Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1465756
OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. W hen it comes to nailing the feel-good gift experience, it's not about the purchase, but the care that goes into shopping for it. It's that level of thoughtfulness that SMU grad Sarah-Allen Preston wants to harness with Afloat, an on-demand gifting app that recently launched in Dallas. The easy-to-shop platform is all about connecting with local names to know. Open the Afloat app on your phone, and you'll discover gifts from Jojo Mommy, Nicholson-Hardie, Madison 214, and more. Send handmade jewelry from Madison McKinley, flowers from Pointer's Petals, or go all in on an Afloat gift box filled with locally made goods. With just a few taps, a thoughtful gift is on its way — delivered in Dallas the same day or next. Afloat combines the ease and swiftness of Amazon Prime with the feel-good nature of shopping local. afloat.life. Caitlin Clark GIFTING SWEET I t's time to plan a day trip to Fort Worth to check out the slew of new and upcoming exhibitions. Or, better yet, book yourself a suite at our favorite boutique hotel with a tongue-in-cheek western-chic flair, Hotel Drover in the Stockyards. A day of art and then dinner at the hotel's acclaimed 87 West Kitchen & Bar, which offers an adventurous take on American classics, sounds like a perfect formula for a weekend away. First on the itinerary is the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth's "Focus: Jamal Cyrus," which examines forgotten, ignored, or fragmentary Akagawa at Tamarind" (through October 30). This exhibition offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the creative activity in a 1960s print workshop. At the age of 25, Akagawa began a fellowship at Los Angeles' Tamarind Lithography Workshop to train as a printer. Thus began a period of collaboration with leading artists such as Herbert Bayer, Ruth Asawa, and Jose Luis Cuevas. More than 40 works of art from the Carter's extensive collection of prints created at the Tamarind Workshop will be on view. hoteldrover.com; themodern.org; kimbellart.org; cartermuseum.org. Billy Fong ART OUT WEST accounts of Black American culture (through June 26). The Houston artist has created new sculptures, drawings, and assemblages for the show that reference the "sonic territory" around the Trinity River basin — a term he uses to describe the aural and musical landscape of a region. Across the street from the Modern's beautiful Tadao Ando building, the Kimbell Art Museum presents the world premiere of "The Language of Beauty in African Art," organized by The Art Institute of Chicago (through July 31). This exhibition challenges traditional concepts of aesthetics with African masterpieces encompassing more than 200 objects gathered from public and private collections around the world. On view will be figures, masks, sculptures, and intricately crafted prestige objects from the people of West, Central, and Southern Africa who made and used them. This is the K i m b e l l 's first major show in 25 y e a r s t o focus solely o n w o r k s from Africa and includes three objects from the permanent collection: the Chokwe Chibinda Ilunga, Ife Head, possibly a King, and the Hemba Warrior Ancestor Figure. Make plans now for your final stop up the proverbial hill of art in the Museum District: the Amon Carter Museum of American Art's "Art Making as Life Making: Kinji Clockwise from left: Mbuun culture, Democratic Republic of Congo, Anthropomorphic Cup, 19th to early 20th century. Herbert Bayer, printed by Kinji Akagawa, Untitled (8 Monochromes V), 1965. Jamal Cyrus' Pride Frieze—Jerry White's Record Shop, Central Avenue, Los Angeles, 2005–17. Jamal Cyrus' River Bends to Gulf (Double Time), 2021. © ESTATE OF HERBERT BAYER / ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NY © JAMAL CYRUS, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND INMAN GALLERY, HOUSTON © JAMAL CYRUS, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND INMAN GALLERY, HOUSTON BART HUYSMANS AND MICHAEL WUYTS 26