written by Rev. Jaimie Alexander
In 2019, First United Methodist Church in Texarkana, AR developed an Art Wall to display artwork and paintings from around the church campus. The pandemic disrupted the rotation of the display of art from various artists in the congregation and community.
In 2025, the rotating art wall at First UMC Texarkana was reintroduced under the direction of church member Georgia Hubnik. Monday marked the installation of the third consecutive inaugural exhibition of 2025, a show filled with remarkable emotion. For the first time, all 24 of Gary Bachers’ Christmas Cards are displayed together. Each piece was graciously framed by his wife, Gabrielle, upon request for this exhibition.
The story of Gary and Gabrielle stands as a powerful testament to grace, resilience, and courage when confronted with unimaginable hardship in their 30s. After the installation was complete, a recording of Gary’s piano playing accompanied a quiet viewing of each work, creating an unforgettable experience. This exhibition will remain on view through January 6, 2026.
Bachers’ works were born in his silent world. Viewers may experience a feeling of calm, wonder, and peace. Perhaps you’ll feel the awe and the sense of oneness with all the things that he tries to relate to his viewers.There is silence…and from his silence his art speaks.
Bachers was an artist in the small Texas town where he was a popular family physician. His art career began after a 1987 stroke stole the use of the right hand, and his ability to produce language, written or spoken. Bachers discovered a new language of visual art.
Bachers’ work has been called “silent conversations”. He frames the conversations, asking us to open our eyes and listen. The circular design abounds in Bachers’ work, usually in the form of full moons and stylized patterns of trees and foliage. These mandala-like compositions, evoking in design and decorative detail those from ancient and spiritual traditions, reflect his meditative creative process as he works to achieve the psychic wholeness which the mandala represents, Bachers’ works have been featured in art anthologies and numerous juried exhibitions around the United States. His works are in private and public collections, nationally and internationally.