Dear Family and Friends,
On the 40th anniversary of my mother's Citywide Exhibition in Fort Wayne Indiana I thought I would contact Charles A. Shepard III, President & CEO of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. I told him that I would dedicate one of my future email newsletters to my mother's 1979 exhibition at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
In an email I received last week from Suzanne Slick, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art Archivist, she said of my mother "I’ve enjoyed her work since first seeing it here and reading about her life – I look forward to learning more about her centennial celebration and our own role in celebrating your mother!"
I was fascinated to read in the 1979 Fort Wayne Museum of Art Catalogue that my mother's 200 piece exhibition was not only located in the museum but also in the public library, Lincoln Life Insurance Company and the Fort Wayne National Bank.
According to the 1979 Fort Wayne Museum of Art Newsletter April-May. "Ms. Gillespie's work does not merely cross the line between painting and sculpture; the pieces jump the line with a dazzling array of vibrant colors and stunning images. Walls, floors and ceilings become multi-dimensional planes, existing for no other reason than to backdrop her flowing paperworks. The sculpture seems to support itself. This exhibition, specifically designed by the artist, bursts into life as one enters each gallery".
Regards,
Gary
Quaver VIII
Enamel on steel
21 ½” h. x 49” l. x 39” d.
In 1979 my mother received the Mayor's Certificate of Commendation and the key to the City in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Fort Wayne Museum of Art Catalogue
Oil on Canvas, 11" x 8 1/2", 1979
The Director of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art said "that the museum's new role in 1979 of sharing the 'art experience' with the community, and Dorothy Gillespie's involvement with the public sector, have combined to form a new creative environment by placing Ms. Gillespie's art in the Fort Wayne Public Library, the Fort Wayne National Bank, Lincoln Life Insurance Company, inside and outside the Community Center for the Performing Arts, as well as on the grounds and in the galleries at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art."
"Untitled" 43' sculpture displayed which was displayed in front of the Fort Wayne
Community Center For The Performing Arts
(Photo taken on Roosevelt Island)
"Untitled" 43' sculpture which was displayed in front of the Fort Wayne
Community Center For The Performing Arts
(Photo taken on Roosevelt Island)
"65 Colors on Pick Up Sticks" on the lawn of the old museum location on Wayne Street
In an October 1981 issue of Arts Magazine by Virginia Pitts Rembert Liles, Titled Dorothy Gillespie's Way: The Past Encountered. Ms. Rembert says of the 1979 exhibition at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. "Children constantly moved and rearranged the 6-foot-long cardboard pick up sticks that were displayed in the children's section of the Fort Wayne Museum during its exhibition of Gillespie's work in 1979". It was announced that a 10 foot high sculpture would be installed permanently outside the Museum in the name of the children of Fort Wayne.
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette Friday, April 27, 1979
Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Dorothy Gillespie Sculpture in Fort Wayne Museum of Art Collection
Quaver VIII
Enamel on steel
21 ½” h. x 49” l. x 39” d.
Dorothy Gillespie Sculpture in Fort Wayne Museum of Art Collection
Newly Acquired Dorothy Gillespie Sculpture on Display at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Dorothy Gillespie Sculpture on Display at the Harmon Meek Gallery in Naples Florida 2015
Newly Acquired Dorothy Gillespie Sculpture on Display at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Dorothy Gillespie Sculpture on display at Harmon Meek Gallery Naples Florida 2015