A Love Letter to Dallas

Over the weekend I had the amazing pleasure of visiting Dallas. Yes, that’s right, pleasure! Aside from the major Dallas institutions, I was fairly ignorant of the existing arts scene and really wasn’t sure what to expect. What I experienced was an outpouring of energy and kindness from so many people, and a burgeoning art scene that is abuzz with creativity, experimentation and a grassroots arts culture that is quickly gaining strength.

Though I only got a quick taste, Dallas is definitely a place to keep on the art radar. I am very much looking forward to my next visit. All in all it was a busy weekend seeing spaces and faces (and some Austin originals):

On view at the relatively young  CentralTrak Residency, a part of UT Dallas, was Painting of All Excuses, which paired artists Raúl Cordero and Michel “El Pollo” Pérez and explored how the two artists use the traditional medium of painting with their own unique visual language.

The Reading Room had a solo show by Kris Pierce titled Missed Calls, part of the artist’s continued investigation on how technology and information influence human behavior. Three different phone numbers were listed anonymously in random places in the Dallas area. The three numbers had separate voicemail systems, and each message was compiled into a large printout that was continuously scrolling and printing in the middle of the gallery for the duration of the exhibition.

Oliver Francis Gallery is a crazy space with crazy things happening. This isn’t the typical white cube with pretty work hanging on the wall. It’s experimental and doesn’t fit into any one box or trope, and director/founder Kevin Rubén Jacobs does everything he can to keep it that way. It’s refreshingly confrontational.

And a super exciting new publication by the fierce Sally Glass, titled Semigloss, is the editorial response to archive the young, vibrant, energetic artistic activity that is quickly transforming Dallas. I pored over mine for hours, and am excited to see their second edition was just recently published.

Special thanks to Noah Simblist, Margaret Meehan, Heyd Fontenot, Kevin Rubén Jacobs, Alison Hearst, Kris Pierce and Karen at The Reading Room.