Heckerling Institute

I spent the last several days in Florida at the Heckerling Institute for Estate Planning Professionals.   This conference has been a yearly event for over 50 years and draws most of the heavy hitters in the field.  The speakers are the best in the field and are lined up back to back. 

The vendor room was overflowing with auction houses, charities and service providers for estate planning attorneys.   Bank Trust Officers and Estate Attorneys are important clients for us.  So, much of the time was spent networking.  But there were also a few good information-packed lunch-and-learn sessions hosted by Chubb Insurance.   Laura Doyle (Chubb VP in Personal Risk Services) spoke on the state of the art market, the influx of new types of buyers, and how best to protect collectors’ art.  This involves looking at every aspect of the collection’s needs… proper display, security, appropriate pre-insurance valuation, collection management, transportation and storage, as well as appropriate levels of insurance.  

Laura Doyle with Chubb, presenting on collector's art needs

Kathryn Norris (Chubb VP –Family Practice Leader) spoke about the unique needs of family offices for high net worth families.   Both presentations were well attended and chock full of timely information.   With incredible January weather and the heady mix of attendees, this conference was a winner. 

Brenda

CADD Happy Hour

Last Thursday I attended the third-Thursday CADD Happy Hour.  CADD is the association of Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas, a group that includes some of the best galleries in town.  CADD hosts regular free and low-cost events to introduce current art to new collectors.  I highly recommend getting involved.  Last Thursday’s happy hour was jointly hosted by Cris Worley Fine Art and Holly Johnson Fine Art. 

My favorite artist from this show is Ruben Nieto.   Ruben adored comic books as a kid and has begun to incorporate some of that imagery into his paintings.   The paintings are a fusion of intensely colorful, swirled backgrounds with abstractions of such characters as Popeye, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc.   Nieto gave a short artist’s talk about his working process and how Lichtenstein had been an influence on his work.   Don’t get your mind set on broadly outlined cartoons with benday dot patterns, though.  Nieto’s approach is fresh and his work much less graphic than Lichtenstein.  

The shows are open now.  Take some time and go see them.   Levee street and the nearby neighborhood have become a gathering spot for good contemporary galleries.  Great way to spend a Saturday afternoon…

Brenda

Gallery Hopping in Dallas

In between projects we do our best to keep an eye on the local art scene and catch as many exhibitions as we can.  Texas has wonderful galleries that are showing everything from emerging artists to the established blue chip big hitters.  I was in Dallas yesterday and an appointment of mine fell through, so I took the opportunity to stop by galleries and catch a few shows.

Isabella du Toit’s show TRUCE at Cris Worley Fine Arts
I was able to get an early peek at the show that will open tomorrow, Saturday the 18th, and run until December 30th. 

"Markhor and Snow Leopard"  |  "Wolf and Fox"  |  "Snails and Ibis"

Snippet of the show’s description: Isabelle du Toit’s finely detailed oil paintings of birds, insects and mammals, found on a stark deep background enhances the isolation and the fragility of these creatures. The artist starts each painting on a highly smooth and ground canvas, as to masterfully capture each stroke. Then, each animal is studied in the same academic manner as a biologist or ecologist. With each tuft of hair, vein, and patch of skin, all are meticulously captured in oil paint. The ever-present spotlight on her subjects both elevates their status, yet simultaneously alludes to an impending sense of encroachment. Within her work, Isabelle revels the overwhelming importance of animal conservation, and her desire to inform viewers about the vulnerability that many of these wild animals face.

Isabelle du Toit’s paintings in Truce hit a wonderful trifecta for art aficionados; there is the predator-prey commentary, animal lovers will instantly connect with the subject matter, and fans of photo-realism will marvel at her insanely detailed work.

I particularly enjoyed the predator-prey relationship in each painting.  An Ibis standing calmly while snails crawl on its beak and up its leg.  A wolf and a fox cuddled up next to each other.  A ram and a snow leopard staring out at the viewer, as if to ask what the big deal is. 

This is du Toit’s seventh time to show at Cris Worley Fine Arts. 

BUILDERS group show at Circuit 12 Contemporary
I stopped by Circuit 12 and was able to catch the gallery's owner, Dustin Orlando, who was kind enough to give me a tour through the current show. 

"Loud Speaker" by Katie Bell

Snippet from the shows description: Builders brings together artists Katie Bell, Matt Kleberg, Keith Allyn Spencer, Marilyn Jolly, Alex Ebstein and Brad Tucker. Through traditional and expanded modes of painting, these artists consider building a crucial element of their process. Paintings peel and bulge off the wall, or recede into illusionistic spaces of the surface. Their works focus on the formal, but they often allude to moments of narrative, wit, and humor. Each artist acknowledges tropes of abstractionists throughout history, while forging their own visual language within the contemporary dialogue of painting.

""Rebuilders 1" and "Rebuilders 2" by Alex Ebstein  |  "Fingers" by Brad Tucker

Circuit 12 is always a fun stop for me because they represent and show emerging and mid-career artists who really have innovative approaches to the mediums they are working in; including new media works.  During my tour of the show, Dustin mentioned the gallery is planning a show of solely new media pieces in the near future.

I really liked the hand-cut yoga mat pieces by Alex Ebstein, they are fun and whimsical works that are a commentary on the artist’s relationship with her body and the world around her.  I also liked the large site-specific installation work by New York artist Katie Bell.  All her work is done with found objects she gets from around the site she will be assembling them; her work questions material as our visual language, why we discard it, and how we construct and build structures around us.

Builders runs through the end of November. 

JOHN ADELMAN - DRAWING: ATTN at Holly Johnson Gallery
My last stop was to catch John Adelman’s show at Holly Johnson Gallery.

"Malicious Mesasoma"  |  "Mycose"  |  "Mismetre"

Snippet from the show’s description: In Drawing: Attn Adelman continues to explore the material qualities of ink. Accumulative and compulsive, his compositions are strictly defined by a series of rules the artist sets for himself.  The works are diverse in scale, subject, and resources, and all created in a formula driven manner. The use of gel ink and the excessive layering of it produce rich, luxuriant surfaces transcending the utilitarian material. With his use of unconventional materials and his meticulous method, Adelman's work could easily be dismissed or overly simplified, if it weren't for the understated beauty in the results.

Before I saw this show, I already liked it; I am a fan of an artist prescribing a set of rules for a series.  When I did see the show, the pieces did not disappoint.  They reminded me a lot of Emil Lukas’ thread works – the pieces pull you in the same manner, making you get up close to see just what is actually happening on the surface. 

"42225 nails"  |  "28677"  |  "38307 nails"

Drawing: Attn is up until December 23rd.

Three great shows; go see them while they are up!
Now, it’s back to the office and the stack of appraisals that need to be completed.

-M.P. Callender

The Ninth Annual Dallas Art Fair

This was the ninth year for the Dallas Art Fair (DAF), and it is evident the art world wants a slice of what Dallas has to offer.  I say it each year – this fair is a great opportunity for both collectors and art aficionados to see and purchase some of the best in modern and contemporary art from all over the world.

This year the Fashion Industry Gallery, which has hosted the fair since its inception, welcomed over 90 galleries; a third of those galleries were exhibiting for the first time with DAF.   

"No. 73, 2017" by Derek Fordjour, selected by the DMA through the Acquisition Program

The allure of the fair, and its strength to pull in galleries and artists from all over the world, is a combination of things; just the right mix of integral elements mingling together to make a powerhouse event.  One of those elements is the DAF’s connection and collaboration with the Dallas museums.

Last year the fair announced the Dallas Art Fair Acquisition Program.  In association with the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA), the program gifted DMA $50,000 to purchase work by artists exhibiting at the fair.  This year the program doubled, utilizing a $100,000 budget to purchase works by artists Katherine Bradford, Derek Fordjour, Justin Adian, Andrea Galvani, Matthew Wong, and Summer Wheat.

Gavin Delahunty, the Hoffman Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art, led the group that selected the artworks purchased through the program again this year.  “In what was a exciting afternoon with DMA colleagues and our generous donors, we acquired seven works by six outstanding artists,” Delahunty stated.  “The selection reflects the outstanding quality of work at the fair this year and its increasingly global attitude.” 

The city itself is another key element; Dallas is a city committed to the arts.  Important collectors, prominent Museums, and the local galleries supporting the fair by attending year after year, shows Dallas as an art community dedicated to establishing the city firmly on the map of art world hot spots.  That dedication and loyalty is why the DAF has been, and will continue, to be such a success.

"Dessert Buffet" by Robert C. Jackson

"Scattering Ashes, 2017" by Miles Cleveland Goodwin

I have to visit some of my favorite galleries every year, one of them being Gallery Henoch.  The New York based gallery represents some of the best realist artists currently working; paintings by Eric Zener, Janet Rickus, and Robert C. Jackson are among my personal favorites.

Valley House Gallery had a bigger space this year than in the past, showcasing works by the wonderful selection of artists they rep; pieces by Sederic Huckaby, Valton Tyler (who currently has a solo show at the Amon Carter Museum), Bart Forbes, and Miles Cleveland Goodwin – who just recently joined the Valley House roster – among others.

Alan Stone Projects, out of New York, had a whole wall of original Wayne Thiebaud works.

Wayne Thiebaud wall!

With over 200 art fairs a year, the DAF has established itself as a worthy stop on the competitive global fair circuit.  The loyalty of local galleries and collectors, and the growing number of international dealers attending each year, point to the fair’s pulse on the evolving contemporary art market.

We here at Signet couldn’t recommend this fair enough, fantastic show we are lucky to have in our town.

-M.P. Callender

Signet Art Goes to CVAD - Again!

In late March the Signet Art team went to The University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design (CVAD) to speak with an Art and Business Class.

The senior level course, taught by Lauren Cross, is designed as an, "introduction to how art, business and economics intersect in a variety of settings, both for-profit and non-profit."  Signet Art was asked to come speak as a business that does everything from art appraising and art consulting, to pre-purchase advise and brokering art at auction.  

Brenda giving her introduction

Brenda Simonson-Mohle, our owner, founder, and appraiser, spoke first and told of her journey in the art world; from getting her degree in art, working in galleries, establishing Signet Art in 1987 and growing it into the business it is today.

Taking questions from the students

Matthew Callender, our Vice President of Operations and a UNT alumni, spoke second and told of how he started out at Signet Art; first hired to answer phones, schedule appointments, and write blogs, and now - six years later - is the V.P. and is being trained and groomed as an art appraiser by Brenda. 

After the initial talks, there was a great Q&A time.  Students were able to ask questions and get answers and insights on the retail art world, which was a lot of fun!

This class is a wonderful opportunity for students who are looking to work in the business side of the art world.  We at Signet Art were delighted to be invited to talk and be a part of CVAD's vision to equip students with what they need to be successful once they graduate.