Rita Barnard is a conceptual/natative artist. Barnard’s primary discipline is assemblage. Working with her hands to build, paint, and join objects together to tell a cohesive story is her greatest pleasure.

She was educated in Fine Art at Texas Woman’s University. Barnard studied Art History, Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design in the Masters program. After graduation she worked as a freelance designer and art director for such clients as CompUSA, Italia Advertising Company, JCPenney, the Container Store and many others.

Barnard then took on a project that had always been her dream. She opened the Small Gallery. She curated exhibitions that were a showcase for established as well as emerging artists. Her main purpose for the gallery was to find and support artists that had remarkable talent but had never shown in a gallery. This gave the emerging artist experience in preparing art for exhibit, how to write an artist statement, attending openings and getting to know other artists and buyers. She called it her “Easter egg hunt.”

Rita Barnard has been actively involved in the Dallas art community since the year 2000. Becoming involved with the Bath House Cultural Center and creating “The Friends of the Bath House” was her beginning in the art community. The “Friends” was created to support the Bath House by raising funds to purchase and supply the Bath House staff with needed items for the theater and gallery that the city could not fund. The Friends became a 501c3 organization and Barnard sat on the board of directors for 5 years.

Barnard has curated several exhibitions for different art venues. She installed “Tribute for the Fallen” at the Bath House Cultural Center, Mountain View College and the University of Texas at Richardson. Barnard installed “The Wisdom of Women” at the Art-a-Whirl in Minneapolis, MN. She was chosen twice to show in “The New Texas Talent” show at Craighead Green Gallery. She has exhibited in the “Hecho en Dallas” exhibit.