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ON TARGET
DALLAS ART FAIR’S !TH TURN
Plus:
Frank Stella
at The Modern
Diana Al-Hadid
Oliver Clegg
Melvin Edwards
Margaret Lee
Marc Quinn
Michelle Rawlings
Eva Rothschild
Blair Thurman
Rebecca Warren
EDITOR’S NOTE
Portrait Tim Boole, Styling Jeanna Doyle, Stanley Korshak
April / May 2016
TERRI PROVENCAL
Publisher / Editor in Chief
12
PATRONMAGAZINE.COM
Marking the release of Patron’s largest issue to date, inside you will
find coverage of some of the most intriguing artists, exhibitions, and
events, making for a spectacular high-arts season. First off, the much
anticipated Dallas Art Fair returns for the 8th year. With nearly 100
exhibitors to consider, we tapped three collectors of particular interest
to share their fair-savvy knowledge. A peek inside Jackie Stewart’s and
Mark Giambrone’s homes and Tammy Cotton Hartnett’s superb studio
in American Beauty Mill reveal them to be expert sources on collecting
what’s hot and navigating the fair. Howard Rachofsky interviews David
Kordansky, a leading Los Angeles gallerist, on returning to the fair for a
second year. If that weren’t enough, our cover shares a painting by Blair
Thurman whose works will be on view and available through Galerie
Frank Elbaz. Kat Herriman interviews the artist in his Upstate New York
residence and studio in International Solitude.
We’ve read a great deal about the Frank Stella exhibition at the
Whitney, so it’s exciting to see it mount at the Modern Art Museum of
Fort Worth where Chief Curator Michael Auping played such a vital role in
its inception. Organized and curated by Auping, in association with Adam
D. Weinberg, Alice Pratt Brown Director, Whitney Museum of American
Art, a retrospective from the mid-50’s to the present displays some 120
works by this monumental living American artist including paintings,
reliefs, maquettes, sculptures, and drawings.
Just how should sculpture be defined? The Nasher Sculpture
Center poses that question everyday through their thought-provoking
programming. In A Three-Dimensional Dialogue, arts writer Lee Escobedo
discusses the selection of Doris Salcedo as the first Nasher Prize Laureate
with Diana Al-Hadid, Melvin Edwards, and Eva Rothschild, in addition
to their own work.
When we delved into the mind of Oliver Clegg, a London-educated
Brooklyn-based artist, we discovered an individual who enjoys having a
little fun with his practice. Clegg’s sui generis multidisciplinary work plays
well in his new show, Life is a Gasssss opening at Erin Cluley Gallery this
month. From a spinning table that serves 28 diners, to a neon sculpture
flashing the exhibition title, to paintings of partially deflated Mylar balloons
rendered with the likes of Donald Duck, Kermit the Frog, Tweety, and
Bart Simpson among others, we know this artist is just as inspired by his
portrayal of whimsy as he is nostalgia.
From contributor Kendall Morgan’s imaginings, beautifully translated
by photographer Steven Visneau, The Girl Who Fell From Earth pays homage
to the deeply missed legendary artist David Bowie. In one of the fashion
images, a photograph of Bowie is integrated on-screen captured by Mick
Rock in the 70’s. In Tomes, Kendall visits with Mick Rock about the ensuing
documentary illustrating his own life and the April reissue of The Rise of
David Bowie at a more approachable price than his limited-edition release
last fall prior to the Starman’s death.
Also in this issue, Lee Cullum gives us the inside scoop on the world
premiere of FWOpera’s JFK; Justine Ludwig checks in with Dallas’s own
Michelle Rawlings in Studio; and Patricia Mora discusses the astonishing
work of Scots-born, London-based photographer David Yarrow in Caught
in the Moment. Our sights turn to Hong Kong where Margaret Lee’s work is
exhibited in Dallas Museum of Art’s first off-site Concentrations series. Back
home, Rebecca Warren’s site-specific sculpture will be unveiled when the
Eagle Family Plaza opens this month. Artists collaborating in SOLUNA’S
Myth & Legend presented by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra offer another
interesting read. Lastly, Chris Byrne chats with prominent New York art
patron Peter Hort in Furthermore.
Let’s be sure to show all these visiting artists and gallerists a great time
here.
–Terri Provencal
CONTENTS 1
FEATURES
90 THE ART ARENA
Three local collectors share their advice on getting the most out of the
Dallas Art Fair. By Terri Provencal
96 STELLA!
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth ushers in the blockbuster exhibition, Frank Stella: A Retrospective. By Steve Carter
102 A THREE-DIMENSIONAL DIALOGUE
Diana Al-Hadid, Melvin Edwards, and Eva Rothschild discuss contemporary sculpture and the selection of Doris Salcedo as the inaugural Nasher
Prize recipient. By Lee Escobedo
108 LIFE IS A GASSSSS
Erin Cluley Gallery hosts artist Oliver Clegg during the Dallas Art Fair.
By Patricia Mora
112 THE GIRL WHO FELL TO EARTH
Embrace your inner glam-rock goddess with spring's most show-stopping
styles. Photography by Steven Visneau
90
108
ON TARGET
DALLAS ART FAIR’S !TH TURN
Plus:
Frank Stella
At The Modern
96
On the cover: Blair Thurman, Valkyries. Courtesy of
the artist and Galerie Frank Elbaz. Photography
by Henry Hargreaves
112
14
Oliver Clegg
Margaret Lee
Michelle Rawlings
Blair Thurman
Rebecca Warren
PATRONMAGAZINE.COM
CONTENTS 2
DEPARTMENTS I
12 Editor’s Note
22 Contributors
42 Noted
Top arts and cultural chatter. By Shelby Gorday and Elizabeth Kerin
Of Note
59 THE EYES HAVE IT
Marc Quinn discovers the equal and unique in his iris portraits. MTV
RE:DEFINE offers the opportunity for this artist and seer to look into
yours. By Michael Mazurek
Fair Trade
60 COMING TO THE FAIR
Howard Rachofsky visits with David Kordansky on his booth at Dallas
Art Fair.
59
Contemporaries
62 INTERNATIONAL SOLITUDE
Though conceptual painter Blair Thurman’s work is found in collections
across the globe, the artist enjoys the intimacy of the woods in Upstate
New York where he works and resides. By Kat Herriman
64 RITES OF SPRING
Rebecca Warren’s Pas de Deux (Plaza Monument) inaugurates the Eagle
Family Plaza at the Dallas Museum of Art. By Nancy Cohen Israel
Studio
66 A SUBTLE KNIFE
A delicate hand with exacting precision informs the nuanced works of
artist Michelle Rawlings. By Justine Ludwig
Sojourner
68 CONCENTRATIONS EAST
The DMA's project-based series celebrates its 35th year with a first-ever
off-site exhibition featuring Margaret Lee's site-specific installation at
Duddell's in Hong Kong. By Steve Carter
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66
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PATRONMAGAZINE.COM
CONTENTS 3
DEPARTMENTS II
Auction
72 WELL CAST
London gallerist C.J. Jones of 10 Hanover and Chicago-based artist Paula
Crown lead the 5th Anniversary of MTV RE:DEFINE.
By John Riepenhoff
Performance
74 ONE FINAL EVENING
FWOpera’s world premiere of JFK offers an intimate portrait of President
John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s last night together.
By Lee Cullum
78 HARMONIC CONVERGENCE
Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s SOLUNA International Music & Arts
Festival brings together diverse disciplines. By Nancy Cohen Israel
Celluloid
82 CAUGHT IN THE MOMENT
David Yarrow’s Remarkable Talent Has Pedigree For Days.
By Patricia Mora
72
Tomes
84 ROCK STAR
On the heels of his sell-out David Bowie book, legendary rock
photographer Mick Rock is having his own moment in the spotlight.
By Kendall Morgan
Space
86 THE CONTEMPORARY CLASS
The Pioneering Women Who Brought Modern Furniture To The
Forefront In Dallas. By Peggy Levinson
Coveted
88 MARITIME
The Senator Observer by Glashütte Original has a long history at sea.
There
120 CAMERAS COVERING CULTURAL EVENTS
74
Furthermore ...
128 GUEST OF HONOR
A talk with prominent art collector, Peter Hort, on visiting Dallas Art
Fair. By Chris Byrne
84
86
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PATRONMAGAZINE.COM
NOTED: GALLERIES
50
03 DALLAS AUCTION GALLERY
The Decorative Art Auction, Apr. 6, will feature
19 th- and 20 th-century French furniture and
accessories, Chinese porcelain, and silver
collections. The Fine Jewelry Auction, Apr. 27,
will feature diamond jewelry, signed pieces
by Cartier, Harry Winston, Van Cleef and
Arpels, David Webb and Tiffany, timepieces,
and colored gemstones. The Fine Art Auction,
May 18, includes works by Rufino Tamayo,
Robert Longo, Robert Indiana, Jesus Rafael,
and Soto. dallasauctiongallery.com
04 HERITAGE AUCTIONS
Heritage Auctions offers a series of art
auctions, including Fine Silver & Objects of Vertu
Apr. 8–11, Modern & Contemporary Art
Apr.
14–16, Illustration Art Apr. 22–25, American
Art Thursday, May 5–7, The Viktor Schreckengost
Auction: 20th Century Art & Design
May 11–
13, Texas Art
May 19–20, and Modern &
Contemporary Prints & Multiples
May 21–23.
ha.com
05 MTV RE:DEFINE
On Apr. 8, MTV RE:DEFINE celebrates its
5th year to benefit The MTV Staying Alive
Foundation and the Dallas Contemporary.
The evening synthesizes a gala and auction
hosted at the Dallas Contemporary, curated
by Neville Wakefield, and hosted by Joyce
Goss and Kenny Goss. mtvredefine.com
06 DAVID YARROW EXHIBITION
Iconic London-based photographer, David
Yarrow will have works on display Apr. 13–
17 at The Space on Oak Lawn during Dallas
Arts Week. An opening night celebration
with the artist takes place Apr. 13 from 7–10
p.m. On Apr. 15 an exhibition and artist's talk
takes place on The Terrace at The Joule Hotel
from 10–3 p.m. davidyarrow.photography
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PATRONMAGAZINE.COM
STAYING THE COURSE
Outgrowing his gallery space thrice, popular Los Angeles gallerist David Kordansky returns to the
Dallas Art Fair for the second time, featuring the work of emerging artist Calvin Marcus.
A
mere thirteen years ago, David Kordansky opened his
original eponymous gallery in Chinatown. Of humble
size, it represented eight emerging artists, several of which
were fellow CalArts grads. He relocated to Culver City a
few years later with an expanded artist roster of international renown
and introduced a second gallery to the area in 2011. In September
2014, he reopened yet again in a super-sized 20,000-square-foot
space that was formerly a 1930s food market, an auto dealership,
and a martial arts center. Cited as an “L.A. heavyweight,” it’s safe
to say Kordansky has enjoyed a successful career as a gallerist. “A
favorite dealer among Dallas collectors, we are thrilled to welcome
his gallery back to Dallas—it will be one of this year’s highlights,”
says Dallas Art Fair co-founder Chris Byrne. Listed annually as
one of the top 200 art collectors in the world by Art News, Howard
Rachofsky visited with Kordansky on his second turn at the Dallas
Art Fair.
Howard Rachofsky: Could you talk about the gallery’s connection/
relationship with Dallas?
David Kordansky: Our gallery has always enjoyed a close
relationship with Dallas and its collectors. This year three of our
artists will have institutional solo shows in the city: Mai-Thu Perret
opened an exhibition at the Nasher Sculpture Center in March. In
September, Kathryn Andrews’s MCA Chicago exhibition also arrives
at the Nasher, and then Pietro Roccasalva installs an exhibition at
The Power Station timed to coincide with his second solo show at
our gallery in November.
HR: Why are you choosing to exhibit in the Dallas Art Fair?
DK: This will be our second trip to the Dallas Art Fair, and like
our regular visits to TWO x TWO, we see it as an important and
meaningful opportunity to deepen our ties to the Dallas community,
which includes not only one of the strongest concentrations
of leading collectors in the world, but also some of my favorite
people. The fair is a great platform, in this decentralized art world,
to showcase an individual artist, and to bring a new body of work
directly to a curious audience.
HR: What works are you bringing? Why are you bringing these works to
Dallas?
DK: We’ll present new works by Calvin Marcus, an emerging
Los Angeles artist who debuted his first solo exhibition at the
gallery in January. On view in Dallas will be his recent “me with
Above, left: David Kordanksy. Photo by Fredrik Nilsin; above, right: Calvin Marcus,
me with tongue, 2016, oil stick, Cel-Vinyl, liquid watercolor, and emulsified gesso on
linen/canvas blend, 84 x 60 x 1.5 in. Opposite, from left: Calvin Marcus, me with
tongue, 2016, oil stick, Cel-Vinyl, liquid watercolor, and emulsified gesso on linen/
canvas blend, 84 x 60 x 1.5 in.; Calvin Marcus, me with tongue, 2016, oil stick, CelVinyl, liquid watercolor, and emulsified gesso on linen/canvas blend, 84 x 60 x 1.5
in.; Calvin Marcus, me with tongue, 2016, oil stick, Cel-Vinyl, liquid watercolor, and
emulsified gesso on linen/canvas blend, 84 x 60 x 1.5 in. All images courtesy of
David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. Photography by Marten Elder.
David Kordansky
Gallery,
Photo by Fredrik Nilsin
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PATRONMAGAZINE.COM
FAIR TRADE
INTERVIEW BY HOWARD RACHOFSKY
tongue” pictures: demonic-looking crayon-on-paper self-portraits
meticulously enlarged to the scale and presence of paintings.
Complementing these faces will be a series of ceramic sculptures, as
well as leisure shirts designed, worn, and stained by the artist. Calvin
takes each soiled uniform to a different Los Angeles dry cleaner, who
effectively finishes the artwork, framing it in their specific bagging.
Calvin’s practice is a rare blend, particular to Los Angeles, of material
sensitivity, conceptual heft, and personal vision.
HR: What distinguishes your selection of gallery artists? Is it a particularly
LA-based group?
DK: Exactly half of our 36 artists are based in Los Angeles. I
started my gallery in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood, showing
classmates and friends I met while earning an MFA at CalArts.
In the last thirteen years we have grown the gallery by putting
these artists in conversation with artists from other locales and
generations. All of these artists, whether from near or far, whether
young or old, share the unique spirit of this city. The idiosyncrasy,
material alchemy, and visual pleasure characteristic of Los Angeles
are a current running through my program.
Thanks David. Anecdotally, we recently acquired a Calvin Marcus painting
from the last show, so we’re excited to see your presentation at the Dallas Art
Fair. P
ABOUT HOWARD RACHOFSKY
Howard Rachofsky, photo by Sara Deal
A Dallas native, Howard Rachofsky was a hedge
fund manager for thirty years. He started the Regal
group of companies in the 1970s and acted as the
Managing Partner of Regal Securities Investment,
L. P. and President and Chairman of the Board of
Regal Capital Company. Howard has served, and
continues to serve, on several non-profit boards,
including Dia Center for the Arts in New York,
the AT&T Performing Arts Center, the Dallas
Symphony Foundation, and Lumin Education. With
his wife Cindy, he hosts TWO x TWO for AIDS
and Art, which benefits amfAR, the Foundation for
AIDS Research, and the Dallas Museum of Art’s
Contemporary Collection Program. Over the past
17 years, TWO x TWO has raised over $60 million
in support of these organizations.
APRIL / MAY 2016
61
BY KAT HERRIMAN
INTERNATIONAL SOLITUDE
Though conceptual painter Blair Thurman’s work is found in collections across the globe,
the artist enjoys the intimacy of the woods in Upstate New York where he resides and works.
This page: Blair Thurman, Widows' Walk (A Coat of Arms and/or Tails for a Whale), 2015, neon, acrylic, glass, wood, metal fittings, transformers, 129.92 x 118.11 x 11.81 in.
Opposite (from left): Blair Thurman, Sea Robin, 2015, acrylic on canvas mounted on wood, 85 x 47 x 2 in.; Blair Thurman, Everlasting Sandcast, 2015, acrylic on canvas on wood,
85 x 47 x 2 in.; Blair Thurman, Dressed To Kill, 2015, acrylic on canvas on wood, 85 x 47 x 2 in. All images courtesy of the artist and Galerie Frank Elbaz.
62
PATRONMAGAZINE.COM
CONTEMPORARIES
P
ersonal history goes a long way with artist Blair Thurman.
It’s the lifeblood of his art, which draws upon his childhood
nostalgia for Pop and Minimalism as well as his early
obsession with sports cars. The son of a contemporary
museum director, Thurman spent his formative years looking at the
work of art legends like Andy Warhol, Nam June Paik, and Robert
Rauschenberg, but these days the 55-year-old artist tends to surround
himself with a different kind of stimulus—namely the woods of
Upstate New York, where he lives with his wife. Purposefully
secluded, his studio offers ample space to experiment and produce his
large sculptural paintings without interruption. An Edenic alternative
to the hustle of New York, Thurman’s rural home base allows him the
flexibility to commute for work when needed, but for the most part
he sticks to his daily routine. “Constant coffee and television,” says
Thurman, describing the typical series of events. “I try to get to the
studio by 9 a.m. We eat a nice lunch everyday because we’re lucky to
have a hippie commune nearby with a fabulous kitchen. Sometimes
I work quite late, into the next morning, but generally until 10 or 11
p.m. I seem to be very slow at making things. My wife and I have a
beautiful dog, and my assistants, Dana and Holly, also have dogs, so
it’s very cozy. We know we’re very lucky. I like living in a place where
I’m not likely to meet another artist. I like privacy and solitude.”
While Thurman tends to keep to himself and a small group of
friends, his work travels around the world. Over the past two years,
Thurman’s work has crisscrossed from Los Angeles to Berlin to please
an increasingly international collector base. This month, Thurman’s
paintings touch down in Texas thanks to the artist’s long-time friend
and dealer, Frank Elbaz, who plans to show Thurman’s newest work
at his Dallas Art Fair booth. “[I] met Frank in Nice through Vincent
Pecoil. He’s very gregarious, very outgoing. We met at the casino one
night, late, at an after party,” recounts Thurman of the duo’s first
meeting. “Frank was playing Blackjack or maybe Baccarat with a
bunch of other art dealers. He told me he was winning the money to
do a show with me. I have to say I like that style.”
Equally a showman, Thurman knows how to energize a room.
His neon sculptures and oversized paintings add a sense of drama to
any space they inhabit. Inspired by the tropes of Minimalism and Pop
as well as advertising, the artist looks at the construction of visual
language through an abstracted lens. In his Supermodels series, one of
his best known bodies of works, Thurman distilled racecars down
to their individual components and laid them out on the wall in the
same precise way a doctor might line up his scalpels. The resulting
neon-lit works call to mind animal hides. It’s these slippages between
references that require one to look twice at everything the artist
touches.
Removed from the figurative or illustrative realm, Thurman’s
paintings inhabit a conceptual space where meaning is open to
individual interpretation. Titles become an important tool for
Thurman to shape these evolving discussions around his work.
Whimsical names like Endless Summer, Undertow, and Goth Rocket set
a certain tone when looking at Thurman’s geometrically striking
compositions. “I always think about titles—titles make the connection
to the viewer. At the other end, I always try to connect what I’m
doing to my life,” explains Thurman. “There has to be something
nominally personal, autobiographical, or whatever. I try to put a little
soul into my work, which is, I guess, a very old-fashioned idea, like
preferring a used car to this year’s model.”
While nostalgic in one sense, Thurman’s work rarely feels
sentimental. Instead, it feels almost scientific in its analysis of Pop
and consumer culture as an aesthetic. Permanent and paradoxically
ephemeral, Thurman’s sculptures strike the same precarious
equilibrium as their subject matter. Like something drafted from
memory rather than copied from paper, Thurman’s wall-clinging
creations meld together past and present in a way that feels authentic
to both. Perhaps this organic touch comes from Thurman’s own
experience finding a place within the art history canon alongside the
Modern iconoclasts that his work continues to revisit.
A former assistant to video art pioneer Nam June Paik, Thurman
intimately understands the cycles of influence and how one
generation’s innovations lead into the next. “I’m at that age where
you can really look at your life, and there’s still time left, but you can
really see the arc, and you have some grasp of where you’re going,”
notes Thurman. If his recent rash of exhibitions is any indication, it
seems Thurman’s trajectory is undoubtedly up. P
APRIL / MAY 2016
63
BY TERRI PROVENCAL
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN SMITH
THE ART ARENA
THREE LOCAL ART COLLECTORS SHARE THEIR ADVICE ON GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THE DALLAS ART FAIR.
Jackie Stewart in her Highland Park home pictured with Lee Ufan, Dialogue, 2010; Sheila Hicks, Nomad Treasure Bales (Tresors des Nomades), 2014–2015; and Ken Price, Putana, 2001.
E
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ven the most experienced collectors sometimes find art fairs overwhelming—especially a well-curated one.
With lots of eye candy around every corner, fairgoers may leave feeling unfulfilled if they haven’t mapped out
their plan of attack beforehand. So, with the solid offerings from the heavily edited global roster of galleries at
the 8th installment of the Dallas Art Fair, we sought the advice of three notable arts patrons to help our readers
navigate the 2016 edition.
PATRONMAGAZINE.COM
JACKIE STEWART
President of Henry S. Miller Interests, mother of four grown
children, arts patron and environmentalist, Jackie Stewart first
began collecting in her early 20’s while still attending USC
Film School. “I think the collecting of contemporary art is
an extension of my desire to create a mise-en-scène whenever
possible.” It also affords this petite, intelligent blonde a creative
outlet.
Much traveled with a home in Highland Park and an
apartment in Paris with her equally charming husband Peter,
she’s been in the arts her entire life from theater to dance to
fashion, film, and TV. “I also taught directing at the arts magnet
high school for 18 years before taking over the family business.”
Stewart says that after the sale of Highland Park Village, “I was
able to start collecting in a more meaningful way.” This made us
ask, what was the first artwork she purchased that really mattered
to her? “The two pieces of art that had the most meaning to
me at the time that I purchased them were my Lee Ufan and a
huge Gregory Crewdson photograph.” She acquired both on the
same trip to New York City. “Once I saw them installed, I knew
I was entering into the crazy art world, seriously.”
She began collecting contemporary art “six short years ago”
at the Dallas Art Fair. The first piece she bought there was from
Chris D’Amelio and Trina Gordon. “It is an extruded bullet
drawing by metallurgist, Cornelia Parker. When I came home
from the art fair with it, Peter remarked, “I can’t believe you
purchased framed chicken wire!” When I finally found just
the right location for it and had the right lighting, Peter could
see why I fell in love with it. I was finally out of the doghouse,
though I seem to find myself there again and again, since I
continue to purchase art.”
Currently, she’s excited by the work of female artists Carol
Bove, Jacqueline Humphries, Karla Black, Camille Henrot,
Annette Kelm, and Aura Satz. Satz’s work was recently shown at
Dallas Contemporary. “I have works by other renowned female
artists such as Mai-Thu Perret represented by David Kordansky
Gallery, who will be back at the Dallas Art Fair this year.”
Perret is featured in Sightings through July 17 at Nasher Sculpture
Center. She also loves a piece by Alexis Smith, “a reflection of
the artist and the time period in which the artist created the
work. I feel that it is important for artists to be in touch with
the global community and reflect through the art issues that are
important to them.” A thinker who does her homework, Jackie
owns three works by Dorothea Tanning, “who produced lovely
paintings and went undiscovered until recently as she worked in
the shadow of her famous husband, Max Ernst.”
She defines her collection as a “single thread of reflection,”
describing its focus as “a reflection of the artist and the time
period when the artist created the work.” And, personal
history enhances. “I created a complete concept of reflection
in our dining room. We have my mother’s crystal chandelier, a
beautiful Teresita Fernandez mirrored glass piece on one wall,
and a large painting by Michael Williams adjacent to it on which
Michael painted prismatic colors as if the light had shown on it
from a crystal in the chandelier. Outside of one set of windows,
Lambert’s built a gabion wall. Outside of the French door
leading into our garden you can see the Jeppe Hein sculpture
created by two planes of mirrored steel that create all sorts of
illusions and reflect the water of the pool.”
Stewart also works with Franklin Parrasch “to collect
artwork by LA artists from the time period that I lived in Los
Angeles,” including artists such as Ken Price, Ed Ruscha, Billy
Al Bangston, and John Altoon. Plus she’s “looking forward to
seeing many art world friends at the Dallas Art Fair this year—
CANADA Gallery’s Phil Grauer and Sarah Braman, Franklin
Parrasch, Jessica Silverman, Mike Homer at David Kordansky,
and Sean Horton.
Locally she will make a point to say “hello” to gallerists
Barry Whistler, who represents the fine art photography of wife
Allison V. Smith, and Cris Worley representing sculptor, Harry
Geffert. She’s most certainly art-fair-ready and plans to check
out specific works including, Elisabeth Kley, Round Eg yptian
Bottle, 2015, glazed earthenware; Julia Haft-Candell, Paper (one),
2013, ceramic; and Markus Weggenmann, LW 01, 2015, at the
Taubert Contemporary booth.
Lastly she offers, “Making new friends with those with a
shared interest is one of the benefits of collecting.”
Julia Haft-Candell, Paper (one), 2013, ceramic, 24 x 18 x 5 in. Courtesy of
Parrasch Heijnen Gallery
Elisabeth Kley, Round Egyptian Bottle, 2015, Glazed
earthenware, 18.5 x 15.5 x 15.5 in. Courtesy of the artist
and CANADA, New York
APRIL / MAY 2016
91
Bernard Frize, Répertoire, 2004, acrylic and resin on canvas, 59.06 x
48.06 x 1 in. Photo by Guillaume Ziccarelli, Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin
Günther Förg, Aller Retour, 2008, Ex., pastel on handmade paper, 28.5
x 21.33 in. Courtesy of Massimo De Carlo, London. Photo by Robert
Glowacki
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PATRONMAGAZINE.COM
MARK GIAMBRONE
A single father of three young boys, by day this avid collector
is a successful equity portfolio manager at Barrow, Hanley,
Mewhinney & Strauss. As if this schedule weren’t pressing
enough, Mark Giambrone also serves as President of Dallas
Contemporary’s Board of Directors. And when you walk into his
home, you will find an entirely impressive collection that makes
an impact. Frank Stella anyone? Yes, he has one. It’s there just to
the right of the entrance in this handsome and genial collector’s
residence—a hypnotic and seemingly pulsing focal point in an
otherwise neutral office. Apropos, Giambrone is listed in the Frank
Stella: A Retrospective catalog as providing “generous support” to the
exhibition on view at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. He’s
nothing less than a collector who gives back.
Several pieces in Mark’s collection are from galleries
participating at the Dallas Art Fair. Among these, he says a favorite
purchase was rendered by Markus Linnenbrink—a German artist
now living in Brooklyn. “Linnenbrink is known for using layer upon
layer of colorful epoxy resin in his works. For his ‘drill’ paintings,
the artist bores directly into the highly saturated layers. I purchased
a ‘drill’ painting through Taubert Contemporary, a Berlin gallery.
I hope they bring more examples of his work this year,” he says.
A detailed guy, he plans to navigate the Dallas Art Fair
effectively, to be sure he has time to visit his favorites. He
recommends a handful of not-to-be-missed booths this year. “Dallas
Art Fair has a wonderful mix of local, regional, and international
galleries. There are so many good galleries represented it’s hard to
pick just a few, but some of my favorite international galleries are
Massimo De Carlo, Galerie Perrotin, and Taubert Contemporary,
and be sure to check out a few of my local favorites: Cris Worley
Fine Arts and Erin Cluley Gallery.”
And there are specific artworks of interest available through
these galleries he will make a point to see. “From Galerie Perrotin
I plan to check out Bernard Frize, Repertoire. I enjoy this French
artist’s experimental approach to painting and high-processed
techniques. I admire the artists Erin Cluley is representing and her
commitment to creating a dialogue for the local artist community.”
At the Erin Cluley Gallery booth he will look for Kevin Todora’s
works on view. “Living and working in Dallas, Kevin Todora’s
photography-based work takes everyday objects out of their known
context then reintroduces them in sculptural tableaux.” Finally he
has interest in Günther Förg’s Aller Retour, 2008, available through
Galerie Perrotin. Förg was an enormous talent, a German painter,
sculptor, and photographer. Cancer swiped the life of this artist
at the young age of 61 on his birthday. He says of Förg, “He
was a brilliant multidisciplinary artist. Förg often combined or
juxtaposed his proficiencies in each discipline. His work reflects
and reacts to Modernism and was said to be influenced by American
abstract painting.”
It’s important to Giambrone that the Dallas Art Fair Foundation
Mark Giambrone pictured with Frank Stella’s Untitled (Double Concentric Squares), 1975
raises money to support the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher
Sculpture Center, and the Dallas Contemporary. “We are honored
to have Dallas Contemporary as a recipient and have been fortunate
to be partnered with the Dallas Art Fair for the last five years.”
And as a beneficiary, DC takes the partnership seriously. “We
coordinate our calendars so that our April show openings coincide
with Dallas Arts Week to be sure we provide an exhibition with
excellent content and experience for those visiting the fair and
enjoying the week’s many events. It is a wonderful, collaborative
relationship.”
With the oft-apprehensive feelings associated with attending an
art fair and making that first art purchase, we asked Mark what he
wished someone told him when he first began collecting. “It may
sound cliché, but it is really important to collect what you love.
There are many rewarding aspects to collecting art, but the best
part is hanging it on your wall and the enjoyment that comes from
living with art.” Final advice? “It’s important to remember that
wall space can become a precious commodity for an art collector,
so be selective and accept the fact that a storage space is probably
in your future.”
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Tammy Cotton Hartnett in her office and studio. Above the stairs, Alex Hoda, Vanity Fair, 2009, represented by Edel Assanti Gallery London.
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TAMMY COTTON HARTNETT It takes a confident aesthete to brave the quick decision-making
the art world demands in order to acquire the most highly pursued
works. Anyone who has ever met Tammy Cotton Hartnett knows
she’s up for the task. A multi-linguist, Vice President of the Board
of Directors at Dallas Contemporary, additional board positions at
Dallas International School and TexProtects, wife and mother, this
powerhouse collector has no room in her life for indecision.
She began collecting in 2008 after visiting the Greek Antiquities
room at the Louvre. “Enraptured with the Cy Twombly-painted
ceiling, the only one by an American artist, I came home and
found a small work on paper being offered for sale in Amsterdam.”
Undeterred after her fruitless attempt to purchase the Twombly,
she left instead with “a lovely black-and-white Sol Lewitt and a
hauntingly beautiful 1967 painting by Jacqueline de Jong, recently
highlighted in a Blum & Poe exhibition curated by the talented
Alison Gingeras. My amazing journey began.”
Today, each piece in her collection seems to have a unique story
associated with it. “The most meaningful piece to me is a large
Tracey Emin self-portrait painting that came serendipitously after
sneaking into a Tate Lecture series in London where the artist was
discussing her thesis on Edvard Munch’s The Scream.” Tammy has
“another neon poetic work by Emin (that) illuminates my office in
the Cedars at the American Beauty Mill.”
While she never misses a single gallery at the Dallas Art Fair,
she is “delighted to see Lawrie Shabibi Gallery from the U.A.E.,”
where she plans to explore Nadia Kaabi-Linke’s Tunisian Americans.
The artist is currently working on a commission for her. You
will also likely find Tammy at Jessica Silverman Gallery from
San Francisco, checking out Julian Hoeber Curtain Wall Vector
Model—Elevation 03. “Her ( Jessica Silverman) program is always
interesting.”
What’s the best way for new collectors to navigate the Dallas
Art Fair, we ask? “Of course with a map, pen, and pocketbook.
Walk one direction and circle the gallery and note the work you
like. Re-walk the same section in the opposite direction. Take a
seat in one of the snack areas and pull out your phone and research
that gallery. If it speaks to you, ask about the work and the price,
Julian Hoeber, Curtain Wall Vector Model—Elevation 03, 2016,
string and acrylic with nails on plywood, 40 x 40 x 6 in. Courtesy
of the artist and Jessica Silverman Gallery
then close the deal. If you need validation from a vetted consultant
or experienced collector, ask the information desk. Dallas Art Fair
is super-approachable and loaded with talent.”
When pressed for her favorite purchase from the Dallas Art
Fair, she replied, “That’s a tough one; there are many. I enjoy my
two all-white monochromatic Andrew Sutherland paintings from
Edel Assanti Gallery. They have layers of paint over cast plastic
rubbish bags that ironically take on a sculptural look of an elegant
super-sized Rorschach inkblot. I also love my black-and-white
Avedon-inspired photograph by Laura Wilson.” She’s excited
about the work of emerging artist Francisco Moreno at Erin Cluley
Gallery. “He’s dedicated and has made efforts to grow his practice
while at residency in Spain.” Cluley will show a new series from
UK-born, Brooklyn-based artist, Oliver Clegg. “He’s a painter,
conceptual, and intellectual artist with an Eton attitude and wit.”
As a long-serving board member of Dallas Contemporary and
current Vice President, she shares her excitement with regards
to the April openings for Dan Colen, Helmut Lang, and Paola
Pivi. Describing each as a must-see, she enthuses: “I saw the 6’6”
Brooklyn-based once-bad-boy-turned-serious-artist Dan Colen
working on the install earlier this year and thought to myself, you
can’t have a better venue in North America for billboard-sized
works than Dallas Contemporary. His show also includes classic
examples of his Candlestick paintings, which reference perhaps
portraits of God; let’s ask him.” Always impeccably and inimitably
dressed, she is equally excited about “the chic, Austrian-born,
New York fashion entrepreneur, Helmut Lang. He uses texture,
repetition, and the royal beauty of simplicity to evoke magical
sculpture, allowing the viewer to be one with nature.” Finally she
says, “Italian-born Paolo Pivi lives up to her Alaskan joie de vivre
in her newest exhibition while her Italian drama propels her art
into a realm of the fantastical: upside-down airplanes and eyepopping, colorful, feathered bears floating through the air. Planes,
bears, and alligators, she’s that ‛it’ artist and a Venice Biennalewinner debuting her first U.S. solo show at Dallas Contemporary.”
What gives you the most pleasure about collecting art we ask?
“Meeting the artist, of course. I always love a brilliant mind.” P
Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Tunisian Americans, 2012, wood, cork, and soil in four panels, 54 x 61.75
in. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi. Photo by Musthafa Aboobaker
APRIL / MAY 2016
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DALLAS ART FAIR
KICK-OFF RECEPTION
AT EISEMAN JEWELS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JONATHAN ZIZZO
Kristi Kirkpatrick, John Sughrue
SINGLE
TICKETS
STARTING
AT $17 AND
GROUP
TICKET
SALES
AVAILABLE.
A BOLD WORLD
PREMIERE
AND BELOVED
CLASSIC ALL ON
ONE STAGE.
John Suhgrue, Paul Divis, Richard Eiseman
Melinda Knowles
Dave Perry-Miller, Kenneth Walters
APRIL / MAY 2016
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FURTHERMORE
BY CHRIS BYRNE
GUEST OF HONOR
A talk with prominent art collector Peter Hort on visiting Dallas Art Fair.
Peter Hort with Phil Grauer at Independent New York, March 2016
A
n attorney by trade, Peter Hort came to his interest in
contemporary art quite naturally. The son of significant
collectors Michael and Susan Hort, he is married to
Jamie Cohen Hort with whom he makes almost all of his
aesthetic decisions. Peter also serves on the Board of Directors
of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation. Since its inception, RHMF
has awarded and provided generous grants to artists early in their
careers.
His family’s collection is renowned for its identification
of and in-depth commitment to young artists and includes
important works by Franz Ackermann, John Currin, Marlene
Dumas, Olafur Eliasson, Nan Goldin, Karen Kilimnik, Jonathan
Meese, Marilyn Minter, Vik Muniz, Elizabeth Peyton, Richard
Prince, Neo Rauch, Kiki Smith, and Franz West. For the past
fifteen years, the Hort family has opened their TriBeCa residence
to attendees of Armory Week, hosting nearly 4,000 visitors. From
the over 3,000 works in the collection, Jamie selects and organizes
the installation of approximately 150 (recently) acquired pieces,
and Peter provides fascinating anecdotes during his tour. If you
have the opportunity, I encourage you to visit their collection.
We are excited to welcome Peter back as our guest for the 2016
Dallas Art Fair, and I recently asked him to share his thoughts
about Dallas Arts Week:
I happen to love art fairs. I go as often as time and economics will allow.
I’ve heard the complaints: they’re too big, too crowded, and there are too many.
For me, I am looking for an artist or a gallery program that otherwise might not
have gotten on my radar. It is that unknown artist or gallery that excites me and
keeps me walking. One of the art fairs that I look forward to every year is the
Dallas Art Fair. It’s a good-sized fair—100 or so galleries. There are qualityemerging and mid-career galleries, such as CANADA, Jessica Silverman
Gallery, Johannes Vogt, Lisa Cooley, Marlborough Chelsea, Nicelle Beauchene,
and The Green Gallery.
Dallas Art Fair is very different. For one thing, it is totally accessible.
Things are different down in Dallas. Participants of the fair have time to sit
and talk between the passed hors d’oeuvres. Last year, at the fair, I hung out
with Hugo McCloud who had some great work at Luce Gallery (Turin); and
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Bill Arning and Peter Hort at Independent New York, March 2016
I met, for the first time, Laura Lancaster, whose art at Workplace Gallery
(Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, London) was mind-blowing.
Both before the fair opens and after closing, there are things to do during the
week of the Dallas Art Fair, and people to do them with. The Power Station—
an old abandoned power station turned exhibition space—combines good
art and fun food, making for a good old-fashioned party on Wednesday evening.
This year I hear that they are displaying the work of Karl Holmqvist, a Swedish
artist known for his text-based work. On Friday this year, the Dallas Museum
of Art will open an exhibition for photographer Irving Penn. Later in the
evening, people can head over to a reception at Dallas Contemporary; April’s
exhibition features Dan Colen, Helmut Lang, and Paola Pivi.
Last year I went to a great collection at the Rose home and PumpHouse next
door. I love seeing a collection embedded in someone’s home. Living with art is
very different from displaying it in a gallery or a museum. It is a fresh look.
Aside from the collection, the architecture of the PumpHouse is amazing in and
of itself, and Deedie Rose is the consummate host.
I sometimes take a break from the visual arts to experience a performance
with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. And if you enjoy contemporary art, if you
miss the Nasher Sculpture Center and The Goss-Michael Foundation, you’ve
made a big mistake. I always look forward to the hanging at The Goss-Michael
Foundation. This year’s GM-F’s programming brings Chicago-based artist
Paula Crown as the final exhibition in their current gallery space. P