For nearly a quarter century, Brent Kollock has been painting and drawing with a unique visual language that cannot be confused with anyone else. He is also an accomplished writer of short stories and poetry. But in the last few months, Kollock may have found his true calling as an…
At the center of an enormous, lushly green landscape sits a bright white sheep, head cocked in interest, staring directly at the onlooker. The animal is on the other side of a metal fence. Separate from the flock, the animal couldn’t have known that when Letitia Huckaby captured him through…
The title of the Nate Lowman’s exhibition at the Dallas Contemporary is the punchline to a joke: Why is everyone always saying “God Bless America?” Because America Sneezes. It’s a simple introduction into the brain of an artist whose work as a painter often emerges from observations about American culture…
In this series of articles, Leslie Moody Castro takes on the role of journalist or interlocutor to explore the inequity in the creation, curation and exhibition of art. Read more here. By Leslie Moody Castro Dallas has been an incredible learning experience. I never expected that canceling an exhibition would…
Josephine Durkin: Maps, Flora and Highlighters Sculptures come in all shapes, sizes, colors and beautiful packages. Especially in the art of Josephine Durkin, a Greenville, Texas-based artist whose colorfully abstract sculptural pieces will be on display in a solo exhibition at Erin Cluley Gallery (414 Fabrication St) that opens at…
By Jeremy Hallock Throughout his career, Phillip Collins has focused on giving African-American artists exposure. An accomplished art historian and curator, he established himself as an important voice in the Dallas arts community and then used his position to re-cast the spotlight. In his 60s, he retired from his Chief…
In this series of articles, Leslie Moody Castro takes on the role of journalist or interlocutor to explore the inequity in the creation, curation and exhibition of art. Read more here. By Leslie Moody Castro I liken my job in the arts to a long-term relationship. It has the ups,…
Ark Festival Last year Fort Worth-based artist and Dallas Observer Mastermind Christopher Blay collaborated with bc Workshop to erect an ark in Oak Cliff — a project meant to bring a neighborhood together. Created as a gathering space and temporary gallery installation, the ark sat on East 10th Street between…
By Jeremy Hallock These days, Viola Delgado is an artistic inspiration in Dallas-Fort Worth. But since she was just a kid living in South Texas near Corpus Christi, she knew she wanted to be an artist. “My mom was really the first one to give me my tools to become…
In this series of articles, Leslie Moody Castro takes on the role of journalist or interlocutor to explore the inequity in the creation, curation and exhibition of art. Read more here. By Leslie Moody Castro I wish I could photograph people’s faces when I tell them that I cancelled the…
Kent Dorn: Into the Night Houston-based artist Kent Dorn swims upstream for his exhibition at The Safe Room that opens this weekend. Er, he rolls up the highway at least. Then he climbs the stairs up into the hidden gallery space at the Texas Theatre (231. W. Jefferson Blvd.), paintings…
In this series of articles, Leslie Moody Castro takes on the role of journalist or interlocutor to explore the inequity in the creation, curation and exhibition of art. Read more here. Telling my story By Leslie Moody Castro I have a longstanding inside joke that I bounce around regularly with…
Leslie Moody Castro arrived in Dallas with an idea for an exhibition. Moody Castro, a curator based in Mexico City and Austin, is currently a resident at CentralTrak, the University of Texas at Dallas’ artist residency program in Exposition Park. While there, she was planning to curate an exhibition filled…
Justyna Gorowska: FWJG Photographer Francesca Woodman was fascinated by the female body. During the late 70’s she shot black and white portraiture, often of women in the nude, playing with the camera to blur or smudge the image further submerging the subject into the medium. Woodman’s photographic self-awareness, her sensitive…
It’s near the end of Thursday night’s Dallas Art Fair gala and I’m wandering through the polished halls of the Fashion International Gallery when my companion asks a loaded question, “How many black people have you seen here tonight?” I thought for a second, and local artist and writer Darryl…
A smart gallerist wants the work they show to be in conversation with the contemporary international art market, but much of the year it’s more likely you’ll speak in Dallas terms. You’ll compare one Dragon Street space to another. Perhaps this is why it’s quite wonderful to wander the Dallas…
You’re going to hear a lot of people telling you what #DallasArtsWeek and the Dallas Art Fair mean for the city this week. No matter what they say, roll your eyes, sip your champagne, and adopt the most blasé tone you can muster and say, “Vous sentez come le boeuf…
This weekend is an odd one in Dallas art land. With the Dallas Art Fair opening next weekend, quite a few galleries are squeezing in opening receptions so as not to lose patrons to the upcoming signature Fair events. And in a large number of this weekend’s openings there’s an…
What is reality? How do we build the one we live in? Have you ever asked yourself this? How real are the places you visit? What about the places you haven’t been? You’ll never see all of the natural world, and you’ll only really know the places you’ve been. The…
I’ve been slacking when it comes to seeing all the exhibitions happening in and around Dallas. I don’t know if it’s been the weather, or what you might call being in “a funk,” but I’m slowly emerging from my shell to see everything out there. This list is a healthy…
John Alexander nearly presses his nose against a charcoal image of a lobster and laughs when he says looking into the drawing’s eyes reminds him of his dog. We’re in the downstairs gallery where a series of drawings serve as a prelude to the exhibition at the Meadows Museum, Human/nature…
Joy Laville, Chuck & George, and Flor Garduño Three very different artists take over the McKinney Avenue Contemporary this weekend. Mexican-based artist Joy Laville’s paintings return to Dallas for her first exhibition in 30 years, featuring work from five decades of painting. In the square gallery, Dallas-based collaborative duo Chuck…
