An insatiable curiosity concerning materials, culture, and juxtaposition drives Bard's work. She welcomes surprise and ambiguity as she works with found or bought objects, her paintings, natural materials, and fabric until she feels each piece has achieved its own very particular stasis. This process of intuition, logic, and chance mimics how many lives are lived: sometimes with careful planning, while sometimes we barge ahead with only blind conviction.

Her work has been shown at the Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM; the Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT; the University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX; EDGE ZONES, Miami, FL; The Center for Contemporary Art, Abilene, TX, and many galleries throughout the US.

Rita Bard founded Freeform Art Space in 2014 to showcase the works of underappreciated artists. FreeformArtspace successfully introduced many new artists to the Santa Fe community for six years, closing in 2020 at the pandemic's beginning.

Based on Fluxus member Robert Fillious' 1963 concept of "Art's Birthday" (ongoing https://www.artsbirthday.net/navigate/intro.html), Bard initiated "Santa Fe Art's Birthday" in collaboration with Kathryn M. Davis, The New Mexico Museum of Art, and Axle Contemporary.

Rita Bard was born in Kentucky and has lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, since 2004. She holds a BFA from Maine College of Art and a Certificate of Apprenticeship of Art Glass Design, Theory, and Praxis at Staatliche Glasfachschule, Hadamar, Germany.

Bard has her studio and thriving art practice in Santa Fe, NM.