Malleable: Sculptures by Rita Blitt

Published : Wed 03/04/26 Category : MulvaneExhibits, RitaBlittExhibits

Location: Rita Blitt Gallery

April 24–November 7, 2026*

In the mid-twentieth century, art movements that challenged the foundations of sculpture began to take shape. Sculptors working in different styles and mediums experimented with unconventional materials like wax, felt, plastic, and found objects.

Among the artists expanding the field of sculpture was Rita Blitt (born 1931). Based in Kansas City, Blitt primarily engaged in painting and drawing until the late 1960s, when she began exploring the properties of acrylic. First heating sheets of plastic and then shaping them quickly before they hardened, she created forms that take advantage of the material's transparency and reflective qualities. In the early 1970s, she also began making assemblages from readymade objects. Sometimes anthropomorphic and often playful, these works transcend their parts to suggest open-ended meanings and narratives.

Malleable highlights the fluidity, versatility, and innovation of Blitt's sculptural practice. Assemblages and acrylic sculptures from the 1960s to the '80s demonstrate her boundary-pushing experimentation and intuitive creative process. Her works invite you to see the beauty in unorthodox materials and everyday objects.

*Please note that these dates are subject to current construction in the gallery and may shift.

Selected works

Splash of Light

Rita Blitt
Splash of Light, 1976
acrylic
Gift of the artist, 2016.0204

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Dance of Destiny

Rita Blitt
Dance of Destiny, 1973
found objects, canvas, acrylic
Gift of the artist, 2016.0159

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Buddy's Beat

Rita Blitt
Buddy's Beat, 1972
acrylic
Gift of the artist, 2016.1099

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Orblitt III

Rita Blitt
Orblitt III, 1968
acrylic
Gift of the artist, 2016.0138

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