2013 Retrospective

Looking back at 2013 is a representation of what I saw or experienced that I thought was worthy of another mention.  Of course this is not intended to be a top 10 list or even representative of all the great exhibitions that took place in North Texas during the year.  Met lots of wonderful people and had a chance to help work on an important exhibition for one of my best friends.  I still found myself focusing on a few galleries where I have found, in most cases, consistency in quality and friendly people.   As a gallery owner, if you want people to visit your gallery you have to offer challenging, fun, thought-provoking art without being cute and most importantly you have to be able to communicate with those that show an interest and taking valuable time to visit your gallery.  It does no good if you can't even say hello.

Finally started going back to the DMA on a regular basis and they have not disappointed either.  Stupid - in the early 1990's I visited the museum at least 50 times a year and I was a paying member too.   When they started charging admission I bet I didn't average one visit a year until they dropped the admission fee.

Congratulations to the Dallas Museum of Art for three great exhibitions!
 

Jim Hodges: Give More Than You Take  Photograph: DMA

Concentrations 56: Stephen Lapthisophon                                                  

Cindy Sherman: Untitled Film Still #21 (1978). Photograph: MoMA, NY

 

A trip to Houston to see the Forrest Bess Retrospective at The Menil Collection.  Visited lots of galleries during this trip and for the first time Hiram Butler Gallery where Mark Fox (I think I have that correct) and Tony Fehr had solo exhibitions.

Forrest Bess: Seeing Things Invisible

It was nice to catch-up with Robyn O'Neil at Talley Dunn Gallery for her solo exhibition We Spoke Mirage.  Wonderful new work  that was somewhat reminiscent of the Forrest Bess exhibition at The Menil

 

 

To kickoff the fall exhibitions Oliver Francis Gallery started the year on a high note

Anthony Keith Giannini Crossing The Line

 

Absolutely one of my favorite artists and has been since the mid 90's is John Wilcox.  When I was at VAL doing exhibitions and artist's talks John showed up and made my year...I think that was around 2008.  The much anticipated exhibition of John's work since his passing at his former home/studio hosted by Barry Whistler Gallery

 

Michael Bise exhibition Life or Death at The MAC blew me away.  I want to see more! and more! and more!  Michael Bise - Can I please visit next time I am in Houston?

My good friend Brad Tucker was everywhere in 2013.  I think I saw every exhibition in North Texas.
   

Circuit 12

El Centro College

Old Jail Art Center

Congratulations to Michael Wynne on his "Life's Short Play Naked" retrospective exhibition at Ware:Wolf Haus.   Thanks Michael for being a great friend and allowing me to help on this exhibition.  Thank God 2013 is almost over.  My friend 2014 will be a BIG year!  Looking forward to seeing exhibitions from NYC to Houston with you!

 

Stephen Lapthisophon continued his positive influence on North Texas...

MyMyMisfire 

 Deep Ellum

Richland College

 

Conduit Gallery

Dallas Museum of Art

 

Some individual works that I saw in 2013 that will definitely keep you wondering and then some are just wonderful.  They all resonated one way or another.

Lana Paninchul at Oliver Francis Gallery

David Aylesworth at Holly Johnson Gallery 

Vincent Falsetta at The MAC  -  Vincent!!! 

Celia Eberle at CentralTrak - so nice to see some older work by one of the most important Texas artists working today.

 

 Suzan Frecon at the Birmingham Museum of Art.  I have fallen for Suzan Frecon works on paper.  I want want want to live with her work!
 

Waddy Armstrong at Liliana Bloch Gallery - Absolutely stunning!  Congratulations Liliana on your new adventure.  I am looking forward to seeing what you bring to the gallery scene.

 

Congratulations to a fairly new friend to me

Pedro Vélez for being selected to the 2014 Whitney Biennial.  Pedro, I will be at the Whitney to celebrate this important event with you!  I can't wait to visit and see the studio too. 

Courtesy of Pedro Velez.

 

Congratulations everyone! Happy New Year! Looking forward to a great 2014!



Sphere

I stopped by Conduit Gallery the last couple of weekends to spend time with Stephen Lapthisophon's latest exhibition "Sphere".  

Copied from Conduit's website
Culling through layers of cultural memory, Dallas based artist Stephen Lapthisophon reticulates art movements, food culture, film, and 20th century music to create drawings made up from and about the “stuff of everyday life.” Lapthisophon’s works on paper are gestural and process driven created with a variety of unorthodox materials such as egg shells, coffee grounds, and pigmented bacon fat. The exhibition, named in part referencing Thelonious Monk’s middle-name, Sphere, includes works that rely on unanticipated compositional forms and materials in like manner to the composer who was known to eliminate notes in compositions in order to create dissonance or as John Baldessari’s Thelonious Monk story recounts, teach the viewer a “different kind of order.”

Absolutely my favorite group of works in the exhibition.  Both AG and Wall (CT) may be my favorite works by Stephen.
LtoR
Don't have the title - will update later
AG, 2013, latex, pencil, chalk, spray paint & pigmented bacon fat, 48x34" 
Wall (CT), 2013, latex, pencil, chalk & pigmented bacon fat, 42x28.5"

LtoR
K, 2012, collage, latex, pencil, spray paint, ink & pigmented chicken fat, 69x45" 
Don't have the title for the torn movie poster - will update later.

LtoR
Don't have the title - will update later.
Burri 1945, 2013, spray paint, ink & coffee grounds, 45x59" 

Conduit Gallery

Sphere opened yesterday, Saturday, September 7th and will be on view through October 5th.  Plenty of time for everyone to visit the gallery.

Conduit Gallery
1626 C Hi Line Dr.
Dallas, Texas 75207
in the Design District

A solo exhibition of Stephen Lapthisophon’s work will open October 27, 2013 at the Dallas Museum of Art as a part of Concentrations Series. The exhibition, Coffee, Seasonal Fruit, Root Vegetables and Selected Poems, will run through March 30, 2014.

If I can sneak a couple of photos at the DMA I will post some from that exhibition too.

Self Destruction

Stephen Lapthisophon

Stephen Lapthisophon
Self Destruction

Richland College Gallery

July 20 - August 30, 2013

My My Misfire

Spent some time at Deep Ellum Windows for the one-day pop up exhibition curated by Stephen Lapthisophon on Saturday. 

Michael Mazurek -  "House Plant" 

Lana Paninchui - "Foie Gras"

 

Sharon Turner -  "Established"  

Hayley Fowler -  "I'd rather be sleeping" performance
 

Pierre Krause - "Ritual", detail

 

Pierre Krause, a student at University of Texas at Dallas, work was a pleasant surprise.  A small unlit room with an arrangement of found objects.  Raw, very much like the space.

 

 Pierre Krause -   "Ritual", detail

 

Stephen Lapthisophon - "untitled", Hannah Hudson - "Non Meaning" 

 Michael Wynne - "All My Scars Are on the Inside"

 

 Michael Wynne's first peformance piece  - "Sweeping Up"

 

I showed up at Deep Ellum Windows at noon and happy I did.  Michael Wynne had his first peformance piece and I was able to record most of it.  See the link for Sweeping Up above to read about the peformance piece.  See this link for the recording.

Best of 2012 - Group Exhibitions

Best Group Exhibitions
I saw over 200 exhibitions in 2012 (probably more than the art critic at the Dallas Morning News.  At least I visit more places than PDNB and Goss Michael)  with my primary focus on Texas based artists as it has been since 1990.  I saw every single exhibition at the DMA, Nasher, Barry Whistler and Plush. Almost every exhibition at Oliver Francis, Conduit, Dallas Contemporary, The MAC, Webb Gallery and Goss Michael.&n bsp; Sprinkled in were a couple of visits to Inman, Art Car Museum, Moody, CAM - Houston, The Menil, Old Jail Art Center, William Campbell, Ft. Worth Contemporary Arts, Kirk Hopper, Public Trust, 500X, UTD, El Centro, Brookhaven, Holly Johnson, Marty Walker, Red Arrow, MFA, Amon Carter, Irving Arts Center, Longview Museum of Fine Arts, and Modern Art Museum of Ft. Worth.

The first 2 entries go to the Dallas Museum of Art for 2 great group exhibitions that also included Texas based artists such as Brad Tucker, Stephen Lapthisophon, Cynthia Linn, Francis Bagley, Allison V. Smith, Linda Ridgway, Brooke Stroud, Toni La Salle, Annette Lawrence, Susie Rosmarin.

1. Difference? at the Dallas Museum of Art

 

 

2. Variations on Theme: Contemporary Art 1950's to Present at the Dallas Museum of Art

 

3. where is the power curated by Teri Thorton at Ft. Worth Contemporary Arts

 

 

 

4. Sculpture in so many words at the Nasher Sculpture Center

 

 

 

5.  Sonic Architectonic at UTD

 6. Dick Higgins Gallery inside Oliver Francis Gallery

7. Snafu at Oliver Francis Gallery

8. under the table curated by Margret Meehan at Ft. Worth Contemporary Arts

 

9. It Is What It Is, or Is It?" at the CAM

Rachel Hecker, from CAM website