Blog Post

Guest artists: Mary Carol Fitzgerald + Brad and Sundie Ruppert

  • By Tina Ehrlich
  • 04 Feb, 2020

We’re often asked how we find the artists that we represent at the gallery.

Ashley Mary art

For the 23 artists included in the roster, it’s a variety—some of them we knew we wanted to include their work and reached out directly, like Hunt Slonem, Lino Lago and Kristi Kohut. Others, the artist first reached out to us, like Taelor Fisher, Marcy Cook and Elisa Sheehan. As a gallery, we’d love to say “yes” to every artist submission we receive, but our inbox sees 1-2 artist submissions every day. Because we’re committed to supporting and advocating our represented artists well, it's never been our goal to maintain a roster of 50+ artists.

But, we often include guest artists in our shows—not on contract, but just including artwork temporarily for the current show. We love the chance to support additional artists, both near and far! For the current show, Texture, our guest artists include Mary Carol Fitzgerald and Brad and Sundie Ruppert.

Mary Carol Fitzgerald

Mary Carol Fitzgerald, Tan Umbrella
Tan Umbrella, 30 x 20", Photograph, $300
We’re so happy to include Mary Carol’s work in the show. We don’t often include photography, but we felt her up-close texture shots were too perfect to ignore.
Mary Carol Fitzgerald, Burlap
Burlap, 30 x 20", Photograph, $300
She is a lifestyle and event photographer currently based out of San Diego, but she travels across the country for her work. Her photography depicts portraits and lifestyle design in settings cohesive to brands. She’s an avid seeker of beauty, wanderlust and mindfulness—aiming to inspire and motivate her audience. These three pieces included in our Texture show are great for a neutral space, with their brown and tan topics.
Mary Carol Fitzgerald, Boardwalk
Boardwalk, 30 x 20", Photograph, $300

Brad and Sundie Ruppert

Keukenhof 3, 13 x 13.25", Sculptural felt, $550
Brad and Sundie Ruppert have a fascination with texture and the need to innovate by creating unique mixed media sculptures. Their most recent body of work gives new life to perhaps the oldest textile used today, fur felt, specifically the remnants trimmed from the brims of felt hats. They have developed a process of cutting, bending and layering the intricate felt pieces over carved wood, creating incredible likenesses of their natural subject matter.
Keukenhof 2, 17.5 x 13", Sculptural felt, $720

From here, in Des Moines, we're excited to showcase their work. They'e become well-known in central Iowa and beyond!

Keukenhof 1, 31.5 x 18.5", Sculptural felt, $2000 ($200/mo)
You can learn more about Liz Lidgett’s “why” behind the Texture show or browse our represented artists. Our last group show, Not Your Muse, also included guest artists including Whitney Warne and Martha Rich. We like to surprise our followers with unique guest artists!
Show More
LIVE | Guest curator, Haneen Matt's art favorites (+10% off!) | See her picks >>
×
Share by: