Photo by: Gloria Feinstein
Photo by: Lois Greenfield
ABOUT RITA
Rita Blitt is an international award-winning painter, sculptor and filmmaker working in the San Francisco Bay Area and Leawood, KS. Her works have been featured in over 70 solo exhibitions. The Rita Blitt Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Mulvane Museum, Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas is the home of the Rita Blitt Legacy Collection.
Blitt’s works are included in many museums and private collections, including: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, John F. Kennedy Library, National Museum of Singapore, Spencer Museum of Art, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Nevada Museum of Art, Spertus Institute, Skirball Cultural Center, Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art, Kennedy Museum of American Art and the Mulvane Art Museum. Her monumental sculpture can be found in Australia, Israel, Japan, Singapore and the United States.
Rita Blitt: The Passionate Gesture was published in 2000 by RAM and Brandeis University. Rita Blitt: Around and Round was released by the Mulvane Museum in 2020.
Blitt’s work celebrates love of life, nature, music and dance. In 1977, she wrote “I feel like I’m dancing on paper”.
Caught in Paint, 6-minute film collaboration by Rita Blitt, David Parsons, choreographer, Parsons Dance Company, and Lois Greenfield, dance photographer has won 16 awards and has been invited to be shown in over 130 film festivals.
“Rita Blitt’s art and life are inseparable. Every gesture, in both, is borne on the wings of spontaneous responses unfettered by self-consciousness and guided by childlike purity and trust, immediacy, and an unshakable belief in ultimate goodness. Her constant search for the spirit and essence of reality is accompanied by a sense of wonder and mischief. She lovingly conveys with experienced choreographic lines her vision of the world, where the kinetic energy of dance and an entire musical universe are transformed into the realm of the visual. The sculpture and drawings are by turn fluid and harmonious or rhythmic and staccato. In each instance they resonate with primal memories of collective symbols.”
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 Rita Blitt Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
2020 “Around and Round” Rita Blitt Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
2019 “To Kiss the Sun” Rita Blitt Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University, Topeka, KS, ArtsKC Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2017 Grand Opening of The Rita Blitt Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
2016 Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
Rita Blitt in Motion, Dance of the Line
2015 The J, Overland Park, KS, Harnessed Love June 3 – August 14, 2015
Colorado Mountain College, Aspen, CO
Works on Paper Retrospective
June 11 - August 13, 2015
2014
Michael Warren Gallery, Denver, CO June - July
The Mitchell Gallery, Aspen, CO February
2013
Wyly Community Art Center, Basalt, CO, Dancing Hands, September - October
2012 The Red Brick Center for the Arts, Aspen, CO Annual Artist Tribute Honoring Rita Blitt
July - August
2011
The Carter Art Center Gallery at Metropolitan Community College, Penn Valley, Kansas City, MO Discovering and Sharing Joy Part II: Drawings, Paintings, Sculpture and Film
October 4 – November 7
Cultural Arts Center, Metropolitan Community College, Longview, Lee’s Summit
Discovering and Sharing Joy: Part I: Drawings, Paintings, Sculpture and Film
October 1 – November 12
Gallery of Art & Design, Univ. of Central Missouri, Warrensburg
Fear of War, Courage to Hope … While Dancing
A traveling exhibition of drawings, paintings, sculpture and film.
August 19 – September 24
2010
Green+Blue Gallery, Stowe, VT
October 2 – November 15
Lawrence Art Center, Lawrence, KS
Featuring: Fear of War, Courage to Hope … While Dancing – Paintings and Sculpture
September 10 – October 9
La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley, CA
March 1-30
2009
547 Arts Center, Greensburg, KS
Featuring: Fear of War, courage to Hope …While Dancing – Paintings and Sculpture
September through October, 2009
Soka University of America
Founders Hall Art Gallery Aliso Viejo (near Laguna Beach), CA
Featuring: Passionate Gestures of Rita Blitt
September 1, 2009 – January 7, 2010
Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut (near LA), CA
March 12 – April 9
Featuring: Fear of War, Courage to Hope … While Dancing – Paintings and Sculpture
Marion Meyer Contemporary Art, Laguna Beach, CA
February 5 – March 28
Featuring: Sacred Moments – Wall Sculptures
College of the Desert, Palm Desert, CA
January 21 – February 6
Featuring: Fear of War, Courage to Hope … While Dancing – Paintings and Sculpture
Bronfman Family Jewish Community Center
Santa Barbara, CA
Wednesday, January 21
Featuring: Passionate Gestures on Canvas and Film
2008
Truman Medical Center, Kansas City, MO, April
2007
Thornhill Gallery – Avila University, Kansas City, MO
2006
Wayne Center for the Arts, Wooster, OH
Sept. 22 - Dec. 1
Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR
May 29 - August 6
Jacquelyn Casey Hudgens Museum and Art Center, Duluth, GA
"Rita Blitt: The Passionate Gesture - A Retrospective"
September 12 - January 12
Marion Meyer Contemporary Art Gallery, Laguna, CA
Ezair Gallery, South Hampton, and New York City, NY
2005
Hallar Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Marion Meyer Contemporary Art, Laguna Beach, CA
2004
4 Star Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
2003
Michelson Museum, Marshall, TX
Carter Center, Penn Valley College, Kansas City, MO
Texas A&M, College Station, TX
Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV
2001
Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, MO
Featuring: Rita Blitt: The Passionate Gesture
April 20 - May 26
2000
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
1998
City Center, New York, NY
1997
Marine’s Memorial Theater, San Francisco, CA
1996
Muchnik Gallery, Atchison, KS
Aug. 3-31
1995
Central Exchange, Kansas City, MO
Nov. 20-Jan. 5, 1996
Holt Russell Gallery, Baker University, Baldwin, KS
Sept. 26-Oct. 22
I Space Gallery, sponsored by the University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
March 17-April 15
Baker University, Baldwin, KS
1994
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL
March 16-27
La Quinta Sculpture Park, La Quinta, CA
Jan. 29-Feb. 28
The Kennedy Museum of American Art, Ohio University, Athens, OH
Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, MO
The Aspen Institute, Aspen, CO
1992
Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO, Sept. 20-Oct. 25
Mackey Gallery, Denver, CO, July 26-Sept. 15
The Aspen Institute, Aspen, CO, “Rita Blitt: Outdoor Sculpture and Drawings,” June 14-Aug. 31
Jewish Community Center, Overland Park, KS, “Hallelujah,” (with Yehuda Hanani concert), May 2-June 5
Packers Bank and Trust, Omaha, NE, March
1991
Central Exchange, Kansas City, MO
Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art, St. Joseph, MO
National Museum, Singapore
1990
Goldman-Kraft Gallery, Chicago, IL, Nov. 2-29
Mark Twain Gallery, Mark Twain Bank, Kansas City, MO, Jan. 24-March 17
1989
Mark Twain Gallery, Mark Twain Bank, Ladue, MO, Oct. 18-Nov. 30
Bet Shmuel, Jerusalem, Israel
Goldman Gallery, Haifa, Israel
1987
Joy Horwich Gallery, Chicago, IL, June 12-July 20
Leedy-Voulkos Gallery, Kansas City, MO, Jan. 9-Feb. 7
1985
Central Exchange, Kansas City, MO, September
1984
Jewish Community Center Gallery, Omaha, NE, “dancing hands: Visual Arts of Rita Blitt”
May 13-June 10
Rockhurst College, Kansas City, MO, Feb. 19-26
1979
St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS
Jan. 14-Feb. 4
1978
Tumbling Waters Museum of Flags, Montgomery, AL
May 19-Aug. 23
Gargoyle Gallery, Aspen, CO
1977
Harkness Foundation of Dance, New York, NY
Dec. 6-17
Martin Schweig Gallery, St. Louis, MO
March 15-April 1
1974
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS
Ängerer Gallery, Kansas City, MO
1969
Spectrum Gallery, New York, NY, “Orblitts"
March 11-29
1967
Halls on the Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, MO, “Canvas in Space: Rita Blitt"
Aug. 25-Sept. 15
1965
Unitarian Gallery, Kansas City, MO
1959
Scott's Frames and Gallery, Kansas City, MO
AWARDS
2021
”The Sun Still Shines” WPRN Women’s International Film Festival, Merit Award
2019
Honorary Doctoral Degree in Fine Arts, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
2011
“Collaborating With the Past” Award of Merit in the Best Shorts Competition
2010
"Caught in Paint" Mexico International Film Festival, Golden Palm Award
2010
UMKC Alumnus Spotlight Award
2010-2005
“Caught in Paint” Sixteen Awards for Documentary Film:
Mexico International Film Festival, Golden Palm Award, 2009 and 2010
Yosemite Film Festival, Best Experimental Film, 2009
15 Minutes of Fame Film Festival, Best Documentary, 2009
Honolulu International Film Festival, Aloha Gold Kahuna Winner, 2009
First Annual Vine Shorts Fest, Best Documentary, 2007
GIAA Festival of Short Films and Videos, 2nd Place Documentary, 2007
The Indie Gathering, 1st Place in Micro Documentary Short, 2007
40th Worldfest Independent Film Festival, Bronze Remi Prize for Best Short, 2007
Moving Pictures Magazine Springtime Short Film Contest, Best Documentary, 2007
Tacoma Film Festival, Best Documentary, 2006
Brainwash Movie Festival, Festival Grand Prize, 2006
Golden Star Shorts Fest, Best Documentary, 2006
Black Maria Film Festival, Director's Citation Award, 2006
Boulder Intl Film Festival, Best Short Documentary, 2005
Berkeley Film Festival, Grand Festival Award, 2004
2005
Award in Sculpture, Florence Biennale: “Sensuously Stacked Steel”
2002
Omni Award: www.ritablitt.com
2001
How International Design: Rita Blitt: The Passionate Gesture
1987
National Sculpture Competition,
Midwest Women’s Center, Chicago, IL