Friday, June 13, 2008

Barry Whistler Gallery: Robert Wilhite: The Bomb and Kirsten Macy: New Paintings, Opening Reception: 6-8PM
2909-B Canton St. Dallas TX 75226 // 214.939.0242 //

Road Agent: Party at the Moontower, Opening Reception: 6-8PM
2909-A Canton St. Dallas TX 75226 // 214.749.4049 //

Kettle Art: Prepared Americans: New Paintings by Cathey Miller: Opening Reception: 7-10PM
2714 Elm Street Dallas, Texas 75226 // 214 573-7622 //

Denver based artist Evan Hecox returns to Dallas on February 29 for the release of the Limited Edition boxed set of his book Urban Abstract by Bee Lee Gee Press.

The event is at the Design Within Reach studio at 4525 McKinney Ave, Ste. 103 from 6-9PM. Don’t miss your chance to meet Evan and get your copy and have it personalized. Complimentary beverages will be served throughout the evening.

About the Box Set
The limited edition of Urban Abstract features an exclusive hand printed dust jacket. The books are signed in an edition of 50 and bear an emboss stamp. A set of 8×10 in. prints will accompany the book all of which are housed in an exquisite handmade solid wood box with a line drawing of the book’s cover laser etched onto its lid (see above image).

About the Artist
Evan Hecox is an artist and graphic designer who has become known largely through the subculture of skateboarding, having produced hundreds of skateboard graphics since 1997. He has also emerged as a fine artist having shown work in galleries both in the United States and abroad, including solo shows in Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas and Tokyo, and group shows in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Paris and London. He creates drawings, paintings, and prints based upon his observations of environments, people, cars and signage. His works depict city scenes or isolated elements that are almost cinematic in their stark contrast and abstraction. Hecox is fascinated with the complexity of the urban landscape and people from the mundane surroundings that one would normally overlook. Like snapshots or filmstrips, his art captures the everyday existence of the average person as they traverse the detritus of the modern metropolis. His stylistic approach is based on the process of amplification as it affects form and color, breaking down the image, removing elements and emphasizing others. His interest in the urban landscape began during the time he lived in the Mission District of San Francisco and he has since drawn inspiration from many places where he has traveled. His work was included in the exhibition and book, Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture, which documents 30 years worth of art, design, photography and culture surrounding the worlds of surfing, skateboarding, punk rock, hip-hop and graffiti.

The Public Trust is opening a new exhibition called Primer on March 8, 2008. It’s focus is on entry level art collecting. At the very least my hopes for this show is for it to act as a Public Service Announcement for the collecting of art.

In my 5 years of publishing art books and running a gallery, I have found that so many people express an interest in having art in their home but really don’t know where to start, or that in their experience the prices of work in a gallery has been really daunting.

Primer will feature originals and prints from emerging to mid-career artists, with no original piece in the show over $1,500. The Public Trust print collection ranges from $30 to $500. The opening reception will run from 6-9pm and the show is up till May 3, 2008.

THE PUBLIC TRUST: Saturday, January 19 (6-9pm)
2919-C Commerce St. // Dallas, TX 75226
214.760.7170 // www.trustthepublic.com

Choice Cuts: A group show featuring works by: Steven Hopwood Lewis (Above image), Evah Fan, Evan Hecox, Gary Taxali, Gary Baseman, Cody Hudson, Dalek and more…

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ROAD AGENT: Saturday, January 19 (6-8pm)
2909-Canton St. Ste. A // Dallas, TX 75226
214.749.4049 // www.road-agent.com

New Art From Chicago: Scott Anderson, Aaron Baker, John Parot, Steve Reber

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BARRY WHISTLER GALLERY: Saturday, January 19 (6-8pm)
2909-Canton St. Ste. B // Dallas, TX 75226
214.939.0242 // www.barrywhistlergallery.com

Scott Barber: Works on Canvas

Last night I caught the news segment about Charles Allen Chatman who had been jailed for nearly 27 years for a crime he did not commit. In 1981 at the age of 20 he was convicted of raping a neighbor of his, whom he lived a few doors down for 13 years. He was convicted on the grounds that the victim was “a nurse, she was a trained observer, incapable of making a mistake.”

Mr. Chatman contends that his accusation and conviction were racially movitaved, of which I am inclined to agree, especially in Texas.

The amazing part of the story is the man’s perseverance. He was sentenced to 99 years, but since he always maintained his innocence he was denied parole. It wasn’t until 2001 that he had a shot at freedom, since prior to that state prisoners could not request DNA tests. After 2 DNA tests, which came back inconclusive, he chose to wait it out until DNA testing advanced, since the last sample would exhaust all genetic evidence from the victim’s rape kit.

It was the Y-STR kit that cleared his name. This test is able to identify genetic markers from the slightest amount of genetic material.

The range of emotions one feels from being released from a wrongful imprisonment must be intense. The sheer excitement of breathing free air, and the bitter taste of so much time lost. That made the DA’s words about justice a bit hard to take when he said to Chatman, “You are an example of how justice is supposed to work.” Too bad it started working for him after sitting idle for 27 years.

EXPO 2008 will open on January 12 with an artist reception from 6-10pm.

500X Gallery is located at…
500 Exposition // Dallas, TX 75226
214.828.1111 // www.500x.org

Congratulations to the following artists:
Paul Abbott, Daniel Avazpour, Lane Banks, Kelly Berry, Michelle Brandt, Lori Brennen, Ezequiel Cambranis Jennifer Dawson, Lanie DeLay, Oscar Duran, Josh Fletcher, Havi Frost, John Frost, Christine Garza-Mitchell, Lori Giesler, Nathaniel Glaspie, Bryan Gooding, Andrew Grimes, Ben Hancock, Mary Emma Hawthorne, Logan Hill, Clayton Hurt, Sean Ibanez, Kelly James, Jenny Jones, Kathryn Kelly, Joel Kiser, Amanda Kutsch, Anne Lawrence, Erin Machniak, Pate MacKenna, Devon Nowlin, Rosane Vochan O’Conor,
Dylan O’Riley, Keri Oldhan, Barbara Pfaffenberger, Alicia Philley, J.R. Phillips, Nathan Porterfield, Jeffrey Primeaux, Michelle Proksell, Don Relyea, Ryder Richards, Brian Row, Brian Neal Sensabaugh, Terry Shuck, John Spriggins, Andrea Stigdon, Loran Thrasher, Kelly Ulcak, Mary Wester and Murielle White.

Some words of wisdom for artists who are trying to “make it” who did not submit work to EXPO
EXPO 2008 was juried by Terri Thornton, artist and education director for The Fort Worth Modern, which means the gallerists in Dallas know Terri. If they do not, they do respect what she has done for the education program at The Modern, which is one of the finest museums in the US. That being the case you can bet that many gallery owners/directors will go and see this show.

So now your work is in front of a gallery owner in an appropriate setting. You can now introduce yourself and they can take time to talk to you for a minute, unlike the time you introduced yourself at their gallery during an opening and you felt snubbed because they didn’t give you their undivided attention while they were working.

In short, being a working artist is hard. Juried shows are the things that get you noticed by galleries and are excellent for your cv.

I am a bit late posting this one, but if you haven’t already you should head down to the DMA to see this exhibition. It is by far one of the best installations from the Concentrations series. In short Collins created every aspect of this project. He built the karaoke machine, assembled the band which recorded the album’s tracks, constructed the sets…everything. This is 3 years in the making and is the first time that the completed project has been seen.

In this poignant and poetic work, Collins insightfully combines art, pop music, and popular culture to create a tender, heartbreaking, and at times funny portrait of humanity,” said Weaver. “Watching these Smiths fans–an almost cultlike world phenomenon–perform and sing their favorite lyrics by lead singer Morrissey in a language not their own is a moving reminder of our own desires and struggles for individual expression. It also expands the possibilities of art in our rapidly changing global age.

Phil Collins: the world won’t listen
The Dallas Museum of Art
November 9, 2007-March 23, 2008
Marguerite and Robert Hoffman Galleries

On Saturday November 10, 2007 The Evens performed live at The Public Trust. The Even’s are Ian Mackaye and Amy Farina. I am still reeling a bit from having seen Fugazi’s frontman play live in my gallery. 170 people were in attendance for this show and they came from as far as Oklahoma City.

It was encouraging to see people come out in force to the gallery when there is no opening, complimentary drinks, or where being seen isn’t top priority.

The only downside was the stabbing that was rumored to have occured down the street at The Red Blood Club (the irony is too much)…hopefully this random, isolated incident won’t further damn Deep Ellum’s public perception. I can imagine this will mean the RBC probably won’t get their SUP.

Dallas…let’s keep this up, sans the stabbing!

There has been a lot of rezoning going on in the Deep Ellum / Fair Park areas. Bars / Clubs are now required to apply for a Special Use Permit to keep their doors open. Once they file their paperwork they go before a committee who then decides whether or not to grant them this permit. Basically if your establishment hasn’t had any “incidents” or received a lot of complaints then you are good to go. This is kind of subjective, and has led to the denial of permits for places such as Tomcats, Club One and Monkey Bar.

My question is what will go in the place of these venues? The property owners pushed to put the SUP into play, but what are their intentions once this first round has gone through the wash?

Empty buildings aren’t much better than an establishment who isn’t a very good neighbor.

So I just got back from voting, and it was a pretty dismal turnout. I was voter 86. There are over 1600 registered voters in the precinct in which I reside. This is also pretty sad, being as that there are 5000 residents in Deep Ellum alone.

The Trinity vote was such a huge, highly publicized item on this ballot, front page of D and the Observer in recent weeks and yet no one turns out.

People always talk about how it doesn’t matter if they vote or not…trust me when this few people are turning out it definitely matters.