Three North Texas artists have been selected for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s mammoth “State of the Art” show.

Kim Cadmus Owens, Gabriel Dawe and Dornith Doherty will all show at the museum, in Bentonville, Ark.

Two Crystal Bridges Museum curators set out on the ultimate art road trip. They crisscrossed the country, visiting more than 1,000 artists in their studios and  logging 100,000 miles. The aim was to create a survey of the most compelling art being created now, in all regions of the US.

The result, “State of the Art,” is set to open on Sept. 13 at the museum, with works from 102 artists – 6 from Texas.

“The exhibition is a glimpse into the state of art in our nation at this moment,” said Crystal Bridges president Don Bacigalupi, in a statement. “By examining a wide range of works by artists from across the country, we can gain insight into our nation as a whole: our collective passions, challenges and concerns.”

A New York Times piece  emphasized the curators’ quest to make sure little-known artists were not overlooked in their exhibition. But Dawe, Owens and Doherty hardly qualify as obscure.

Owens is a painter and associate professor at University of Dallas. Her diptych, “Coming and Going,” will be in the show.

Here’s Owens at State of the Arts in 2013.

Doherty’s “Millennium Seed Bank Research Seedlings and Lochner-Stuppy Test Garden #2” was also selected.

 

A photography professor at UNT, Doherty became captivated by seed banks around the world after reading an article in the New Yorker. She developed a process to magnify, x-ray and photograph samples from the banks. She explains in this episode of  Think TV.

And Dawe’s  contribution, “Plexus no. 27” has already been installed at the museum. Dawe, originally from Mexico City, earned his MFA at UT-Dallas, and was a resident at Central Trak. He makes large, site-specific installations using sewing thread. You can see his work inside the 2100 Ross building just outside the Dallas Arts District.