The Dallas Museum of Art has acquired several works from the Dallas Art Fair.
For the third year in a row, the Dallas Art Fair Foundation Acquisition Program has selected works from artists exhibiting at the Fair for the museum's permanent collection. The grant, made possible with funding from the foundation as well as private donors, has tripled in size since 2016, from $50,000 to $150,000.
The winners were announced on Thursday: Brazilian abstract photographer Geraldo de Barros, Harlem-based interdisciplinary artist Sanford Biggers, multimedia artist Alicia Henry, imaginary landscape painter Shara Hughes, the Chicago artist known for huge black and white wall drawings, Tony Lewis, and abstract sculptors Matthew Ronay, and Brie Ruais.
"The diverse works acquired from the Fair span the media of painting, photography, monumentally-scaled drawings, and ceramics, and range in date from 1949 to 1917," says Dallas Museum of Art Associate Curator Katherine Brodbeck, in a press release. "We hope to share these works with audiences in the near future."
The majority of the pieces selected this year are from New York galleries: Brie Ruais' stunning 2017 ceramic wall work, "Broken Ground Red," from Albertz Benda; "Condition," a small 2018 sculpture by Matthew Ronay from Casey Kaplan seems to embrace both science and art; Shara Hughes' 2018 painting, "Gusto," is from Rachel Uffner Gallery.
Two galleries from Texas have work going into the permanent collection: Alicia Henry's "Untitled" mixed media portrait is from Dallas' own Liliana Bloch Gallery and two untitled silver gelatin prints by Geraldo de Barros were selected from Houston's Sicardi Gallery.
Tony Lewis' 2018 wall drawing, "Nes," is from Chicago's Shane Campbell Gallery and Sanford Biggers' 2016 a repurposed antique quilt work, "Sirroco," is from London's Massimo De Carlo.
Art Foundation Acquisition Program donors include Tricia and Gil Besing, Linda and David Rogers, Susan and Shawn Bonsell, Gowri and Alex N.K. Sharma, Marlene and John Sughrue, Cliff Risman, David and Zoe Bonnette, Fraser and Rhonda Marcus, Shannon and Dallas Sonnier, Steven and Anne Stodghill, and the Dallas Art Fair Foundation.
"As the Fair itself continues to grow, so does our ability to support the broader cultural life of Dallas, year-round," says Dallas Art Fair Director Kelly Cornell.
Now in its 10th year, the Dallas Art Fair is open to the public today and runs through Sunday at the Fashion Industry Gallery, 1807 Ross Ave., Dallas. It features nearly 100 exhibitors from over 30 cities around the world.