Assembling a Dream Collection at the Dallas Art Fair

  The Haas Brothers, Boob Dylan, 2016. Lora Reynolds Gallery 

BY PAUL LASTER, April 2018 

Looking to start a contemporary art collection? There’s no better way to begin than with our curated list of works that will be on view at the Dallas Art Fair this week. With nearly 100 exhibitors from close to 30 different cities, the fair returns to the Fashion Industry Gallery in Dallas for its 10th edition with an impressive selection of contemporary art in a variety of media.

Taking place during Dallas Arts Month, the fair is accompanied by major exhibitions presented by local institutions, including Laura Owens’ traveling retrospective at the Dallas Museum of Art; Eric Fischl’s art scene paintings, a survey of Sara Rahbar’s figurative sculptures and Harry Nuriev’s contemporary design objects at the Dallas Contemporary; Adam Gordon’s immersive installation art at the Power Station; and the annual Eye Ball at The Joule Hotel. 

 Alex Katz, Vivien X 5, 2018. William Campbell Contemporary Art, Inc.

Thirty new galleries are participating in the fair this year. Amongst prize pieces at some of the newbies, we have our eye on colorful abstract paintings and photographs by Shara Hughes, Eric Shaw and Mariah Robertson at New York’s Rachel Uffner Gallery, The Hole and Van Doren Waxter, respectively, and a striking bronze, shawl-like sculpture by Michelle Grabner at James Cohan, also from New York.  

Solo presentations include Sarah McKenzie’s realistic paintings of exhibitions in museums, galleries and at art fairs at Denver’s David B. Smith Gallery; Frances Goodman’s portraits of femme fatales, intriguingly constructed from hand strung sequins on canvas at South Africa’s SMAC; the Haas Brothers whimsical “Mini Beast” sculptures at Austin’s Lora Reynolds Gallery; and Claudio Parmiggiani’s haunting still lives, rendered in smoke and soot on board, at Simon Lee Gallery, which has spaces in London, New York and Hong Kong.

Michelle Grabner, Untitled, 2016. James Cohan  

Several galleries are offering two- and three-person booths, with Luis De Jesus Los Angeles presenting expressive, figurative paintings and sculptures by Erik Olson and and process oriented abstractions by Andre Hemer; New York’s Albertz Benda featuring dynamic abstract ceramics by Brie Ruais and John Mason; NYC’s Magenta Plains displaying mythically minded canvases by Bill Saylor and Zach Bruder; and Nathalie Karg Gallery, another New York venue, presenting minimalist paintings by Nathlie Provosty and Nancy Haynes and classical realism with a twist by Jesse Mockrin. 

Considering the high quality and quantity of collectors in Dallas and nearby Fort Worth, as well as Houston and other largely populated parts of Texas, most of our picks will hopefully find homes soon.

Scroll through the images to see more fascinating artworks from the fair. WM

Shara Hughes, Gusto, 2018. Rachel Uffner Gallery

Anna Fasshauer, Lulatsch, 2018. Nino Mier Gallery

 Earlie Hudnall, Jr., Hip Hop, 1993. PDNB Gallery

Marco Maggi, Color Alphabet on 8 Notebooks, 2018. Josée Bienvenu

 Jonathan Meese, Zacktarzanille (Funktion Schmorgurke), 2012
Tim Van Laere Gallery

Eric Shaw, Untitled, 2018. The Hole

William Villalongo, Me Pile, 2018. Susan Inglett Gallery

John Chamberlain, Untitled, circa 1972. Hollis Taggart Galleries

Marc Dennis, Secrets Fall, 2017. Cris Worley Fine Arts

Bill Saylor, Claw Machine, 2018. Magenta Plains

Tomory Dodge, Gum Shoe, 2016. Inman Gallery

Julia Kunin, Bismuth Head, 2013. McClain Gallery

 Frances Goodman, Domestica, 2018. SMAC

Franz West, Lemur, 2009. Tim Van Laere Gallery

Barbara Takenaga, Surge (red), 2017. Gregory Lind Gallery

Renate Bertlmann, Schwangere Braut im Rollstuhl (Pregnant bride in wheelchair), 1978. Richard Saltoun

James Clar, Boom, 2015. Jane Lombard Gallery

 Frank Bowling, Untitled (After Hafif), 1969. Hales Gallery

Victor Rodriguez, Blue Phantom Limb. Galeria Enrique Guerrero

 Mariah Robertson, 332, 2017. Van Doren Waxter

Richard Shaw, Bray Shoe, 2011. Bivins Gallery

Erik Olson, Hayley, 2017. Luis De Jesus Los Angeles

Katsuyo Aoki, Predictive Dream LIII, 2016. Jason Jacques Gallery

Eric Bainbridge, Untitled, 2010. Workplace

Ryan Mosley, Floating Stage, 2015. Tim Van Laere Gallery

Sarah McKenzie, Gate (White Cube, Bermondsey with Mark Bradford, 2013), 2014. David B. Smith Gallery

Sharon Core, 1616, from the series 1606-1907, 2017. Yancey Richardson Gallery

Jean-Michel Othoniel, Collier Or Blanc, 2017. Perrotin

Jesse Mockrin, A breath upon the hand muted the night, 2018. Nathalie Karg Gallery

 Nancy Lorenz, Palladium on Burlap, 2018. Morgan Lehman Gallery

Rosemary Laing, Weather #6, 2006. Galerie Lelong & Co.

 Brie Ruais, Broken Ground Red (130 lbs of clay spread out from center), 2017. Albertz Benda