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A rtist Francisco Moreno gained serious accolades when he participated in the first annual Soluna Festival in Dallas, which debuted in May of this year. Followers of the festival may have seen Moreno's performance piece, WCD (Washington Crossing the Delaware), which was shown in a Trinity Groves warehouse. If they did, they certainly will remember it. The work featured a 1975 Datsun 280Z painted with oil enamel that was driven in "donuts" in front of a huge, similarly painted acrylic piece that conveyed an angular, explosive texture. One reviewer compared the roaring auto and background to a Holy Communion for muscle car brethren. In any case, the oil, smoke and ritualistic prancing paid off handsomely and Moreno shared the limelight with internationally known artists, including heavy-hitting Pipilotti Rist and Alex Prager. Fast forward to September 2015. In celebration of gallerist Erin Cluley's one-year anniversary, Moreno has covered the expansive walls with works in diverse materials and styles that rebel against codification of any sort — except the size and shape of the canvases. Each piece is displayed in a 36 x 48-inch format with curved corners. Some are a confection of multicolored scalene triangles; others shimmer with a mirrored surface or op art sensibility, and still others are dubbed dip paintings. The latter are especially spectacular; they're made by submerging works into 20 gallons of household paint and installing them on a frame that allows them to dry in ways that create a knobby surface. What happens next is the game changer. One piece, Dip Painting No. 5, is punctuated with a black curve insinuating an Eastern motif. Other works are engaging siblings that resonate with a mark or tear in the surface that makes them especially fascinating. Gallery material promises that the project embraces "multiplicity, materiality, creativity, change and exploration." It does, indeed. Cluley has once again accomplished the impossible: She has staged a show wherein a remarkable number of paintings are sold prior to the opening. During my viewing, one buyer was positively distraught that a work he coveted had already been bought. "How committed is the buyer?" he demanded. Beaming, Cluley said, "The money's in the bank!" This kind of success is nearly unheard of, but she seems to have the magic touch. Or golden, as the case may be. M oreno's capacity to create a huge number of works makes him a good match for Cluley. The artist was born in Mexico City in 1986 and received an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from the University of Texas at Arlington. He has also garnered prestigious scholarships and awards and has been exhibited widely in New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Massachusetts. "Slates" was developed from the artist's well-known Painting Debt works, an ongoing series of small, modular works that were sold at an affordable rate to pay his student loans. Macho cars and monetary smarts — the man has mojo. But the affordable prices? They've been ratcheted up, and appropriately so. "Slates," through October 17 at Erin Cluley Gallery, 414 Fabrication St., 214.538.1148, erincluley.com. Patricia Mora FRANCISCO MORENO HIGH AT Francisco Moreno's Dip Painting No. 5 (1b, 1r, 1b, 1r), 2015 Francisco Moreno's No. 2 Compressed Diamond Stack, 2015 PHOTOGRAPHY KEVIN TODORA. COURTESY THE ARTIST AND ERIN CLULEY GALLERY. F ounded by Sister Parish and Albert Hadley, the legendary Parish-Hadley Associates design firm (1962-1999) remains one of the most fabled names in interior design. Parish and Hadley and their phalanx of acolytes produced stunning environments for families with soaring taste and budgets to match. Rockefeller, Kennedy, Getty, Astor, Whitney, Mellon — you get the idea. A new book out this month, Parish-Hadley Tree of Life: An Intimate History of the Legendary Design Firm by Brian McCarthy and Bunny Williams (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $60), chronicles the firm's founders and 30 of its most talented alumnae, featuring room after room of Parish-Hadley hallmarks such as buttery leather sofas, ornate mirrors, fringe, Oriental urns, leather-jacketed books and ottomans the size of small foyers — confections that require a deft touch and nerves of steel to pull off. The most renowned designers who graduated through Parish-Hadley's rank and file include the authors themselves, Brian McCarthy and Bunny Williams, as well as David Kleinberg, Mariette Himes Gomez, Harold Simmons, Thomas Jayne, William Hodgins, David Easton and Thom Felicia. The designers detail personal experiences working at the firm, along with images illustrating how their rooms were shaped by the august firm. PARISH-HADLEY TREE OF LIFE: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF THE LEGENDARY DESIGN FIRM BY PATRICIA MORA The designers' stories in the book are great fun, and the photographed views of Park Avenue apartments are achingly tasteful. Parish-Hadley Tree of Life is mind candy for those whose hearts race while strolling through decorative centers. Author and designer Brian McCarthy began his career as assistant to Albert Hadley in 1983; four years later, he was promoted to full decorator, and in 1989 he became a partner at the firm. In 1992, he opened his company, Brian J. McCarthy Inc. Brian McCarthy will be in town Thursday, October 15, at Dallas Design District Fall Market. Keynote is noon at ID Collection showroom, with book signing to follow. McCarthy is also a presenter for the PaperCity Dallas Design Awards that evening, 6:30 pm, Dallas Design Center Event Space. To RSVP to noon keynote at ID Collection, events@ dallasdesigndistrict.com; info about Awards evening, 214.698.1300 or events@dallasdesigndistrict.com. Bunny Williams, Albert Hadley in a room Williams decorated for the Kips Bay Decorator Show House MARIA QUIROGA Author Brian McCarthy NYC drawing room of Diana Quasha, Parish-Hadley WILLIAM WALDRON Parish Hadley offices 1989. Standing, from left: Brian McCarthy, Albert Hadley, Libby Cameron, David McMahon. Seated, from left: Gary Hager, Sister Parish, David Kleinberg.