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PaperCity April 2025 Dallas

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I 've said it before, and I'll say it again: The Power Station is cool. This art space with an intriguing name manages to exist under the radar except for an in-the-know art crowd — you know, those who stand around in black jackets that seem vintage but are actually current- season Jil Sander while drinking IPA out of the can without irony and uttering, "I like that piece … its devoid of narrative." Even The Power Station's location is cool — not the Arts District, but Exposition Park, set amongst artist studio spaces. The building where the exhibitions take place is thoroughly badass: a tricked-out renovated historic Dallas power station. Even the founders, A l d e n a n d J a n e l l e Pinnell, are hip; their home in Highland Park and personal art collection could be straight out of a Bond film. For this year's Dallas Art Fair, The Power Station has a thoroughly cool program to unveil: Will Boone's "Gulf Coast Wolf Ghost." The 40-something Houston artist will perform eight original compositions Friday, April 11, 8:30 pm, in celebration of the release of Guitar Music, by his collaborative musical project Easy Sevens, and the live show occurs in an installation featuring new sculpture. Boone's multidisciplinary art practice evolved from myriad inspirations: conspiracy theories, Elvis, roadside attractions, flora and fauna, even monster movies. His work has been exhibited at David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles; Karma, New York City; Contemporary Arts Power Performance Museum Houston; Galerie Patrick Seguin, Paris; and the Rubell Family Collection (now the Rubell Museum), Miami. The vinyl LP of Guitar Music will be available for purchase during the opening, as well as limited-edition merchandise (we're hoping for a concert T-shirt to wear under a Jil Sander blazer) with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Gulf Coast Canine Project, which tracks the genetic ancestry of wild canines living along the Gulf Coast. Through July 1, The Power Station, powerstationdallas.com. Billy Fong Nasher Prize Gala + Exhibition: Earth-Focused Otobong Nkanga H onoring a global talent's expansive vision and brilliant artistry, Nasher Sculpture Center has awarded Nigerian-Belgian sculptor Otobong Nkanga with its 2025 Nasher Prize (now bestowed biennially). In a first for the museum, the Laureate's exhibition aligns with its gala, which draws international luminati to Dallas along with our city's notable patrons for a grand art night in the Nasher garden. Another first for the honored artist — who receives a high-profile exhibition and monograph, plus a hefty $100,000 prize paired with a Renzo Piano-designed award — is Nkanga establishing a studio on site at the Nasher, forging work for her show over a three-week period in dialogue with the space. (As a Laureate, Nkanga joins a distinguished list that began in 2016, encompassing Theaster Gates, Nairy Baghramian, and Senga Nengudi, the 2023 winner.) The artist embodies the qualities of a Renaissance woman — a polymath with a challenging, multifaceted oeuvre. Although best known for sculpture and performance art, her multidisciplinary practice also includes photography, painting, installation, poetry, and music. Her international pedigree encompasses inclusion in the Venice Biennale, Tate Modern, Documenta, Sharjah Biennial, and the Castello di Rivoli, but she's not (yet) well known to American audiences. Nkanga's deep interest in the environment is reflected in the nature-based materials she employs — minerals, plants, kola nuts, salt, oils, stones, sand, water, and metals. In a 2014 interview for The White Review, she expressed the importance of connectivity between humans and planet Earth. "Everything we have, own, or possess derives from the Earth, even though it might have been transformed by artificial means," she said. Nasher Prize Gala Saturday, April 5; exhibition April 5 through August 17, nashersculpturecenter.org. Ericka Schiche with Catherine D. Anspon Left: 2025 Nasher Prize Laureate Otobong Nkanga. Below: Installation view with Otobong Nkanga's Double Plot, 2018, and Alignment, 2022 at Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterloo. WIM VAN DONGEN MARJON GEMMEKE Will Boone's "Gulf Coast Wolf Ghost" comes to The Power Station. 66

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