Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/686208
Move Over, Dragon, We'll Take Monitor: As a reminder that the Design District is so much more than Dragon Street, venture to Monitor for a trio of dealers who define the promise of Texas artists. (All three offer works with price points under $5,000.) Ree Willaford's Galleri Urbane rolls out "Girls Just Wanna … ," confronting the issue of parity in the art world in the best way: by underscoring talent in a women-only show. Among the lineup of 13, Dallas-based Samantha McCurdy issues a futuristic take on Lee Bontecou's feminist portals (through June 18) … Also presenting a show about a woman, this time with a camera, Liliana Bloch Gallery serves up the minimalist constructed streetscapes of Leigh Merrill, one of the most promising Texas artists working today in any media. Part Edward Hopper, informed by Agnes Martin and with a hint of de Chirico, Merrill's reductive aesthetic goes beyond trends and is as good as it gets (though June 18) … Rounding out the Monitor lineup, Brian Gibb's The Public Trust continues with a radical concept — presenting a single and singular work that demands viewers' complete contemplation — in the ongoing series, "Soliloquy." See Chicago-based, Texas-reared Jason Salavon (through June 18), accompanied by a multiple sampled from The Simpsons. The previous iteration invited Trenton Doyle Hancock, who unveiled a mammoth painting in his Mounds saga, as well as new editioned sculpture that is an odd and compelling object, accompanied by an 8-by-8-inch painting. The multiple Mound in a box, 15 in the set, priced at $15,000, is already on collector lists. Back to the 17th Century + Notable at the Nasher: Museum bounty traverses the centuries. Begin with the rediscovered painting trio The Brothers Le Nain at the Kimbell Art Museum. Their circa-1630s and -1640s canvases feature subjects Bernie Sanders would condone (through September 11). Then leap to the 21st century at the Nasher Sculpture Center with Swiss-born Mai-Thu Perret's fictionalized feminist collective The Crystal Frontier (through July 17), with June 2 and 4 performances at the museum connected to Soluna Music & Arts Festival. More art, papercitymag.com. Catherine D. Anspon Art Notes O n the heels of its 50th anniversary celebration, NorthPark Center adds a wealth of new stores this summer. Warby Parker — the purveyor of super-chic specs that arrived in town two years ago on North Henderson — opens a NorthPark boutique this month. But August is when the center really heats up, with a plethora of openings. Designer Tory Burch opens the first Texas location of her athletic label Tory Sport, with performance wear inspired by '70s fashion, plus gym bags, sneakers, headbands and other accessories. Chocolatier Kate Weiser unveils her third eponymous dessert shop of hand-painted chocolates and other sweet confections, following upon the success of her Trinity Groves flagship and expansion into Plano. Lululemon's sister store Ivivva Athletica opens with its full run of sporty gear designed for girls. Iconic resort- wear brand Lilly Pulitzer breezes into NorthPark, stocking clothing and accessories for women, men and children. MiniLuxe, the Boston-based nail and waxing salon known for its clean aesthetic and posh polishes (Gucci, Chanel), opens its fourth Texas location. And, much to the delight of every woman who covets its trend-driven collections, Zara opens a second Dallas location in the two-story space that formerly housed Forever 21. For up-to- the-minute deets, click papercitymag.com. northparkcenter.com. Linden Wilson NorthPark's NEXT The Dallas Museum of Art's redesigned north entrance, dubbed the Eagle Family Plaza, is the ideal environment for chic idling in the Dallas Arts District. Designed by Dallas-based firms Studio Outside, Hocker Design Group and Morrison Dilworth + Walls, the sleek new main entrance has a steel façade, wood decking and a manicured lawn anchored by British artist Rebecca Warren's sculpture, Pas de Deux (Plaza Monument) — her first piece commissioned for display in the U.S. The commanding contemporary work serves as the first in a series of rotating pieces that will grace the grassy space. For plaza noshing, head to the recently opened Socca, a Mediterranean eatery developed by James Beard Award- nominated chef Sharon Hage. The best part? The modernist spot is just a hop across the street from Klyde Warren Park. Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St., 214.922.1200, dma.org. Linden Wilson Inside OUT Rebecca Warren's Pas de Deux (Plaza Monument), 2016, at the DMA's new Eagle Family Plaza A fter two decades and two locations, gallerists Missy and Burt Finger have pulled ahead of the pack with a new Design District spot for their respected Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery. This spring, the gallerists jumped from a sea of Dragon Street dealers to a truly prime place directly across from the Dallas Contemporary — 3,800 square feet designed by architect Thomas Krähenbühl. Among the power couples of the Texas photo world, this adroit pair is internationally known for their take on modern and contemporary photography. As members of the platinum- standard organization — The Association of International Photography Art Dealers — they annually exhibit in AIPAD's spring show (moving to NYC's Pier 94 in 2017). They're also guest reviewers for FotoFest, and Burt served as an appraiser during Antiques Roadshow's 2015 season. The Fingers' vision has always been original and unexpected. In the lens of PDNB throughout the decades has been everything from pin-up pics by the late Bunny Yeager (who influenced Cindy Sherman) to annual shows of shoeshine kits presented alongside vintage images of the men who plied that trade; American legends such as Bill Owens, Michael Kenna, Jimmy and Dena Katz, and Nickolas Muray, who early on photographed Frida Kahlo; Texas notables Keith Carter, George Krause, Peter Brown and Earlie Hudnall Jr.; and internationals such as contemporary Russian photographers (discovered during Burt's trip to Moscow as a FotoFest reviewer in 2011), Spanish Surrealist Chema Madoz, and Latin masters including the classical Mario Algaze and Esteban Diaz's aerial world informed by a Gulliver's Travels perspective. Now on view is a doubleheader: Stuart Allen's exploration of space and light, "Bubble," paired with FotoFest 2016 headliner Brad Temkin's look at the green movement observed through rooftop gardens in the U.S. and Europe (both exhibitions, through June 18). Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery, 154 Glass St., 214.969.1852, pdnbgallery.com. Catherine D. Anspon FRESH FOCUS: PDNB On Glass Street L ittle pockets of must-visit restaurants and retail dot the city, but lately the oft-overlooked Sylvan Thirty neighborhood has been thriving. Just south of Trinity Groves in the Oak Cliff borough of West Dallas, the mixed-use development is home to chic residential lofts, a Sync Yoga studio, Cox Farms Market (a natural foods store stocking fresh produce, everyday groceries and nutritional necessities), ramen restaurant Ten, Italian grocer CiboDivino Marketplace and Austin import Tacodeli, which opened in October. (Their breakfast tacos are divine.) Get your French fix at the new Whisk Crêpes Café, where owner Julien Eelsen and his team whip up the savory treats. And, keep an eye out for Austin-based java haunt Houndstooth Coffee — which also has a location on North Henderson — to open soon. sylvanthirty.com. Linden Wilson The Right Side of Thirty CiboDivino Marketplace Burt and Missy Finger Leigh Merrill's Pink, 2015, at Liliana Bloch Gallery Trenton Doyle Hancock's Mound #1 the Legend, 2015, at The Public Trust COURTESY THE ARTIST AND LILIANA BLOCH GALLERY COURTESY THE ARTIST AND THE PUBLIC TRUST Tory Sport opens in NorthPark Center. DON NETZER PHOTOGRAPHY