Vincent Falsetta: Recent Exhibitions

DG 11-5: Obsessive Worlds

oil on canvas, 60" x 60", 2011

image courtesy of Conduit Gallery

I am most familiar with Vincent Falsetta's paintings such as the one above. However, I am thankful that I recently had the opportunity to view a couple of Falsetta's paintings from 1975 at 500X along with several more recent color study works.  Also, another non-commercial gallery in the same Exposition Park neighborhood of Dallas, The Reading Room, exhibited a collection of index cards that Falsetta uses to sketch and catalog his works in progress.

Falsetta received his BFA at Temple University in 1972, and he earned his MFA at Tyler School of Art, Temple University in 1974.  He began teaching at University of North Texas in 1977 and attained the level of Professor in 1992 and continues to this day.  Falsetta is an alumni of the 500X artist collective, and he has been "teacher" of many of my art friends including Jessica McCambly and Charlotte Smith.  Jessica McCambly has included Falsetta in the exhibition she has curated Big and Bright, and Vincent will be giving an artist talk at the exhibit on January 26, 2012.

Sarah Hamilton curated Falsetta into the exhibition she conceived and brought to fruition at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas in 2011 titled Obsessive Worlds. In the catalog for the exhibition we read Falsetta telling us about the title of the painting shown above:

"My most recent painting DG 11-5: Obsessive Worlds was conceived and made for the Obsessive Worlds exhibition. I do not normally title paintings beyond my cataloguing system title, but I did ths time because the title of the exhibition was appropriate to the title of the painting."

Falsetta's system of cataloging his works involves the use of index cards, a process he has employed since the 1980s. These were on view at The Reading Room:

These cards give us an intimate view into the mind and process of the artist.  We find notes that tell us the music he listened to at that moment.  We see little sketches and color charts as he works through his process of problem solving.  On card DC 11-1, 2, Jan 2011, we read, "month later 2010  idea abandoned// new plans for naples yellow pt w/ new questions" then there is a list of questions which seem as abstract as one of his paintings.  Another note on the same card states "Martha responded well to the circular form". Martha is his wife.  On card DG 11-5, 1, June-July 2011,Obsessive Worlds, we find this among the various didactic notes, "Dedicated to Martha, Mario, Trisa, Xander & Doug". A dedication to his family.

These works were not for sale, nor should they ever be.  The purpose of The Reading Room is to explore the intersection of written word and visual images.  And for that, I'd say The Index Cards was a great success.

A few blocks over we were presented with yet more of Falsetta's works at 500X.

Sound Wave Series #7, acrylic on paper, 22.75" x 30.25", 1975

detail of Sound Wave Series #7

Color Studies, 2007 - 2011, oil on museum board, various dimensions

These recent exhibitions of Vincent Falsetta's works afforded me deeper insight to the man I know of as "abstract painter".  I'm very pleased to have gained this understanding of the man whom others that I know refer to as "great teacher" and "husband" and who is also known as "dad".



September Dallas Fall Gallery Walk

Ray-Mel Cornelius, Robert Browning, acrylic on canvas, 9" x 12", 2011

We saw several new galleries open in Dallas this year, and a number of these opened just in time to introduce themselves at the opening of the Fall art season.  A couple of galleries began the season by exhibiting a sample of works by each of the gallery's represented artists.  A number of other galleries in town focused on solo shows of one or two of their own artists, and I noticed that these shows often featured some of North Texas' favorites.  I saw many red dots as I traveled around to the galleries, so I hope to be able to see some of these fantastic works in friends' homes or businesses soon!

Ray-Mel Cornelius, Charles Baudelaire, acrylic on canvas, 11" x 14", 2011

These first two pics are from Ray-Mel Cornelius' solo exhibition, "Poets and Cattle", at  

Norwood Flynn Gallery.  A bit of poetry to accompany the art as we begin this journey.

 Jay Maggio, Flaming Bradfords II, oil on canvas, 12" x 16"

Jay Maggio, Pink Seduction, oil on canvas, 9" x 12"

Craighead Green Gallery featured three solo exhibitions by Arturo Mallman, Jay Maggio, and Heather Gorham. CG Gallery is one of the largest white wall gallery spaces I have seen.  They have ample space for four large scale separate exhibitions.  I've cropped out the frames from Maggio's paintings.  They were all very nice and uniform in black wood.  But it is his varying mark making techniques and the vibrant colors that attract my attention.

 Heather Gorham, Awash in the Everyday, 14" x 6" x , bronze, resin, mixed media assemblage

Heather Gorham, The Private Life of a Hare, 15" x 17" x 9", printed resin, urethane paint

Heather Gorham, Flowering Lamb of Odd, 19" x 17" x 17", printed resin, urethane paint

Heather presented us with a plethora of sculptures and paintings which fit easily in the front gallery space at Craighead Green Gallery.

Otis Jones, Two White Slits on Red, mixed media on canvas, 30" x 30" x 4", 2011

Otis Jones, Black Rectangle with Four Red Rectangles, mixed media on canvas,
80" x 36" x 4", 2011

Holly Johnson Gallery opened the season with local favorite Otis Jones.  Jones continues his investigation in the abstract with these minimalist objects. Dan Pritchett has written a review of this exhibition which has been published in the October issue of Arts+Culture Magazine DFW.

Kirk Hays, Counting to Ten (The Artist Playing Hide and Seek with His Innocence and His Granddaughter),
oil and spray enamel on signboard, 45" x 40", 2011

Kirk Hays, Deluge Groin High, oil and spray enamel on signboard, 35" x 36", 2011

Conduit Gallery presented three solo exhibitions in their large gallery.  Guy Mendes, Kirk Hays, and Sandra Ono in the Project Room. Hays' trompe-l'oeil paintings appear to be collage on a wood grain surface, but they are actually paint on board.  Even standing directly in front of them they look like collage, lots of hard work to achieve this allusion.

Paul Manes, (no title listed), oil on canvas, 30" x 28", 2011 

Isabelle du Toit, Cardinal Fledgling, oil on canvas, 12" x 12", 2011

I stopped back by Cris Worley Fine Art to view Charlotte Smith's show which I wrote about and posted on September 10. I stepped into CWFA's "small gallery" and found these two paintings pictured above.  Most galleries hang some small works in their restroom, and I have at least six in both of my bathrooms at home.  It's a great use of space, and I often look at some art in gallery wash rooms longer than the paintings out on the large white walls.

Linda Dee Guy, Re-Orient No. 7, mixed media wall installation, dimensions variable, 2011

Linda Dee Guy solo exhibtion installation view
works shown from left to right:
System No. 4, mixed media drawing on Yupo paper, 42" x 60", 2008
System No. 12, mixed media, 50" x 120", 2010
Translucent Cells, mixed media, 50" x 60", 2011
System No, 1, graphite on Yupo paper, 50" x 35", 2007

a view of Translucent Cells prior to wall installation

Ro2 Art Uptown had a gallery artists group exhibition up for the beginning of September, then installed a solo exhibition starting September 24 with works by Ft Worth artist Linda Dee Guy.  I included the pre-installation pic of Translucent Cells to show how this piece might look if installed in a window.  Guy stated that she had originally planned this piece to hang in a window in an upper floor loft.  This work is truly beautiful with light glowing from behind.  The Dallas Observer has published a fine review of this exhibition.  Ro2 Art's Downtown space has hosted a solo exhibition by another Ft. Worth artist, Christoph Blay.

At least four new galleries opened in Dallas just prior to the start of the Fall art season.  I have yet to visit The Reading Room or Oliver Francis Gallery. I did stop by Smoke and Mirrors Gallery as they were setting up for the first show.

Chuck and George, La Douche, mixed media on panel

Leslie Marshall, Walking Green

Smoke and Mirrors Gallery is a new alternative gallery space that focuses on local outsider art.  Chuck and George are a local couple that paint collaboratively under this nom de plume.  They work individually as Brian Scott and Brian Keith Jones.  I have one of each of their individual works in my collection.

The fourth new gallery, and the final set I will show in this blog post, is only slightly new to the art scene.  Dunn and Brown Contemporary had been in operation in Dallas for about 10 years.  I enjoyed seeing the programming Dunn and Brown exhibited locally as well as at Scope London, Scope Miami, and Art Miami over the years.  Brown left the gallery this summer to offer private art consultation services.  Tally Dunn renamed the gallery Tally Dunn Gallery, made a few changes to the programming, and opened with a gallery artists group exhibition on September 10.  Here are some works by artists that I admire and caught my eye on the day that I visited:

Erick Swenson, Muncie Head, plastic and acrylic paint, 14" x 10.5" x 10", 2001, edition of 7

Joseph Havel, Throwing Stars, bronze with patina, 31" x 30.25" x 1.25", 2010

Joseph Havel, Single Star, bronze with patina, 26" x 16" x12", 2007

Susie Rosmarin, Spectrum #11, acrylic on canvas, 60" x 60", 2009

David Bates, Cleaning Table, oil on canvas, 36" x 28", 2010

Linda Ridgway, Somewhere in the twirled branches, and he is singing, bronze unique,
21" x 24" x 18", 2011

Xiaoze Xie, The Parade, ink on rice paper, 42" x 62.25", 2007

Annette Lawrence, from left to right:
Paper Reel #2
Luminous Paper Sphere
Luminous Paper Sphere #2
each are photocopy with acrylic on paper, 26" x 40", 2011

Trenton Doyle Hancock, The Year, suite of five etchings,
etching, silkscreen, and airbrushed watercolor, each 28.25" x 27.5", 2009

Vernon Fisher, Red Mulberry, acrylic on canvas over panel, 44" x 48", 2011

Nic Nicosia, I See Light,
twenty individual images as unique installation,
archival inkjet prints on somerset watercolor paper,
15" x 24" each, 2009

Dale Chihuly

Helen Altman

Ted Kincaid, from left to right:
Open Sea 811
Open Sea 7291
Open Sea 719
Open Sea 720,
each are digital photograph printed on Hahnemuhle photo paper,
24" x 18", each edition of 10, 2011

Holly Johnson Gallery and Marty Walker Gallery

This past Friday, I stopped by several galleries around Dallas.  

I enjoyed the work at Holly Johnson Gallery, Marty Walker Gallery, and Conduit Gallery 

so I've posted a few pictures below.

Nymphaeum: New Paintings by Kim Squaglia 

at Holly Johnson Gallery

These luscious paintings are layers of paint and resin, one layer on top of another that achieve a 3D effect.  The resin is sanded on some of the paintings which creates a sense of dreaminess.  These were difficult to photograph because of their reflective surfaces.

Ted Kincaid: Every Doubt That Holds You Here

at Marty Walker Gallery

I'm only posting a couple of pictures.  I really couldn't capture these beautiful prints properly due to the reflection in the glass.  Kincaid's prints appear to be photos, but they are actually composites of his own creation to create the illusion of specific objects in seascapes, landscapes and moonscapes.  The moons craters have actually been created using images Kincaid captures in his environ such as the concrete floor of his studio.  The more I looked at each of these the more detail and imagery revealed itself.  Magical.

Marcelyn McNeil: Recent Paintings

and

M in the Project Room

at Conduit Gallery

This is Marcelyn's first exhibition in Dallas.  She earned an M.F.A. from the Universtiy of Illinois, Chicago and B.F.A. from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon.  She lives and works in Houston, Texas.  Marcelyn's paintings were represented in the 2011 Texas Biennial, curated by Virginia Rutledge.

M has an installation in the Project Room at Conduit.  A small drawing on the wall of a child vomiting little specks with a child's electronic keyboard on the floor with little specks of paper all around.  Lines are drawn at angles from the child up the steep wall, and then the lines bounce down adjacent walls interacting with this framed drawing at the end of the room.  I really enjoy M's drawings.

The exhibitions at Holly Johnson and Conduit are up through July 2, 2011.  Ted Kincaid at Marty Walker Gallery ends this coming Saturday, June 11, 2011.  Go see it yourself before it's too late.