City of Frisco Aims to Support the Arts by Showcasing 30 Local and International Artists

The word “conduit,” a natural or artificial channel through which something travels, such as a fluid, also applies to art. Ideas, themes or emotions can be conveyed through a variety of media. Conduit is also the name of a contemporary art exhibition at the Frisco Art Gallery, which runs until Sept. 7.

Conduit is an open-themed, multimedia exhibition curated by Ginger Cochran, founder of Envision Arts. Originality, skill-level, use of media, and composition were some of the selection criteria applied to the show’s curation. Local and international artists, from Texas and Utah to London and Mexico, participated in the collective show, which encompasses a wide variety of genres and media that show the artists’ creative journey.

Some of the art is abstract and some is figurative. There are natural landscapes and landscapes of the mind. Brightly colored pieces sit next to somber ones. There is dialogue and tension in the way the art is displayed.

Some pieces ask hard questions, some make the observer think about the natural world or the human condition.
The materials used range from acrylic on canvas and color pencils to ink and photography. The pieces include paintings, drawings, collages, wood inlays and ceramic stoneware.

Some pieces ask hard questions, some make the observer think about the natural world or the human condition.

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The 30 selected artists come from diverse backgrounds and are at different stages in their careers. The Best in Show award was presented to Romulo Martinez during the opening reception on Aug. 4. The piece, titled “One Among Millions,” from 2019, is polyethylene with oil and acrylic paints on canvas. Martinez, originally from Venezuela, moved to Frisco last year.

Envision Arts grew out of a need for more exhibition and publication opportunities for artists. Having explored different options, founder Cochran, an artist herself, decided to launch Envision Arts and partnered with assistant director Reanna DiPaolo and with local Dallas galleries to create those opportunities. Envision Arts focuses on juried in-person and virtual exhibitions. The jury panel for Conduit includes Day III Productions founder and Dallas-based artist and writer, Doug King; thegallery8680 director, Robyn Parker-Feehan; and Frisco Art Gallery director, Paige Prater. Their mission is to “strive to provide avenues to showcase and share creative artworks of many mediums and styles.”

The exhibition is laid out along the main gallery walls of the Frisco Art Gallery and the Black Box Theater foyer, located at the Frisco Discovery Center in downtown Frisco. It features rotating solo or group exhibitions as part of the city’s effort to support the arts.