The measured ka-thunk of cars passing overhead and a summer breeze funneling through the underpass was a fitting stage for the unveiling of an art project titled “Seasons and Rhythm/Estaciones y Ritmo” Saturday morning. A group of community leaders, neighbors, police officers and firefighters gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at…
There should be a better way to describe what these Dallas-Fort Worth artists do, other than to say they make toys or dolls. What they do is far beyond traditional toy-making, and the prices of their products reflect the quality and care that the artists put into their work, as…
On April 8, Reid Robinson was having dinner with his wife, Julie, and their 11-year-old son Rowan at Keller’s Drive-In on Harry Hines. Dining indoors wasn’t an option. Bars and restaurants were shut down, including the Robinsons’, who own Brizo restaurant and the sublimely dive-y Forum Country Club, the oldest…
The Arlington Museum of Art has reopened with a one-man show spotlighting women. Knox Martin: Living Legend is scheduled to run through Oct. 11 at the downtown venue, which typically presents pre-curated shows. However, AMA’s marketing coordinator, Lily Williams, says this exhibit is unique. “We got to have this really…
Since the death of George Floyd, the floodgates have opened for Black Lives Matter-themed murals covering walls across Dallas and beyond. But what does the future hold for these works, once the boarded up windows are reopened? Many local murals were spearheaded by notable local artist IZK Davies, who began…
“I’m just trying to survive,” Jeremiah Onifadé says. “That’s the motto for 2020.” The artist says this while corralling his infant son, squeezing in some after-work painting, providing for a family in a pandemic and preparing for the second art show of his career. His voice carries no sound of…
Art can double as a mighty catalyst toward social reform, and some North Texas artists have continuously used their work as a weapon in the endless fight against racism and injustice. In a time of deep social unrest, the work of these local artists stands out for having a unifying…
Not even the gale force winds of a hurricane could bring down the slave quarters in Jammie Holmes’ hometown. Holmes, a Dallas-based painter with an impressive following, is from Thibadaux, Louisiana. Through portraits of his family and friends, he captures the desperation and poverty prevalent in his hometown. When he…
Not many organizations present such an immediately recognizable motif as the Umbrella Movement. The object is a metaphor and sign for those seeking protection and cover from a brutal reality and has been adopted and adapted for use in protests throughout the years, including those marching across Dallas streets. For…
Dallas-based graphic designer, visual artist, and “professional doodler” Christina Moreland is fighting a war on the side of good for the soul of humanity. The weapons in her arsenal? Cartoons. Her latest assault on ignorance is a series of aphorisms in cartoon form through a series called Daily Tips for…
If you’re a philanthropist and an art collector, then Friday is the perfect day for you to open your heart and wallet. Dallas art gallery RO2 Art will host an online art auction, with over 90 works by 50 different artists, and all proceeds will benefit the North Texas Food…
In her last collection of paintings, called “Reveries,” Jana Renee captured the hazy serenity of her sleeping female subjects. One woman, generously tattooed, slumped over a sofa above a sea of clouds, while another lay like a napping Alice dreaming on a field, encircled by white flowers. A sense of…
In 2017, Jessica Serna started the travel blog My Curly Adventures after returning from a monthslong trip to Spain, where she hopped around the old continent in search of its best food and fashion. Serna is used to staying close by; she’s big on Texas road trips, where she seeks…
Psychedelic Robot first arrived in Dallas in 2018, during a time when pop-up museums were becoming the rage (and chagrin) of the art world. Before the Sweet Tooth Hotel and Museum of Illusions, Bivins Gallery conceptualized an explosive pop-up with colorful walls and an interactive design, where you don’t observe…
Raptors and Triceratops and T. rex will now be created in North Texas. But not like that eccentric guy with the hat did in Jurassic Park. Billings Productions, Inc. is the nation’s leading manufacturer of dinosaur animatronics, and this summer it’s migrating to new digs in Allen. Vice president of…
Not all artists dream of seeing their work around the world. At least, not when it’s being copied, which is what Dallas artist Ricardo Paniagua claims has happened to him, twice in the last few months. Having their art displayed in public areas brings about many many nuisances for muralists,…
The Holmes house did not have a TV. Jammie Holmes, one of the family’s two boys, found his entertainment through the thin bars of a box fan. His family’s home was a ramshackle shotgun house on the aptly named Narrow Street in Thibodaux, Louisiana. At night, under a dark Louisiana…
The Novel Apartments in Deep Ellum are the second of their kind in Dallas. Owned by Crescent Communities, the Deep Ellum edition of the Novel falls perfectly in line with the area’s artsy spirit by employing local artists, who in turn depicted other local artists. The building’s dark, sleek look…
When Jeremy Biggers was growing up in South Dallas in the mid-1990s, you were either a football player or a basketball player. The latter was cheaper and easier to practice alone, so Biggers chose the hardtop over a pigskin and pads. “I was terrible,” he admits. “I don’t think I…
TIffany Rae Grimes is a Dallas hair stylist and colorist whose bright creations transform her clients into striking fantastical creatures. Until recently, she could be found in Deep Ellum, but she says that gentrification and a fear of crime pushed her out of the neighborhood and into Salon Ritual. “I…
Out-of-towners aren’t the only thing checking into the Canvas Hotel in Dallas. Four Dallas-based artists will have their work taking up residence in the art-centric hotel as part of ARTCRUSH, a new exhibition running through April 5. ARTCRUSH is the product of the Canvas Hotel teaming up with art consultancy…
In the wake of heightened college admissions scrutiny, one group is keeping an eye on those hoping to sneak their way into high schools, too. The organization Government Crime Stoppers is offering rewards of up to $5,000 for anonymous tips about Dallas suburbanites cheating their way into Booker T. Washington…
