Stuff by DFW artists I want to buy NOW: Sub-Recession Artbuyer Blues

by Christina Rees May 10, 2012

You must have noticed, if you live in DFW, that there’s some pretty exciting artwork bobbing all over its various surfaces. Local artists are getting busy, many on their own terms or under new conditions forced by a stagnant economy. This has me jonesing; I want and I want.

I have the eye for collecting, but I fail to save the money or even come through on invoices. I still owe Marty Walker money for a piece; she could or should yank it anytime and that artist should be pissed.

I’m not good at saving money, but I am trying, and getting better all the time.  I’m not a dealer/gallerist anymore, which is wonderful; I get to live around art all the time without being forced to sell it. But I’m still acquisitive. Here’s what I’ve been thinking about, and wanting.

  1. Anything by Peter Ligon. Dallas artist. Mostly paintings and drawings. Not represented, as far as I know, but he was very much part of the recent Shamrock Hotel‘s “Fallas Dart Air” (during the Dallas Art Fair) and I’ve seen his work at Plush Gallery and in group shows, most notably at Barry Whistler. C’mon, folks. I dare you to not be utterly seduced by the charm, honesty, and respectful (and damn respectable) tradition of Ligon’s cityscapes. He has the touch. I’d be happy to wake up looking at one (or two, or three) every morning. As a postscript to Peter, I’ve been admiring the hell out of many of Scott Winterrowd’s landscapes that he posts on Facebook. They’re wonderful, too, as far as I can tell. I need to see them in person.

    C.J. Davis

  2. C.J. Davis. Does all kinds of things, and shows with Plush. I feel like an idiot for missing his last show. I’ve liked everything I’ve seen of his, though, and I wonder if I could get a studio visit. He’s smart, unpredictable, knowing, and very clever. Almost unsettlingly so. Okay. He scares me.
  3. I SHOULD HAVE gotten one of the tiny forlorn creatures, sculpted out of what looked like Sculpey and garbage, by Clayton Hurt  at that 500X member show. They were only $50 each and incredibly endearing, and sad and weird. Kicking myself now.

    Greg Ruppe

  4. If I had $10K, I’d buy Greg Ruppe’s motorcycle he recreated in its entirety in colored resins. Gorgeous. It was part of his MFA thesis show at TCU.

    Bradly Brown

  5. The Bradly Brown multi-media loaded-down donkey on slate that he brought back here from NYC, that someone bought out from under me because I was slow and stupid.

    Christopher Blay

  6. Anything Christopher Blay made as Frank Artsmarter to poke fun at our last Modern Ruin group show, Quick and Dirty. His one-man show in Fort Worth was called Modern Ruined: Thick and Wordy and he made every piece himself. It was brilliant and hilarious. Maybe I’d get the piece that parodied Chris Powell’s back-to back plastered chair piece. Then I would buy…

    Chris Powell

  7. Chris Powell’s back-to-back chair piece, which belongs in a museum and is the most beautiful piece I’ve seen made regionally in years.  I’m very lucky, in that Terri Thornton, who is curating the big upcoming fall show at FWCA called where is the power (come to think of it, there are two TT pieces I want right now, though another one is permanently tattooed on my right arm anyway), is putting it in her show.  So at least I get to look at it every day for six weeks. The regional museum curators would do well to see this thing.

M and Elliott Johnson

This list is not comprehensive. I want the tiny molded plastic sci-fi sculptures by M and Elliott Johnson, especially the surveillance camera—Marty showed them ages ago. Not cheap. Very funny and perfectly crafted, of course. I’ll never get enough Todora, or Zilm (duh), and I have an undying crush on any video Kerry Pacillio is making these days, though now she lives in California. I think Bret Slater’s work at Marty’s is going to be very, very good. I’ll see the show tonight. I’ve put dibs on a large photograph by Margaret Meehan (I won’t tell you which one because they’re a very limited edition and so screw you). I need to call Nancy at Conduit today about that; Meehan’s show—recreated from its Austin iteration—opens this Saturday. I see a long-term payment plan in my immediate future.

6 comments

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6 comments

Christina Rees May 10, 2012 - 23:25

Images being updated, and name spellings corrected. Elliott, I absolutely know how to spell your name.

Reply
Peter Ligon May 11, 2012 - 09:23

Christina, Thanks for your great support of local Dallas artists. I also had a show at Mighty Fine Arts in December and I think Steve still has some pieces up. Go by and check it out.

Reply
Christina Rees May 11, 2012 - 10:00

Thanks, Peter.

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Christina Rees May 11, 2012 - 09:48

Kevin Todora took the last photo. The work in the foreground is by Richard Patterson; the background is Chris Powell’s chair piece.

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Bill Davenport May 12, 2012 - 08:59

It’s like Angie’s List for Dallas art! Thanks Christina! Now, if we could get a couple more smart, informed people to make up their own lists, we could start debating! I’m definitely going to try and see works you crave when I get a chance.

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Duke M. Horn August 27, 2012 - 14:26

Christina; Thank you for opening the jar of Pablum and pouring all the contents out.

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