The 12.26 Gallery, run by the Fagadau sisters, Hilary and Hannah, has become a Dallas Design District staple in just three years.
As in most of the sisters’ exhibitions, the solo show by Dallas-based painter Brandon Thompson is a good introduction to an emerging artist. It’s an intimate collection of four paintings, two drawings and two small ceramic works, all highlighting this 30-year-old artist’s mischievous, colorful style.
But to see it you’ll have to travel a lot farther west than usual. “When You See Me, Make a Wish” is on display through Aug. 26 at 12.26 West, a project space that happens to be located in a converted garage behind Hilary’s house in Los Angeles.
Both sisters say the new space was always part of their plan.
“It was very important that we started here in Dallas, where we grew up, where we have ties, where we already feel very connected to the community,” Hannah says. “I think [12.26 Gallery] will always be our flagship, but we always knew we wanted to have some presence in Los Angeles.”
When they started 12.26 Gallery in 2019, Hilary was already living in Los Angeles. The sisters, who graduated from the Greenhill School in Addison, grew up in an art-centric family. Their parents are collectors and their grandmother was a private art dealer.
Both sisters have professional experience in the art world. Hannah worked in development at Dallas Contemporary and Hilary worked as the director of a Los Angeles gallery. The original plan was for Hannah to manage the business side of things, and for Hilary to curate the art. But that divide has become less clear over time.
“I think we’ve really surprised each other,” says Hannah, who has taken on more of a curatorial role than originally planned. “Hilary is a fantastic salesperson and I’ve really enjoyed stretching myself when it comes to curating.”
The Dallas gallery made a splash when it opened with an exhibition of Los Angeles-based Alex Olson and New York-based Nancy Shaver, two artists using color in interesting forms.
Since then, the sisters have established themselves as serious gallerists, signing interesting artists to the gallery, participating in art fairs and placing works in important collections.
The Dallas Museum of Art has acquired work from 12.26 by Dallas-based artists Marjorie Norman Schwarz and David Jeremiah — a big win for a young gallery.
“We’ve really tried to integrate national and local artists into the gallery,” Hilary says. “It’s been fun to be a sort of ambassador to the artists coming in from other cities.”
If the Dallas gallery has served as a way to start an artistic dialogue, the sisters see the Los Angeles space as a way to further the conversation. They think of it as a place for artists to try new ideas and tinker with scale or concept.
“It is this small jewel box space that we want to let artists do whatever they want with it,” Hilary says. “You can have a vision and I’ll let you run wild with it.”
In the case of the Thompson exhibition, that means taking his work to the West Coast and seeing it in a new environment. It shows off the Cedar Hill native’s talents as a figurative painter with a knack for creating colorful characters. In all of his work, especially his ceramics, he captures a childlike playfulness with a tinge of darkness.
One of his recurring characters is Br’er Fox, a staple of African American folk stories known for the high jinks he plays against his rival, the trickster Br’er Rabbit. Visitors to the exhibit will see Br’er Fox in the painting “Father N Son Bonding,” in which Thompson creates a scene of suburban summer. It depicts a T-ball lesson that leads to injury — a moment of violence arising from mundanity.
The fox returns in “Risk/Reward (Make ‘Em Hate),” but here we see him reflecting, via a thought bubble, on what path might take him toward financial success. Perhaps it’s a vision of him growing up. When seen together in the small space, the work allows visitors a chance to immerse themselves in the energy of Thompson’s art and see glimpses of the coming-of-age narrative he has crafted.
In September, 12.26 West will feature New York-based painter Emily Furr, who has been making small-scale watercolor works. And in the spring, the Dallas gallery will display her large-scale paintings. There are plans down the road to keep a sort of synergy between the two spaces and cities.
“Our original vision was to put local, national and even international artists into a broader contemporary art conversation in Dallas,” Hannah says. “I find it really exciting that we can bring the Texas conversation to LA.”
Details
“When You See Me, Make a Wish” through Aug. 26 at 12.26 West, hours and location provided by appointment, info@gallery1226.com. 12.26 Gallery, 150 Manufacturing St., Dallas. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday. gallery1226.com
