HomeFront

Red Dot Gallery Owners Exhibit Their Private Collection - March 1, 2013 through April 28, 2012

For over 30 years Dori DeCamillis and Scott Bennett, owners of Birmingham’s Red Dot Gallery, have acquired paintings, sculpture, and photography for their private collection. For the first time, Red Dot Gallery hosts a selection of the collection, titled “HomeFront,” opening on March 1st and continuing through April 28th. An opening reception will be held on the evening of March 1st, from 6 to 9.

As fulltime artists with a national reputation, Bennett and DeCamillis traveled extensively for exhibitions and had exposure to art and artists from every corner of the country. “We gravitate to work that displays skill and craftsmanship, but that definitely reveals a strong individual voice,” says Bennett. “We’ve seen a whole lot of work, and we know what’s been done before, so we get excited about work that stands outside the realm of tried-and-true. We’ve also seen trends come and go, and we are drawn to work that is challenging and non-traditional without being so “current” that it gets dated fairly quickly.”

Many of the artworks in the collection are created by friends of Bennett and DeCamillis. “We made close friends with some fantastic artists over the years, and it was a great opportunity to add work to our collection that held a personal connection,” says DeCamillis. “Each of our pieces has a rather intimate story behind it, and our whole house is filled with memories of artists and good times we’ve had. We also collect the work of our Red Dot students when their skills are developed and their vision and ideas become more focused and coherent.”

"HomeFront" will include local favorites like Bethanne Hill, Chris Lawson, Chris Clark, and Merrilee Challiss, as well as national artists such as Deborah May Broad from Fargo, North Dakota, Michael Kemper from Oklahoma City, Les Slesnik from Orlando, Florida, and Deborah Fritz of Santa Fe, New Mexico.