Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1535713
T he 17th incarnation of the Dallas Art Fair has left us a bit winded, given the whirlwind of parties. Anyone who's familiar with art fairs (especially Art Basel's numerous international offerings, Frieze, and the Armory) knows that a frenzy of acquisitions normally happens within moments of the VIPs (Very Influential Purchasers) arriving. Then, over the course of the weekend, the gawkers — those hoping to get a glimpse of the gazillionaires perusing booths — are offered admittance via purchased tickets. The Dallas Art Fair follows that format, with a VIP preview benefit on Thursday and public perusing through Sunday. But, as the profile of our hometown fair iteration has grown, so has the "week" of events. In fact, April now has been dubbed Arts Month. More than 90 Texas, national, and international exhibitors curated the stars of their stable at Fashion Industry Gallery in a high-energy, high-stakes art convergence orchestrated by the fair's longstanding dream team: co-founder John Sughrue, fair director Kelly Cornell, and VIP relations director Sarah Blagden. All art eyes were on Dallas, and the fairgoers, gallerists, and artists rose to the occasion. Robust Artapalooza Five Days + Nights in Dallas By Billy Fong and Melissa Smrekar, with Catherine D. Anspon. Photography Exploredinary, Chase Hall. sales went down, with seven works by six artists added to the Dallas Museum of Art's permanent collection as part of the ninth Dallas Art Fair Foundation Acquisition Program, an innovative initiative that to date has funded $965,000 of recent works joining the DMA's contemporary collection. The chosen artists' creations and their gallerists reflected the global ambitions and reach of this fair: Sanlé Sory (Yossi Milo), Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka (Patel Brown), Fu Xiaotong (Alisan Fine Arts), Tina Girouard (Anat Ebgi), Eduardo Sarabia (OMR), and Eri Imamura (Turner Carroll Gallery). Our itinerary that week overflowed with events, beginning with Wednesday night's triple fare: the opening of "George Condo: Selections from the Karpidas Collection," Design District Gallery Night, and the Monitor Street Block Party. Thursday afternoon, Nasher Sculpture Center hosted an artist talk with Iván Argote. The Paris- based Colombian artist, in town for a residency at the Augustus Owen Foundation, discussed his recent work, including a buzzy NYC High Line hyper-realistic sculpture of a giant pigeon cast in aluminum, and Wild Flowers, a series of bronzes that transform fragments of historical statues of public figures into monumental planters, installed along Dallas' Katy Trail. (Continued) Ekaterina Kouznetsova Sarah Blagden, Kelly Cornell John & Marlene Sughrue Jay Wilkinson, Tony Green Joyce Goss KJ Moody, Miguel of Dallas, Jessica Taylor Stephen Abernathy 67