Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1094656
72 O n a quiet industrial corner of the Dallas Design District, art blossoms. It's a frigid evening in early March, and the city's top art collectors, advisors, gallerists, and leaders have made their way to this new sliver of town called River Bend to attend the opening of 214 Projects and its inaugural exhibition of work by Emmanuel Van der Auwera, from Belgian gallery Harlan Levey Projects. This is a monumental moment for the city's expanding art scene — and a milestone for Dallas Art Fair co-founder and chairman John Sughrue, whose big-picture vision for the 11-year-old fair has always reached far beyond the confines of its Fashion Industry Gallery venue. At the intersection of Irving Boulevard and Manufacturing Street, the modernist River Bend, developed by Sughrue's real estate firm Brook Partners, has finally taken shape after years of strategic planning. The buildings are gallery-like and minimal — fashioned in sleek taupe brick, with expansive windows. Trees are newly planted, and the 70,000-square-foot site's only bit of color has just been installed. The series of 13 murals is a tactile interpretation of a watercolor by UK–based artist Clare Woods. The sprawling landscape image depicts River Bend's surrounding Trinity River and Design District neighborhoods, now rendered in hundreds of tiles handcrafted by artisans in Mexico. Woods, who is represented by London's Simon Lee Gallery, was selected for the project after entering an open call for submissions by artists represented by any of the Dallas Art Fair's internationally renowned exhibitors. Woods' contribution to the permanent fabrication of River Bend and Harlan Levey's March exhibition are but two examples of Sughrue's vision for the future of the Dallas Art Fair come to life. For River Bend allows artistic and cultural connections, ideas, and relationships, perhaps sparked during the Dallas Art Fair, to exist in Dallas in continuity — and outside of the fair's weekend and traditional confines. Now, out-of-town exhibitors such as Harlan Levey Projects or Simon Lee Gallery can utilize the 214 Projects pop-up space as a location for temporary exhibitions. And, for our resident gallerists, River Bend provides a conducive central location for permanent spaces. James Cope has brought his And Now gallery to River Bend, and this month Erin Cluley moves her gallery in. Even the Dallas Art Fair has taken its headquarters to River Bend — yet another move that symbolizes the fair's emphasis on being at the center of yearlong cultural programming. "Dallas is a city with a rich cultural landscape," says Dallas Art Fair director Kelly Cornell. "Our exhibitors and their artists can now become a much bigger part of it." River Bend, 150 Manufacturing St., riverbenddallas.com. 214 Projects NEW TERRITORY FORGING BY CHRISTINA GEYER PHOTOGRAPHY KEVIN TODORA Harlan Levey Projects' March exhibition of work by Emmanuel Van der Auwera, at 214 Projects in River Bend