We’ve all heard the cliché making “lemonade out of lemons” when it came to addressing how to respond to a global pandemic. Dallas’ Talley Dunn Gallery chose to do so by launching a new program, which explores what it calls “opportunities for racial equity.” So, from July to September of the troubled year of 2020, the gallery created the Equity in the Arts Fellowship. And now, a year later, it’s showcasing the work of the inaugural three artists in an exhibition that runs through Aug. 7.
It’s an attempt to zero in on emerging Black and indigenous artists and other artists of color.
The inaugural class consists of Nitashia Johnson, Kevin Owens and Jer’Lisa Devezin, an artist from New Orleans whose work vows to address the stereotypes that befall Black women. She does a great job of showing how the ordinary and unexpected can elevate modern sculpture. In her case, she makes remarkable use of human hair.
Johnson, a multimedia artist from Dallas, uses the photographic series The Self Publication to “uplift the Black community” by showcasing “the beauty” of the men and women she chooses and the stories they tell. Her photograph, To Dream, is, to put it simply, a stunning piece, an illustration of how a human face can become its own rare work of art.
Owens, a painter from Dallas, has a background in theater, which inspired him to pay attention to “the making, the creating, the atmosphere, versus the performance aspect.” He steered his life in a new direction, moving from the stage to what he calls that “fidelity with paint, that magical aspect.”
Artists interested in applying for the 2021-22 class should, gallery officials say, check the web site, talleydunn.com, which plans to re-open the process in mid-August.
Details
The show featuring the 2020-21 class runs through Aug. 7. Free. Talley Dunn Gallery, 5020 Tracy St., Dallas. 214-521-9898, talleydunn.com.
