Sculpting a legacy: West Fort Worth art gallery bids farewell after nearly 30 years

When people walk through the thousands of metal scraps and old car parts stockpiled at Rebecca Low’s west Fort Worth art gallery, they usually see garbage.

But to Low, those pieces of steel, copper and aluminum are so much more. They’re tools in her “treasure yard” waiting to be shaped into art. 

“People call it my junkyard, but it’s not. Once I own it, it’s a treasure,” she said. 

For nearly 30 years, the Fort Worth artist welded metal scraps into large-scale sculptures inside her Rebecca Low Sculpture Gallery. 

Low was commissioned for dozens of high-profile sculptures, including the metal work of Fort Worth’s longhorn mascot “Molly” that hung above the council chambers at old City Hall. 

“Some people call me an icon, but I think that’s pushy,” Low said. 

While she’s grateful for the praise, the 73-year-old artist is ready to move past her art gallery as retirement calls her name. 

Her art gallery at 7608 Camp Bowie West closes permanently Nov. 1. The 5,000-square-foot property is being sold to a photographer who plans to transform the space into a studio, she said. 

Closing the gallery is “bittersweet,” Low said, but now is her time to travel, volunteer and support small artists. Low plans to continue accepting commissioned works at a smaller, private art studio. 

“I probably should have done it a little sooner, but everything was falling into place,” she said. “And it’s just time. I have a lot of living to do.” 

Misty Locke, co-director of the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association, said she’s “genuinely saddened” by the closing and feels admiration for what Low built over the decades. The sculpture gallery was a frequent participant in the group’s Gallery Nights. 

“Her gallery proved Fort Worth could support ambitious sculpture programming while building lasting infrastructure that strengthens our entire arts community,” Locke said. “Her elevated standards and belief in sculpture’s significance will continue shaping Fort Worth’s cultural landscape.”

Passion becomes a profession

Low spent 25 years working as an interior designer in Nebraska and Texas before sculpting called her name. 

While on a morning walk with her dog Pepper in 1993, Low came across car parts and metal objects lying on the roadside. Low said her dog told her to take a welding course and create a piece of art from the scraps — so she did. 

What began as a hobby quickly turned into a career. In July 1998, she opened Rebecca Low Sculpture Gallery — her final interior design project, as she served as the general contractor on her building.

The gallery quickly became a popular stop on Gallery Nights, Low said. 

“Our gallery nights were always first on lots of people’s lists, and sometimes it’s the only place they came to,” she said. “Once they got out here, they came back and told their friends. It really became word of mouth.”

Sculpting a legacy

Alan Burkholder, a close friend of Low’s for 30 years, spent several Gallery Nights at the gallery. He described the art space as a “pillar” in west Fort Worth. 

“It’s breathtaking, and it’s a wonderful haven here in the Westside,” he said. “It was welcoming and friendly to everybody who came there. And she did so without having to make a big production about it.” 

As her spot grew in popularity, Low knew she needed to share her space with other North Texas artists. She opened her doors and represented sculptors including Chasity Hernandez, Cresencio Parra and David Mikitka. 

Mikitka, 70, had welded copper, aluminum and steel sculptures as a hobby for several years when he discovered Rebecca Low Sculpture Gallery in 2012. After introducing himself as an artist, Low asked him to return with some of his sculptures. 

When he returned with a box full of his works, Low quietly separated them into two piles, keeping the ones she liked, he recalled. 

Mikitka quickly realized she was taking him on as an artist in the gallery. 

“She’s sort of been the base and the foundation of where I go,” Mikitka said. “She’s been a guiding force, a mentor and a critic. I’ve just been blessed to have her.”

Even though the sculpture gallery is closing, Low will remain on the premises until February. She wanted adequate time to sell any major metal parts in her “treasure yard” and rummage through pieces for her commissioned works. 

Because even in retirement, she said, a true artist never stops creating. 

David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.

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