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By Caitlin Clark and Billy Fong. Additional reporting Catherine D. Anspon. Photography Beckley & Co., Bruno Snap The Picture, Exploredinary. (Continued on page 22) T his spring's 2022 edition of the Dallas Art Fair returned to its prime April placement and full magnitude, marking the 14th edition of arguably the top boutique art fair in America — founded by John Sughrue, alongside long-serving fair director Kelly Cornell and colleague Sarah Blagden, who directs VIP relations. The VIP preview brought together a parade of art-world grandees: collectors, artists, curators, critics, and dealers, including many international exhibitors among the fair's 88 galleries. Unquestionably, Dallas Art Fair has been the catalyst to propel Dallas into one of America's most dynamic cultural hubs. Heavy-hitting collectors and cognoscenti were out in force. The phalanx included Kenny Goss, Janelle and Alden Pinnell, Sheryl Adkins-Green and Geoff Green, Elisabeth Karpidas, Catherine Rose, and Jenny Mullen. Notable sales included the acquisition of Between, a significant canvas by Texas abstract painter Anna Membrino, as well as five Chicano-inspired works by emerging Fort Worth talent John Miranda from Dallas' Erin Cluley Gallery. Mexico City's Saenger Galería, returning for its second time at the Fair, reported robust sales, including a $44,000 wall piece by Mark Hagen, as well as buyers for works by Eduardo Sarabia, Víctor Rodríguez, Robert Janitz, and Javier Peláez. An important 1965 painting by American artist Yvonne Thomas, as well as a 1951 work by rediscovered Ab Ex painter Perle Fine, and Dorothea Tanning's 1968 ink and watercolor Fête Champêtre were among the art-historical gems finding new homes. Besides the flurry of collector acquisitions, the Dallas Art Fair Foundation Acquisition Program, now in its sixth year, continued, gifting this spring 10 artworks selected by DMA curators and fund donors from among the artists exhibited. Social canvas: Representatives of the night's three museum beneficiaries, the DMA's Anna Katherine Brodbeck, the Dallas Contemporary's Carolina Alvarez-Mathies, and Nasher Sculpture Center's Jeremy Strick; Joyce Goss; Megan and Brady Wood; Jessica Nowitzki (husband Dirk Nowitzki toured the fair that weekend); art adviser John Runyon; Deborah and John Scott; Muffin and John Lemak; artists Darryl Ratcliff of Ash Studios and Arthur Peña; Gregg Asher and David Martin; Lucy Wrubel; Evita Tezeno; Madison Chase; and in from Charlotte, North Carolina, NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, whose wife, exhibiting dealer Chandra Johnson, brought her SOCO Gallery to the fair. A rt FAIR FETES The scene at Eye Ball Jeny Bania at Eye Ball Catherine Cornelius at Dallas Art Fair Vito Cammisano Josh Ayres Jessica Was at Eye Ball Jeremy Strick William Hathaway at Dallas Art Fair Cece Smith & Ford Lacy at Dallas Art Fair Becca Rogers Quisenberry at Eye Ball John Sughrue, Kelly Cornell Sarah Blagden at Dallas Art Fair 20