An all-terrain gallery crawl, a singular occultist-inspired sculpture and the relocation of a young gun gallery make this month’s gallery offerings as hot as July.
Dallas Gallery Day, various artists, at various galleries all over the city
Date: July 11, noon-8 pm
The inevitable highlight of a slow, hot season, summer’s gallery crawls give art enthusiasts a reason to drag themselves out of the air conditioning and into spaces in Deep Ellum or the Design District. To pump things up this year, Dallas Gallery Day founder Brian Gibb is expanding Saturday’s event into an all-city extravaganza — the Cedars to North Dallas, Alan Simmons Art + Design to Zhulong Gallery.
Gibb explains, “The move to all-city was prompted by the for the declining number of spaces on the east side of Dallas and the numerous requests I have received from galleries not in either neighborhood wanting to participate. This year's gallery guide includes all of the participating galleries, but does not have any time-sensitive content … my hope for that is that people will continue to reference it throughout the year to get them around galleries in Dallas.”
As always, early attendees can score one of the covetable goodie bags featuring a collectible tee adorned with a steampunk-inspired gentleman created by Gibb himself.
“Where We Prayed,” Miles Cleveland Goodwin, and “The Waiting Room,” Carol Cook, at Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden
Reception: July 11, 6-8:30 pm
Exhibition dates: July 11-August 15
A must-see stop on gallery day are the Zen grounds of Valley House. What’s happening inside is just as compelling, as this treasured contemporary space is showing for the first time the works of Mississippi-born painter Miles Cleveland Goodwin and Dallas sculptor Carol Cook.
With disparate backgrounds and mediums, the duo does have something in common: they both approach the human condition in a manner that explores their subjects from the inside out. Installed as a literal “Waiting Room,” Cook’s figures slump, slouch and stoop, trapped by declining mobility. Goodwin’s soulful subjects are portrayed with the earthy metaphors one can only find in the storytelling of the Deep South.
Says curator Cheryl Vogel, “[Carol’s] sensitivity to a lonely and uncomfortable time in people’s lives gives these poignant figures a vitality and honesty. Miles Goodwin’s paintings reflect his awareness of a life rich in experience in a rural culture.”
Introspective and authentic, these works are worth more than a moment of quiet contemplation.
“A Silver Cord,” Jason Metcalf, at And Now
Reception: July 11
Exhibition dates: July 11-August 22
Inspired by the same West Coast occult movement that gave us aerospace pioneer (and Aleister Crowley acolyte) Jack Parsons and L. Ron Hubbard, artist Jason Metcalf explores the connection our physical bodies have to the astral plane with his work “A Silver Cord.” Thought to be a lifeline that connects us to terra firma during an out-of-body experience, this cord is recreated as a mirror-polished stainless steel pole that repeats throughout both of the rooms in And Now. Metcalf hews so closely to his source, he had the cord fabricated by the same LA-based aerospace facility that contracted work for Parson’s own NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
To heighten the otherworldly anticipation of the show, gallery owner James Cope is only focusing on this singular piece, with no press photos seeded before Saturday’s big reveal. Exhibiting just one sculpture by Metcalf is simply part of Cope’s focused curatorial mission.
“That’s kind of the nature of the gallery — the idea of visually isolating only one object, a painting or a sculpture. If you isolate everything out of the room one thing gets the most attention.”
“Nonobjective,” various artists, at Circuit 12 Contemporary
Reception: July 18, 6-10 pm
Exhibition dates: July 18-August 18.
The same pioneer spirit that led Cris Worley and Holly Johnson to relocate deeper in the Design District has moved critical darling Circuit 12 to put down new roots in a former flower shop at 1811 E. Levee. Doubling its space in the process to an expansive 3,000 square feet, the new venue means room for bigger exhibitions, plus a retail spot dealing in art books, magazines and gifts called Primer.
With creative direction by local milliners Dan and Joseph , Primer will offer luxury tomes by Ammo, Art Book, Phaidon and Printed Matter, along with magazines such as Aperture 219, Cabinet, Esopus 22, Fierce Pussy and Kenzine, just for starters. Candles, handmade leather goods and kids' gifts will round out the offerings, giving would-be collectors who haven’t quite segued into large canvases a way to take something artistic home.
Says co-owner Dustin Orlando, “It’ll also give us a chance to self-publish some things — the idea is to provide things that are an extension of the gallery and our lifestyle.”
With a smaller exhibition space in the back currently housing an epic glass sculpture from Graham Caldwell, and plenty of storage for their stock of works, the new Circuit 12 allows Orlando and his wife, Gina, to continue to grow their mission.
“We’ve got a ton of ideas,” says Orlando. “Performance art, band performances. The possibilities are pretty out there.”
First up is a group show of works call “Traversing Boundaries” that will feature past artists plus some new talent Orlando wants to “get a read on,” followed by a show from Ontario artist Simon Bilodeau in September. For a space known for its colorful works, the future of Circuit 12 is bright indeed.
