The Dallas Art Fair kicked off with steady sales during Thursday’s (April 20) VIP preview, dealers said, as the Dallas art market is buoyed by a rapidly growing local population and a growing interest in collecting.
In its 15th year, Texas’ premier art fair has earned a reputation for its convivial, laid-back atmosphere that reflects the slower pace of the South. Traders say they often close deals several days after the show begins, and there is less rush to buy during the VIP preview. Collectors often visit the stalls several times during the fair before making a purchase.
“It’s intimate. It has a very different vibe than other art fairs,” says Fair Director Kelly Cornell, who grew up in Dallas and started out as an intern at the fair. Dallas residents have shown Southern hospitality by opening their homes and private collections to visitors and hosting dinners for guests from out of town, she says.
With around 90 exhibitors, this year is the biggest show since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Cornell says the event has bounced back after several years of rebuilding. She adds, “The bruises are gone.”
For the first time there is even a satellite fair. The Dallas Invitational Art Fair, hosted by local dealer James Cope of gallery And Now, takes place across from the Dallas Art Fair on Saturday and Sunday (April 22-23) and features galleries from New York, Los Angeles and across Europe Show works by their artists in hotel rooms.
Hannah Fagadau, co-owner of Dallas-based 12.26 Gallery, pictured next to a work by artist Masamitsu Shigeta, which was acquired by the Dallas Museum of Art through the Dallas Art Fair Foundation Fund. Courtesy of the Dallas Art Fair
On Wednesday (April 19), before the fair opened to the public, curators at the Dallas Museum of Art selected 12 works by fair exhibitors to contribute to the permanent collection of the museum should be acquired. More sales poured in Thursday night. At the Perrotin booth, Hans Hartung’s T1975-R22 (1975) and Tavares Strachan’s Another Country both sold in the $150,000 to $300,000 range. The Luce Gallery, based in Turin, Italy, sold a painting by Hugo McCloud for US$215,000, along with works by Peter Mohall, Ludovic Nkoth, Johanna Mirabel and Zeh Palito for undisclosed prices. New York’s Sundaram Tagore Gallery sold four works by Karen Knorr for $39,200 each, one by Miya Ando for $84,000 and another by Edward Burtynsky for $19,000.
The Shulamit Nazarian gallery in Los Angeles had sold out its stand with works by the painter Daniel Gibson. London-based Carl Kostyál’s stand, with sculptural mixed-media tableaux by Mike Shultis, was almost sold out at the end of the fair’s VIP preview. Fabienne Levy, a gallery based in Lausanne, Switzerland, has sold three works by Ben Arpea, ranging in value from $7,000 to $14,000 each. Dallas-based Cris Worley Fine Arts sold works by Joshua Hagler, Marc Dennis, Kelli Vance, Johnny DeFeo, and Celia Eberle at undisclosed prices; The gallery also placed four sumi inkrolls by Dallas-based artist Nishiki Sugawara-Beda with the DMA through the acquisition fund.
A strong collecting tradition
With a population of 1.3 million, Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and traditionally has the state’s most robust art market, thanks to a robust economy, a dedicated community of local dealers, and a strong art-collecting tradition. The city is home to important institutions such as the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center, as well as the Kimbell Art Museum and the Modern Art Museum in nearby Fort Worth, which have contributed to the recognition of art in the area.
“Her great-grandparents and grandparents used bank and oil money to collect and donate art here in the 1920s and 30s. Their kids grew up with it,” says Jason Willaford, who founded Galleri Urbane with his wife Ree and moved to Dallas in 2009, making it a powerful educational tool.
“A lot of people in Dallas might not necessarily come to my gallery firsthand, but they come to an art fair because it’s a specialized event. Then they will find out about me and come to the gallery. It’s a great opportunity to introduce yourself,” says Cris Worley, who opened his eponymous gallery in the city’s Design District in 2010.
The Dallas Museum of Art, with funds from the Dallas Art Fair Foundation, has acquired a set of four works by Dallas-based artist Nishiki Sugawara-Beda from Cris Worley Fine Arts. Courtesy of the artist and Cris Worley Fine Arts
Local traders say the already strong Dallas market has boomed in recent years. While Dallas County’s population has remained stable during the pandemic, the city’s surrounding suburbs have seen growth of up to 10% between 2020 and 2022, according to US Census figures, while Texas was the top US destination for Americans moving from the state in both 2021 and 2022. Nell Potasznik Langford of Cluley Projects, an offshoot of Dallas’ Erin Cluley Gallery, which serves as an incubator space with a focus on regional and underrepresented artists, says transplants who come to Dallas are interested in bringing work from local artists and galleries into their collections record.
Incoming collectors
“The huge influx from the east coast [and] West Coast clients are wonderful because they are educated, cultured and well-travelled,” says Langford, adding that many are already familiar with art collecting. Cluley Projects opened during the pandemic but has been well received by the local community, she said.
“Even if the economy isn’t doing so well elsewhere, it’s always thriving in Texas because it’s where all the different industries come together. It’s really conducive to a very successful art market and we really see that,” says Langford. (While Dallas is often most associated with Texas’ $320 billion oil and gas industrythe area also has strong technology, defense, healthcare, transportation, and financial sectors.)
Artist Ricardo Partido, Martha’s Contemporary co-owners Meredith Williams and Ricky Morales, and artist Wes Thompson at the fair. Courtesy of the Dallas Art Fair
The Dallas Art Fair has also supported the entire Texas art market: in addition to ten booths from Dallas dealers, this year’s fair features five other galleries from Houston, Austin and Fort Worth. Ricky Morales, the co-founder of Martha’s Contemporary, an Austin-based gallery, said he’s excited to return to the fair after first attending last year.
“The Dallas Art Fair is one of the better fairs in the country,” says Morales. “Dallas is obviously an emerging scene and there are a lot of collectors here. It has helped elevate the Texas art scene into a more national sphere and that definitely helps us.”
Politically, Texas has long been a conservative stronghold, and in recent years state legislatures have come under fire from both residents and Americans in other states. Abortion was banned in nearly all cases in Texas last year after the US Supreme Court Roe v. Wade had lifted, and Texas is one of the US states where drag queen performances take place were targeted by the legislature. Last year, a free speech organization found that Texas had banned more books from school libraries than any other state, and a bill proposed in the State Senate earlier this year would ban almost all gender-affirming health services for transgender Texans.
However, many areas of Texas have a strong culture of activism and artists working hard to advocate for progressive causes, Morales says.
“There are many people here for whom we have to stand up and build up,” he says. “Texas has a lot of diversity. The only way we can protect vulnerable communities is if we stand by them and don’t just label Texas as a piece of shit.”
- 2023 Dallas Art Fairthrough April 23, Fashion Industry Gallery, Dallas
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