Courtney Kennedy or Nancy Eckhardt, 214.969.9410
George Segal Memorial Exhibition to Inaugurate the Sculpture Garden and new Galleries of Pillsbury and Peters Fine Art, Ltd., of DallasPillsbury and Peters Fine Art plans to celebrate the completion of its multi-million-dollar master plan to renovate and expand its galleries with a memorial tribute to the internationally-acclaimed sculptor, George Segal, whose untimely death last June cut short the career of one of the towering geniuses of Post-war American art. One of America's best-known artists, Segal's work is in the collections of major museums around the world, and his public sculptures are popular tourist attractions, from the FDR Memorial in Washington to the Holocaust Memorial in San Francisco. In 1999, President and Mrs. Clinton presented Segal with the National Medal of Arts.
The exhibition, entitled George Segal and the Nobility of Everyday Life, opens March 30, featuring a broad selection of major works of art produced over the past two decades. The exhibition took shape while the artist was still alive and benefited from his support, as well as that of both Helen Segal, his wife of fifty-four years, and Carroll Janis, his long-time New York dealer. The exhibition includes four bronzes and fourteen plaster and mixed media pieces of figures and still lifes. Paintings and works on paper are represented, as well. After the exhibition closes in Dallas, it will travel to Santa Fe where it will be shown at the Gerald Peters Gallery, 1011 Paseo de Peralta, from May 25 to June 23.
Writing about the artist in the introduction to the catalogue that accompanies the exhibition, Dr. Edmund P. Pillsbury, C.E.O. of the Dallas company, states, "Having seized upon the spiritual ambition and raw emotion of Abstract Expressionist art in his youth, Segal found a way to convey his abiding love of what he could sense, touch, and see—be it from art itself or from life—in a body of work that resonates with conviction and integrity."
The expansion of Pillsbury and Peters Fine Art more than triples the space to exhibit art available in the former gallery. The new galleries, which occupy nearly six thousand square feet, are generously proportioned with eleven to fourteen foot ceilings; illumination comes from discreetly located incandescent and natural sources; gallery finishes are limited to neutral colors—off-white with hardwood floors in some rooms, and stark white with stained concrete floors in others.
The opening of the Segal exhibition marks the completion of the master plan, undertaken in April of last year and designed by Swiss architect Thomas Krähenbühl of Dallas. Mr. Krähenbühl has designed exhibition spaces for several European museums, in particular the Augustinermuseum in Freiburg, Germany. Mr. Krähenbühl worked on the Dallas gallery in association with the well-known, local architectural firm of Oglesby/Greene. The design of the landscaping on the 30,000 square foot site, including a four thousand square foot enclosed sculpture garden, was entrusted to David Andrews of Dallas. Nedderman and Associates served as the general contractor.
Pillsbury and Peters Fine Art occupied the first phase of the expansion in January, when it opened an exhibition of studies, sketches, and trial proofs by Wayne Thiebaud in the eastern portion of the complex. In February, a major exhibition of recent work by Tom Wesselmann was installed in the south wing, an exhibition that continues through April 14. On March 9, following the Thiebaud exhibition, Pillsbury and Peters Fine Art will place on view an exhibition of recent paintings by critically acclaimed Houston artist, Virgil Grotfeldt. The exhibition, entitled Memories and Transformations, is the artist's first one-man show in North Texas and will include over thirty works from the last five of the artist's career.
Pillsbury and Peters Fine Art is located at 2913 Fairmount at the corner of Cedar Springs. The Gallery is open Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, and by appointment. For further information, contact the Gallery by telephone at 214-969-9410, by facsimile at 214-969-9023, or by e-mail at info@ppfineart.com. For further information on gallery activities and programs, visit the website at www.pillsburypetersfineart.com.
