The Ultimate Recap of All of The Dallas Art Fair 2023 Parties

The 15th edition of Dallas Art Fair has left us all a bit winded. Open any art-world publication of late, and all proclaim that the pandemic is over and that fairs — a major component of the multi-billion-dollar global art market — are back IRL and in full swing. Anyone who is familiar with fairs (see also Art Basel’s numerous international offerings, Frieze, and the Armory) knows that they generally open on a Thursday or Friday, and the frenzy of sales generally happen within moments of the VIPs (Very Influential Purchasers) arriving. Then over the course of the weekend, the gawkers (those hoping to get a glimpse of gazillionaires perusing booths and disposing of their disposable cash on contemporary art) are offered admittance via purchased tickets.

The Dallas Art Fair follows that format, with a VIP Gala Preview on Thursday and public access through Sunday. But, as the profile of our hometown iteration has grown, so has the “week” of events. Granted, the entire month of April has been dubbed Arts Month, but DAF parties began occurring the weekend before. For that entire week, many I encountered shared that on some evenings, they were making multiple stops to give multiple air kisses at multiple receptions taking place all around Dallas. See? Winded.

First off, here’s some exciting news about this year’s fair: 90 exhibitors (up from last year’s 88) from around the globe brought in works to show at Fashion Industry Gallery and reported robust sales. Planning for DAF generally begins immediately after the closing of the previous year’s event by the team of John Sughrue, founder; Kelly Cornell, fair director; and Sarah Blagden, VIP relations director, and obviously their efforts paid off this year. We spent hours at the VIP opening, checking out the booths featuring well-known artists, as well as many up-and-coming. We caught up with old friends including Marlene Sughrue, who wore a gorgeous Silvia Tcherassi halter-style blouse and palazzo pants with abstract waves in fuchsia, red, and burnt orange while she worked the capacity-filled space alongside her husband, John. Some of the trends, in terms of art, included a return to figurative painting and portraiture, Surrealism and humor, and connections with nature. We were also pleased to see a notable amount of works by female artists of color and LGBTQ-identifying artists.

The official schedule of programs put out by the Dallas Art Fair began on Tuesday with a few options including the opening of “Maternity Leave: None of Women Born,” presented by the Nicodim Gallery and the Green Family Art Foundation at the Atelier Apartments in the Arts District. The show explored advances in technology and genetic engineering and women’s roles as “mother” in a society where birth is outsourced or inorganic. Artists on view included Ángeles Agrela, Dominique Fung, Loie Hollowell, Devin B. Johnson, Sung Hwa Kim, Alicja Kwade, Tali Lennox, Jessie Makinson, and Alice Neel. Meanwhile, on that same evening, Jed Morse, chief curator at the Nasher Sculpture Center, conducted a talk with sculptor Nic Nicosia on the tree-lined Katy Trail about his newly installed work The Twins, part of the Nasher Public and Katy Trail Art programs.

Other highlights of the week included “Talk of the Town,” a pop-up exhibit at NorthPark Center that focused on artistic interpretations of womanhood; a pop-up installation and book launch celebrating the work of late artist and poet John Giorno, presented by art gallery Morán Morán at The Joule; the unveiling of Tulsa-based sculptor Rachel Hayes’ site-specific work Round the Bend, made from the artist’s signature diaphanous textiles (reminiscent of Christo and Jeanne-Claude) at Klyde Warren Park; and a panel discussion hosted at the Nasher Sculpture Center on the importance of museum acquisition.

That week, the fair also announced the 13 artworks that were added to the Dallas Museum of Art’s permanent collection as part of the seventh Dallas Art Fair Foundation Acquisition Program, an annual gift from the Dallas Art Fair Foundation. That initiative has funded $775,000 for the DMA’s permanent collection to date. Chosen artworks were by Chelsea Culprit (Morán Morán), Uuriintuya Dagvasambuu (Sapar Contemporary), Karla Diaz (Luis de Jesus Los Angeles), Freya Douglas-Morris (Alexander Bergguen), Michael Dumontier & Neil Farber (Patel Brown), Riley Holloway (Erin Cluley Gallery), Yifan Jiang (Meliksetian | Briggs), Yowshien Kuo (Luce Gallery), Masamitsu Shigeta (12.26), and Nishiki Sugawara-Beda (Cris Worley Fine Arts).

The dozen or so parties that we attended that week included the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art luncheon hosted by Annemarie Dillard Jazic, Annika Cail, Amanda Shufeldt, and Christen Wilson at Sassetta. The Bentonville-based museum announced a major exhibition of legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz that will feature new, never-before-seen works alongside iconic works from the past decade.

Headington Companies pivoted this year and, instead of hosting their annual Eye Ball presented Eyeboretum, a three-day, all-ages affair with an imaginative garden experience. From futuristic reflective gardens to a hyper-preppy pink cafe and Surreal vegetable patches, the walk-through event turned a traditional arboretum stroll into a trippy, more artful direction. Headington also threw a reception dubbed the Penthouse Party on Saturday night in the former Mirador space on the top floor of Forty Five Ten. The invitee mix included local and international curators, artists, and collectors.

Finally, your PaperCity team held its own art opening, vis-à-vis office party, with paintings by William Atkinson, who attended with his wife, Jacquelin Sewell. Many sold while we chatted up friends and swilled tequila.

Not to miss was the Champagne Lallier dinner held on the penthouse level of The Joule. The evening kicked off with a cocktail hour before guests entered the space centered by a large tree installation. The menu paired dishes created by the hotel’s executive chef, Mat Urban, with a curation of wines directly from Lallier’s portfolio.

Saks Fifth Avenue hosted a pop-up shopping experience as part of their top-client program, Saks Limitless. On Tuesday and Wednesday, clients were invited to shop from a selection of luxury merchandise inside the private penthouse suite at The Joule. For a private dinner, Saks partnered with the Dallas Contemporary in celebration of the museums spring exhibitions.

It would be impossible to list everyone encountered that insanely busy week, but to name a few: Art advisors John Runyon, Nick Campbell, and Ashley Tatum; collectors Jessica Nowitzki, Muffin Lemak, Zoe Bonnette, Christen and Derek Wilson, Karla McKinley, and Janelle and Alden Pinnel; from the fashion world, Forty Five Ten colleagues Dianna Miller, Robin Wilkes, Anne Wallach, Jordan Jones Muñoz, and Kyle Branch; chair of Booker T. Washington’s 2023 Flyinghorse Gala Lisa Moore; Klyde Warren Park president Kit Sawers; Meredith Land of NBC 5 News; Park House’s Deborah and John Scott and Megan and Brady Wood; Fort Worth Modern curator Andrea Karnes; designer Doniphan Moore; recent West Coast transplant Kasey Lemkin; Channing Henry; Claire Grant; Kim Whitman; Nancy and Jeremy Halbreich; Peggy Sewell; and Missy Peck.