OK. It’s been a LONG time since I have posted to this blog, this isn’t the first time this has happened. I am sure it would be a lot less noticeable if there were other people contributing to this, but for whatever reason nobody else seems to stick around longer than a few posts. That being said, I am recommitting myself to this blog. I’ll start off with some recent art and culture events that have transpired since the hiatus.

The Dallas Contemporary Opens in its New Location on Glass St.
Although the opening was postponed, The Dallas Contemporary set it off in their new spot with a solo exhibition by LA based artist James Gilbert. Gilbert’s exhibition, Warnings and Instructions, has been extended through the Wish! auction on May 15th. If you haven’t seen this show get on it. This is by far one of the most ambitious installation pieces Dallas has seen in a long time.
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POPUP 310 Opens in the West Village
On February 13, 2010 James Cope (associate curator of the Goss-Michael Foundation) and I started a pop up art space in the West Village which was occupied by Gardens until their abrupt exit from the WV. The project has been an ever-changing group show of artwork by emerging and established artists, with the focus of the project on entry level collecting. Upcoming events include a fashion event with V.O.D. at the helm, a live performance by Psycho Pony and our big huge farewell party with FD Luxe on June 5th. For all of the details hit the POPUP 310 BLOG.
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Holly Johnson Gallery Turns 5
Holly Johnson Gallery celebrated 5 years this past March with a group show titled, Back and Forth: Celebrating 5 Years. A solo show of Houston artist David Alysworth opens this Saturday, so go by and check out the show and wish her a happy belated anniversary.
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Goss-Michael Foundation is moving on up
Michael Craig-Martin closed out The Goss-Michael Foundation’s Cedar Springs location in fine style. It was fitting that the YBA mentor be the final show in this space. His was by far the most well considered exhibition since the foundation formed in 2007. They will reopen this fall in a 12,000 square foot space in the lower oak lawn area. For more details visit their site at gossmichaelfoundation.org
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Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas Adds 3 New Members
After the closing of the Art Lab and several of its member galleries, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not the group known as CADD (Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas) would be able to bounce back. With the addition of PDNB, 500 X and Galleri Urbane, as well as a fall line up of events (which will be announced soon), the group seems to have rebounded quite nicely.
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Houston Artist Lane Hagood wins 2010 Hunting Art Prize
This past weekend was the Hunting Art Prize Gala in Houston. In short this art prize is the most generous offered in North America at the tune of $50,000. The competition is open to Texas based artists and is limited to drawings and paintings. The unique thing about the prize is that it is awarded based off of a single image. The pedigree and name of the artists are not known to the panel of judges, which is an effort to keep everyone on equal footing. Of the 1,400 entries a little less than 10% move on to the final round of judging. I was a finalist for the prize this year, so I decided to take the trip down. The gala was really impressive. I found that most of the work was good, even if it wasn’t my taste, it was well done and the people attending were friendly. As finalists we were encouraged to stand around our painting for most of the evening. I did that for about 10 minutes and decided that wasn’t for me. This decision was made easier given that my piece had sold 2 days before. The winner’s piece, Books I Have Possessed, was a clever painting and definitely stood out in the section where it hung. More importantly, Lane Hagood, in my brief assessment, is a good dude and the prize will certainly give him a much needed financial boost, as at the podium he reported having $178 in his bank account. I will definitely be entering next year to try and bring the prize back to Dallas.
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That’s it for now. I will be back tomorrow with this week’s art openings and some stuff on the retail and restaurant front.