As the high point of spring's cultural calendar, the Dallas Art Fair does a lot of heavy lifting in shaping how locals and visitors alike view our town. More than 500,000 people have relocated to the city since 2020, and the focus on the arts has never been more essential to Dallas' plans to boost its reputation.
This is reflected in the galleries joining the event this year, held from Friday, April 11, through Sunday, April 13, at the Fashion Industry Gallery (1807 Ross Ave.) From Bogata (Beatriz Esguerra Art) to Brooklyn (Carvalho Park), Abilene (Jody Klotz Fine Art) to Zurich (Modern Animals) fresh spaces are in the mix for 2025 alongside blue-chip names and local favorites, including Conduit Gallery, Cris Worley Fine Arts, Erin Cluley, Galleri Urbane, Keijsers Koning, Pencil on Paper, William Campbell and Valley House. This wide-ranging roster is by design, director Kelly Cornell says.
“It is getting more international,” she says. “I definitely notice more interest in the fair from collectors and from galleries. The art has always been very international and very diverse, but I think it was undersold for a while. Now people are picking up on it more, but also we’re pushing the messaging further that the fair is an incredible opportunity to see all this international artwork.”
Cornell says attendees are skewing younger and more diverse, allowing spaces to show a broader range of art. She works painstakingly with her staff throughout the year to ensure a little something for everyone, steering visiting galleries away from the trite or expected. That means no cowboys or Western landscapes, thank you very much.
“It never sells,” Cornell says with a laugh. “I think it’s just too predictable.”
What is trending for 2025? Fiber art and textile work, some of which will be shown as a companion to the Dallas Contemporary’s latest show opening the same week and ceramics, finally setting the argument of the so-called division between art and craft.
“There’s quite a bit of textile work,” Cornell says. “It’s finally being appreciated as a medium. It’s so interesting and can be manipulated in so many ways. There are also some great ceramics. We’re also seeing landscapes, which are always relevant in many forms.”
Texas state Rep. David Lowe is fighting to create a penalty against museums that display “certain obscene or harmful material,” so House Bill 3958 (if passed) will undoubtedly affect what is shown in galleries. This makes the fair’s expansive programming from different voices even more crucial. The event is not just an opportunity to view work gallerists have termed a good investment but also a chance to discover artists who have the freedom to express themselves regardless of which way the political winds are blowing.
So the “Queering the Fair: Celebrating the Artistic Achievements of LGBTQIA+ Artists” tour on Saturday, April 12, is perhaps the fair event to attend during the week. Already completely booked, the tour led by Pride Museum of Texas director Michael H. Dewberry offers an in-depth look at emerging and established queer artists.
Also unmissable is “For the Culture: A Peek Into the Black Art of the Dallas Art Fair” (also on Saturday). Led by Black Arts DFW founders Cathryn McClellan and Darryl Ratliff, this event will explore Black identity in the art world.
"What [Dewberry] is doing with the museum is great,” says Cornell of “Queering the Fair.” “The tour filled up in way less than a day! It’s important to make sure there’s an accessible point for everyone (who attends) and a point where conversations can happen. The opportunity to add these conversations to the fair is really something we’re interested in.”
Essential to Cornell is offering things at every price point for collectors unsure about splurging on a massive piece of art but who might still want to take home an artistic keepsake. To that end, she’s continuing the fair’s three-year tradition of selling Finley artist shirts with an edition of 25 from Brooklyn-based Summer Wheat. Embroidered with bright aquatic creatures, the shirts will retail for $345. At Thursday's preview benefit, local brand Leatherology will also be onsite to emboss small leather goods as a stylish souvenir.
However you experience the fair, Cornell has a few tips for newbies to get the most out of it: Wear comfortable shoes (you'll be sad in stilettos, we promise), take your time and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions.
“You should come walk the whole fair — every aisle, every floor — then go outside and see what you still remember,” she advises. “Have a snack, then come back an hour later and look at the things you can recall. Really engage with the galleries and learn things. A fair is the best way to refine your taste and understand what you’re actually drawn to. If you find something that makes you uncomfortable and challenges you, that shows you who you are and can help you refine your taste.”
Here are a few further highlights from an unmissable week of events:
Wednesday, April 9
CONDO’S CUBISM
Having emerged alongside Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, multimedia artist George Condo helped restore faith in figurative painting with his self-professed “psychological cubism.”
Collected heavily by British philanthropist Pauline Karpidas, nearly 30 paintings, drawings, and sculptures made by the artist between 1983 and 2019 will be on display from 5 to 7 p.m. at the blue-tiled Karpidas Collection (1531 Hi Line Drive in the Design District).
Curated by Hignite Projects founder Sara Hignite, the exhibition (open through Aug. 15) offers a chance to dive deeply into a long-lasting relationship between artist and collector.
“When you’re doing a show by such an important artist who has been explored so much already, it’s challenging to figure out how to do something interesting and not super repetitive,” Hignite explains of the focus behind George Condo: Selections from The Karpidas Collection.
“I decided to focus on the relationship between Pauline and Goerge Condo because they’ve been friends since the ’90s. Pauline is this amazing singular collector who built real relationships with the artists she collects, and I thought it would be interesting to examine what that patron/artist relationship looks like.”
According to the curator, Condo is widely considered to be one of the most important artists working today. Examining his place in the Western canon of this "artist's artist" is a rare opportunity, one that comes complete with a special free catalog the first 250 attendees will be able to take home from the show.
BLOCK PARTY
The best way for newbies to get a handle on what the Design District offers is the annual Gallery Night. A free exploration of all the spaces in River Bend, including Erin Cluley Gallery, Colector, Keijsers Koning, 12.26 and PDNB, the party (held from 5 to 8 p.m. at 150 Manufacturing St.) is the perfect way to kick off a busy week.
Continue the celebration with a stop at Cris Worley Fine Arts, Galleri Urbane, Pencil on Paper and Holly Johnson Gallery around the corner, then head to the Monitor Street Block Party (2277 Monitor St.). Just a stone’s throw away, you’ll find food trucks, specialty drinks and what’s on view at Galleri Urbane, Akim Monet Fine Arts, Sputnik Modern, Claire Crow and the Dallas Auction Gallery (among others).
Thursday, April 10
AN INVITATION TO ZEN
Launched by gallerist James Cope at the Fairmont Hotel two years ago, The Dallas Invitational is an under-the-radar complement to the main event. This year, Cope is expanding and refining his vision in a new location at The Mansion on Turtle Creek (2821 Turtle Creek Blvd.) with a larger stable of participating galleries from Hong Kong, London, New York and Los Angeles, including Bel Ami, Bureau, GRIMM, Hannah Hoffman, Night Gallery, Parrasch Heijen and Cope’s eponymous space.
The invitational will take over the hotel’s entire first floor and offer 17 rooms worth of programming. It is sure to offer a quiet, calm and elegant respite from FIG's buzzier environs.
The Dallas Invitational runs from Thursday, April 10, through Saturday, April 12, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
FASHIONABLE ACCENTS
The Joule Hotel has always been the site for fashionista fair attendees, with the semiannual Eye Ball (aka the Eyeboretum) capping the week off with an unmissable soiree. This year, too many weddings are booked to activate the Eye, but Headington Co. (owners of the Joule) have other things in store to surprise and delight.
First up is a guest appearance by Houston-based artist Janice Freeman. She will be on hand on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Forty Five Ten across from the hotel for a “sip and greet” showcasing her soft sculptures of birds and bees. If you can’t pop by, the work will be on view throughout the store until the end of April.
From noon to 2 p.m. that day, Library of Esoterica creator Jessica Hundley will converse with Kneeland Co. founder Joanna Williams at the Taschen Library. If you haven’t heard of her series of books exploring astrology, witchcraft and tarot (among other shadowy subjects), the talk should shed some light on mysticism, symbolism and art as a spiritual act.
NATURE & NUTURE
Gallerist Tessa Granowski is all over the place this week; her new Uptown space, Nature of Things, is participating in the fair, and she’s launching her brick-and-mortar on April 10 from 6 to 9 p.m. Located at 2921 Sale St., the house gallery’s first show is an homage to Austin artist legend Dave Hickey and draws its name from his legendary gallery, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. The eclectic exhibition should draw the cool kids looking for an off-calendar event by highlighting the work of outlaw Texas talents alongside up-and-comers.
Friday, April 11
POWER UP
If you poll Dallas art world insiders, the Art Week event they are always looking forward to is whatever is going on at The Power Station (3816 Commerce St.). This year, the contemporary project space in the old Dallas Power and Light building will showcase the work of New York-based photographer and sculptor Oto Gillen alongside painter Will Boone, who is chronicling the ephemera of the Gulf Coast with his Gulf Coast Wolf Ghost show.
Both exhibitions will open Friday at 6 p.m., but plan to stick around for a special performance at 8:30 from Easy Sevens celebrating the release of “Guitar Music.” The Houston-born Boone’s ongoing collaborative music project will stage a performance within his installation, adding a sonic element to enchant the ear as well as the eye. You can even purchase the vinyl while you’re there — profits benefit the Gulf Coast Canine Project.
TAPESTRY OF EXPERIENCE
Rare, exclusive and expensive tapestries make medieval and Renaissance collectors' hearts beat faster. Yet, over the centuries, warp and weft were distilled into the definition of craft, not art. This is rapidly changing, as illustrated by Dallas Contemporary's latest exhibition, You Stretched Diagonally Across It: Contemporary Tapestry.
Opening April 11 from 7 to 9 p.m. (161 Glass St.), this free show, organized by Mexico-based curator Su Wu, reflects on how modern artists have challenged this age-old medium by eschewing battle scenes and unicorns for unresolved inquiries into the human condition.
Including more than 30 artists, including Negma Coy, Yann Gerstberger, Goshka Macuga, Sarah Rosalena, Kiki Smith and Miranda Fengyuan Zhang, the show will include an activation from the Los Angeles-based vintage textile library and shop Kneeland Co., which will offer specially designed ceramics, textiles and jewelry for sale, including works from artists in the show.
EVERYTHING AURORA
Dallas’ most beloved public art night always piggybacks on the Fair Week festivities with an amuse-bouche addition to their annual Biennial, and this year is no exception. What is new is Aurora’s Video Art Night (VAN) will land in the AT&T Discovery District (308 S. Akard St.) for the first time. The district’s heroically scaled 104-foot-tall media wall will provide the perfect canvas for pieces from Barry Anderson, Genesis Kai and Wenwen Zhur, among others.
Staged to a soundtrack by DJ Sober, the free event kicks off at 7 p.m. and lasts until 10, but if hanging out with hoi polloi isn’t your style, you can purchase a ticket to the VIP benefit at the exchange for a little breathing room.
Saturday, April 12
SUNDAE SURPRISE
If you’re unfamiliar with the Art Production Fund, here’s the Cliff Notes: the New York nonprofit has worked on a dizzying array of public works, from the ever-Instagrammable “Seven Magic Mountains” installation outside Las Vegas to Jeff Koons’ monumental pretty ballerina sculpture at Rockefeller Center.
So, it's a Very Big Deal that APF’s Art Sundae event is making its Dallas debut at the Dallas Contemporary at 1 p.m. Aimed at “kids of all ages,” their current Velvet Faith inspires this hands-on workshop with artists EJ Hill and Martin Gonzales show at the institution.