Fort Worth’s Gallery at Bowie House to Present New Art Exhibition Featuring Carly Allen Martin and Erik Skoldberg

Seated in Bowie House’s Mulberry Room, Gallery Director Emily Gregoire remarked on the “tangible energy” in the striking Western decor, curated artworks, and artisan stonework. Throughout the Auberge Resorts Collection retreat, a rotating collection of photographs, paintings, and sculptures quietly awaits new buyers.

The Gallery at Bowie House opened in December 2023 and has since sold hundreds of works, both from owner Jo Ellard’s private collection and newly represented artists. Gregoire tells PaperCity Fort Worth that the art space is “unlike anything else in the world.”

“We bring a fully functional gallery to every single room of our luxury hotel,” she says. “Every single guest room is guaranteed to have two fine pieces of art. The experience starts with turndown cards. For visitors to our restaurant and bar, small silver plaques can be scanned for a self-guided tour with details about the artists and purchase information.”

In a strong week, Gregoire sells five pieces, with an average price point of around $30,000, while works by top-tier artists like Ashley Collins can reach into the hundreds of thousands. She replaces sold works with pieces by the same artist that match the original’s aesthetic. This Sunday, April 19, the gallery is hosting Memory Lane, featuring new works and artist talks by Carly Allen Martin and Erik Skoldberg.

“The works at our gallery are Western,” Gregoire says, “but they don’t necessarily have themes of horses and cowboys. It’s more about the attitude — the work’s uncompromising, bold approach.”

Cultivating New Collectors While Curating a World-Class Gallery

The Gallery at Bowie House represents some of the most recognized contemporary artists in the States and across the world, including David Yarrow, Max Zorn, Federico Uribe, and Anton Smit, along with established regional artists like Carly Allen Martin and rising stars like Abigail Faye Jackson. Gregoire says Ellard has been a close mentor throughout the process and has given her the freedom to manage the gallery.

“Jo has her own horse breeding business,” Gregoire continues. “She’s always been one to not only see around corners but also trust in who she has. When we moved to Fort Worth, she told me what it takes to be successful in the Western world, that it didn’t have anything to do with owning a ranch or riding horses. You just have to be fearless.”

Gregoire helps art lovers see themselves as collectors. When she meets a buyer, often after they’ve spent hours with a piece in the hotel lobby, she reviews their current artwork and identifies underused spaces.

“That’s when that light bulb moment happens for these people who have never collected,” she says. “Each empty wall is an opportunity to tell their story with their home.”

Sunday’s exhibition marks a departure from the figurative works that typically adorn the hotel’s walls. Memory Lane, Gregoire says, aims to demystify abstract artworks.

Carly Allen Martin and Erik Skoldberg Lead Memory Lane

After graduating from TCU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Carly Allen Martin built a career as an abstract painter, with her works represented by the Gallery at Bowie House, Galerie de Bellefeuille in Canada, and Houston-based Rathe Fine Art. Martin describes herself as an “active, action painter.”

“Nothing I create is premeditated,” Martin says. “I make art when I am very present in the moment and guided by intuition. I want viewers of my works to have a visceral response.”

Martin credits Texas-based contemporary artist Winter Rusiloski as a mentor who told her, as a college student, that she was “meant to be a painter.” Martin has since worked with acrylic, charcoal, ink, watercolor, and other media. Showing at Bowie House, she says, has reminded her of her childhood on a family ranch and how those formative years shaped her as both a person and an artist.

“There’s a spirituality about how we treat the land and the animals,” she says. “My connection to the land and the values of my family influence me. Some of my mixed media pieces use red dirt taken from that part of Texas.”

Kylie Skoldberg, who represents Erik Skoldberg and manages his career, met Gregoire during a chance visit to Bowie House. After learning about the gallery, she encouraged Erik to consider exhibiting there, knowing his work would resonate with the hotel’s existing collection.

“I think Bowie House embodies the spirit of how buying art should be based on connections rather than transactions,” Kylie says. “I think Emily values relationships above all else. That is where we really aligned.”

For Memory Lane, Erik will show new pieces from his Studio Floor series.

“I’ve had clients over the years who were just obsessed with my studio floor,” Erik says. “One client cut out the wood panels and had them framed on his wall. Now I put down a 10-by-30-foot canvas and leave it there all year as I go through $30,000 worth of acrylics. I call it a time capsule that shows the direction and colors I used that year.”

Abstract art, he says, should feel accessible to everyone because it is free from the intellectual history that often shapes how viewers approach works by Pablo Picasso and Gustave Moreau. He advises young artists to focus on their talent and passion rather than fleeting trends, and to seek out opportunities to engage with the public, including through charitable events.

Erik’s works are reflections of his joy, Kylie says, adding that she sees much of his work reflecting fond childhood memories with his mother, herself a highly successful artist, and his love of riding motorcycles and golf.

“He leans into very uplifting colors that bring energy to a space,” she says. “Erik has come up with wild ways for people to experience his art, whether it’s for an athlete’s commissioned work based on their helmet, football, or hockey stick, or his abstract works. He really wants people not to feel intimidated about interacting with art.”

‘Working’ for Artists

“Jo likes to say we spent the first year building this car, and now we are getting comfortable driving it,” Gregoire says. “We feel a particular amount of pride selling works to visitors from Park Cities in Dallas or New York City because we know that we are competing with top galleries.”

Gregoire takes pride in helping artists both launch and grow their careers. She points to Abigail Faye Jackson as one notable example. The Fort Worth-based painter frequently captures the attention of participants on the gallery director’s twice-a-week art tours.

“Abigail typically has one artwork installed at the end of the tour,” she says, “and it always captures someone’s attention. She lost her brother at the age of 25 and decided to start using painting to work through that grief. When I sat down with her, it was very clear that her work is amazing. Now, she can’t paint fast enough to keep up with demand.”

We have the ability with this gallery to change culture, she continues.

“Many artists are recognizing that they do not have to work with galleries. We’re trying to create a space where they want to. We take the work we do as a massive responsibility. I always tell our artists, ‘I work for you.’ We claim to offer something better, and we had better show up for it.”