Discovery!: Three One-Woman Shows – Rita Blasser, Constance Forsyth & Karen Lastre

Just in time for the season, William Reaves Fine Art announces Discovery!, an exhibition series offering intriguing new visual opportunities which may just pose the perfect antidote for the “dog days” of Houston’s summer!

In a series of one-woman shows, DISCOVERY! introduces Houstonians (or reintroduces them, as the case may be) to a cache of compelling work by three accomplished Texas women, all of whom channeled considerable energies and talents into the creation of innovative art, and warrant renewed attention and broader recognition within the state’s collector community!

DISCOVERY! shines long over-due light on the works of Constance Forsyth (1903-1987), UT Art Department’s Grande Dame of printmaking; Rita Blasser (1826-2014), the long-time Dallas designer/teacher/print-maker; and Karen Lastre, the luminous abstractionist who remains quietly at work within our own midst right here in the Bayou City.

The exhibition celebrates these women and their work, and returns their material to the gallery scene after prolonged hiatuses, positioning the work for fresh examination.

Making for some of the city’s most interesting summer viewing, Discovery!’s three-in-one format is certain to include works which will appeal to all, and qualifies as “required summer viewing” for all avid Texas art patrons.

With regard to the subject artists:

The daughter of notable American Impressionist, William Forsyth, Constance Forsyth’s interests and proclivities in the arts came naturally.  Forsyth was the first female faculty member hired by UT Austin’s Art Department in 1940, where she headed the printmaking department until 1973. She built an active and formidable printmaking program within the institution, serving as a teacher and mentor to many of the modernist printmakers in the state, including Bill Reily.  She also distinguished herself as one of the great Texas printmakers of her time and was instrumental in the formation and on-going activities of the Texas Printmakers Guild.  In both her prints and watercolors, she creates striking compositions depicting semiabstract forms found in nature, such as clouds, expansive prairies or massive mountain formations.

Rita Blasser, a long-time Dallas designer/teacher/artist, was often referred to as an artistic genius by peers for her innovative works in painting, photography, and printmaking. Throughout the four-decades of her career, she created a diverse body of work, often incorporating everyday objects in her compositions, such as cattle marker, plastic bags, and newspaper.

Karen Lastre, of course, is a self-taught Houston painter who is actively producing today. As a colorist, Lastre continues to dedicate herself to abstract, color field painting, using size, color, and shape to evoke an emotional response between the viewer and her artwork. Each composition is a contemplative exploration of life, imagination, and the essence of humanity.

In the end, the gallerists hope that this Discovery! exhibition helps to “even the score” for these women, enabling a new generation of viewers to engage in their bold and interesting mix of their Texas-made paintings and prints.  Serious Texas collectors are especially encouraged to attend.

Discerning connoisseurs will surely find the works incredibly rife with delightful energy and soul, and discerning collectors will note them as remarkably attainable “finds”.

So, come in from the heat, Houston, to one of the summer’s coolest art venues around!  Discovery! awaits…

Pictured above: Karen Lastre, The Path-Second Sounding, 1971-1998, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 54 inches