DALLAS — Several local Dallas artists will feature their work in Debra Ferrari’s gallery for the Milieu Earth exhibit. The Exhibit opens on April 22, this Earth day and runs through July 2. The goal of the exhibit is to bring awareness to how we as humans are affecting our earth in a unique and creative way.
Ferrari’s love for art started at a young age.
“I absolutely am happiest when I’m in my studio painting,” Ferrari started.
She and her husband are co-owners of Ferrari Gallery and are both eco-artists. They’ve done work for Jon Bon Jovi, Portia DeRossi, and Chris Berman.
It was in 2015 that she sparked a passion for the environment and used her gifts to bring an awareness to nature.
“I read the Sixth Extinction and I really started to get into how we are causing the extinction of animals in our wildlife,” Ferrari explained. “I thought of capturing them in a symbolic way in a round canvas to represent the earth and then I use fashion. I love fashion so I use Hermes and Gucci scarf patterns as the background. That gives us the connection between humans and nature.”
Ferrari explains her long-standing love for animals and nature.
“Ever since I was a kid I was like the one rescuing the kitten or the dog or the duck. I was stopping traffic to let the ducks cross the street,” Ferrari joked.
As Earth Day approaches, she’s using her gallery, Ferrari Gallery, to remind Dallas residents of the surrounding life through different Dallas Artist’s work. Rapheal Crump, Jennifer Troice, Komas Ballis, Jeremy McKane, and James Ferarri’s art will all be featured in the Milieu Earth collection.
Originally from New York, Rapheal Crump has lived in Dallas for 8 years. He’s excited to showcase his bird series this Earth Day.
“I have a series of these. I did 8 different paintings of 8 different local birds that are here around the DFW.” Crump stated. “I chose to do each one of them on a man-made material. Like he’s perched on a fence with a little zip tie. You know, before the fence was there, it used to be a tree. It was his environment. We chopped that down and built a fence. I chose to paint him back on wood, which used to be his tree.”
Ferrari’s hope is that the Milieu exhibit helps people open their eyes to the world around them.
“To help people bring closer to nature and also make us aware of what’s going on in a beautiful way,” Ferrari stated.
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