From the exploration of Western society ideals to a roundup of works from the area’s most promising young graduates, these three galleries are must-stops for exploring Dallas’ edgier contemporary art scene this month. And for scoring a piece by someone almost famous.
JOINERY and IDEAL WOMAN: Kate Carr and Allie Pohl, at Galleri Urbane
Opening reception: April 6, 6-9 pm
Exhibition dates: April 6-May 11
Not just a sitcom from the ’80s, Kate and Allie are also must-see artists in April at Galleri Urbane. Kate Carr’s “Joinery” features hand-cut pieces inspired by the techniques used in Japanese woodworking, but it’s Los Angeles-based artist Allie Pohl’s Barbie-inspired works that should really get the conversation going.
For the past two years, the 28-year-old has been exploring the unattainable ideals Western society has imposed on women by creating variations of an “Ideal Woman,” a blown-up version of a bombshell’s 36-24-36 measurements.
“I think that my work comments on contemporary society and the way women are constantly changing and evolving,” she says. “Silly things like the vajazzling trend that happened in 2011—with this figure, I feel like I’m able to focus on specifically what females are doing to themselves and how technology feeds into it.”
From a neon sculpture to a floor-to-ceiling caryatid based on ancient Greek columns to a series of “tramp stamp” ceramics, Pohl plays with these perfect proportions in a whimsical way.
NINE ARTISTS: Various artists, at Blow-Up Gallery
Opening reception: April 6, 7-11 pm
Exhibition dates: April 6-20
What happens when a bunch of young, artistically inclined talents gets together? Something like the upcoming “Nine Artists” exhibit at Blow-Up Gallery, we suspect. Curator Francisco Moreno took time off his day job as director/owner of the Forth Worth Drawing Center to put the show together, gathering work from peers Jesse Morgan Barnett, Cassandra Emswiler, Thomas Feulmer, Francis Giampietro, Kevin Rubén Jacobs, Michael Mazurek, Arthur Peña and Michelle Rawlings.
Opened in December in the Shops at Park Lane by musician/artist Scott Tucker and Roma Boots’ Samuel Bistrian, Blow-Up aims to copy the Chelsea (New York and London) model of art space. Ten percent of proceeds for this — and every — show are donated to the Roma Boots Foundation to provide education and rain boots for globally impoverished children.
The works in “Nine Artists” have no unifying factor (some are paintings, but most are mixed media) other than a larger-than-life element befitting the Blow-Up’s high-ceilinged space. Patrons who don’t score a piece of art can take purchase a two-volume catalog on the exhibit, with an essay by Meadows Museum curatorial assistant Shelley DeMaria.
THE BEST: Various artists, at Red Arrow Contemporary
Opening reception: April 6, 6-9 pm
Exhibition dates: April 6-May 11
Every serious art collector knows today’s graduate student could be tomorrow’s Ryan McGinley. With that in mind, Red Arrow Contemporary has curated “The Best,” an exhibition of work from recent graduates of SMU, UNT, TCU, UTA, UTD, TWU and UD’s master of fine arts programs.
The show’s co-curator, Erin Stafford, says this is the first time promising graduate talent has been gathered in one place, and she plans on “The Best” becoming an annual event. “It was important to us to pick artists who were pushing the definition of what art is, and these students brought something new to the conversation.”
Ranging from works on paper to installations of video and glass, the seven participating artists explore everything from the personal nature of identity to our sensory relationship with the world. Both indulgent and inspirational, this is the show to catch if you want to say, “I knew them when.”
Allie Pohl, from "Ideal Woman" at Galleri Urbane.
