One of the biggest art events in Utah, Dixie State University’s annual Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show & Sale is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year with a VIP Gala Reception, open exhibit and art sale.
The show will kick off with the VIP Gala Reception at 6 p.m. on Feb. 18 in the Sears Art Museum in the Dolores Doré Eccles Fine Arts Center on the campus of Dixie State University. The free art show will be on exhibit Feb. 19 through April 2.
The Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show will feature more than 240 works of art from 140 renowned artists from Utah and the U.S. Kathy Cieslewicz, curator and director of the DSU Sears Art Museum, said this year’s show will feature strong representation of landscapes, genre, still life, figures, ceramics and sculpture, including a variety of styles from super realism to extreme abstraction. Media used in this year’s selected art range from oil, watercolor and pastels to acrylic, bronze and glass.
“Viewers will find a full scope that they would expect to find in some of the biggest art shows across the country,” Cieslewicz said. “Lying at the heart of this significant collection of artworks are artists who have created wonderful pieces and then presented in an effort to raise money to support the Sears Art Museum. We encourage art lovers and collectors from near and far to participate. Culture has always been important in our area and artists continue to be drawn to our beautiful Southern Utah landscape.”
Michelle Condrat, the 2021 Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show Purchase Prize winner, will adjudicate this year’s show. Her artwork “Canyon Royalty” joined the DSU Permanent Art Collection last year and two pieces of her artwork will be for sale in the museum this year.
Since the inaugural Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show & Sale, a portion of the proceeds from each piece purchased has been allocated to help fund the Sears Art Museum. The show made its debut in that new space in 2005, and appropriately enough, the museum bears the name of the show’s founders, the late Robert N. and Peggy Sears.
The goal of the invitational is to give people the opportunity to purchase art, gain a purchase prize to add to the DSU Permanent Collection and educate DSU students and the community. Because the invitational is a fundraiser for the Sears Art Museum, 37 percent of the purchase price is a tax-deductible donation.
“It is my great pleasure to work with professional artists and to create a pleasing installation of magnificent artwork that is surely enhanced by the uniquely evocative setting of the Sears Art Museum,” Cieslewicz said. “We are very grateful to the Sears family and our many patrons who are helping us to fulfill our mission and to help us continue to build our collections through gifts and donations. We are excited to greet thousands of people who make this a yearly destination.”
Tickets to the VIP Gala Reception are $50 and available to purchase by calling 435-652-7903. The Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show will be on display Feb. 19 through April 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Admission is free and attendees are encouraged to wear masks and maintain social distancing. To learn more about the Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show & Sale, visit searsart.com.