Dallas’ Augustus Owen Foundation Announces Its Second Artist Residency — Iván Argote Will Show His Work at Dallas Contemporary This Fall

The under-the-radar art story of the season mirrors the understated and modest demeanor of its founders. The Augustus Owen Foundation was quietly established two years ago by gallerist Peter Augustus Owen and his husband, SMU grad Bradford Owen, a management/consulting exec in global-marketing supply chains. They met in Dallas in 2005, when Peter was home from Asia for the holidays, then moved together to Hong Kong in 2008 for the dealer’s art career, which to date has included the role of associate publisher of ArtAsiaPacific magazine and a PR and marketing gig for global gallery powerhouse Perrotin in Asia.

The Augustus Owen Foundation stepped into the spotlight during Dallas Arts Month last year, welcoming the first artist to their residency — an enviable arrangement boasting a studio and living space ensconced in a 5,400-square-foot Highland Park manse near Knox Street, just off the Katy Trail. Their inaugural resident, the high-profile Gabriel Rico, a Perrotin-represented sculptor and installation artist whose work is informed by Surrealism, was celebrated in a swank cocktail bash at the Hotel Swexan, then showcased in a Nasher Sculpture Center talk aligned with Dallas Art Fair, with Rico in conversation with Nasher curator Jed Morse.

This month, Venice Biennale alum artist Iván Argote alights in town for the second Augustus Owen residency. Fresh from Manhattan acclaim for his droll enormous pigeon sculpture Dinosaur along the High Line, Argote is also the artist behind the recent Wild Flowers, a figurative bronze for Katy Trail. During his residency, he will be creating work for his October 2025 show at Dallas Contemporary.

Stay tuned for an intimate artist salon series with the Dallas Contemporary launching soon. The ambitious end game of the foundation, Peter says, is “promoting dialogue through the arts and social sciences to enrich the cultural and intellectual landscape of Dallas.” 

Learn more here.