An Insider’s Guide to Dallas Art Fair Week

With its tight-knit artistic community supported by a potent concentration of major blue-chip collectors, Dallas might be the most underrated stop on the art world calendar. Ahead of the Dallas Art Fair, director Kelly Cornell offers her top picks among the city’s world-class institutions and vibrant hospitality.

First, The Fairs

From April 16—19, the Dallas Art Fair returns to the Art District’s Fashion Industry Gallery for its 18th edition, with more than 90 galleries coming in from around the world. Cornell says she’s looking forward to newcomer James Fuentes’s presentation of vibrant landscapes by painter John McAllister: “McAllister is the recipient of the first annual Dallas Art Prize sponsored by Bank of America, so this is a very special year for him.” Priding itself as a fair with a little something for everyone, participants also include international blue-chip spaces like Perrotin and Mexico City’s OMR; Dallas’s own Conduit, Meleksitian Briggs and Cris Worley; plus newcomers like Los Angeles’s Philip Martin and the French functional art and design dealer Carpenters Workshop. 

Collectors and dealers are also looking forward to Dallas Invitational, an intimate, boutique fair founded by local gallerist James Cope in 2023. The mood is focused and collegial, where the 21 invited participants include L.A.’s Bel Ami, parrasch heijnen, and Francois Ghebaly; the bicoastal Hoffman Donahue, New York’s LOMEX, and Miami’s Nina Johnson. From April 16—18, the fair takes place at the lavish Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Italian-style 1920s estate where Rosewood hotels began.

To See

Thanks to top-tier local patronage, “Our private collections are incredible,” says Cornell, and several are taking part in the fanfare this week. The Power Station, an actual former power station that now houses collectors Janelle and Alden Pinnell’s art, hosts the unofficial kickoff party on Wednesday night. Then on Friday, the Nasher Sculpture Center, founded by the storied Raymond and Patsy Nasher, will keep its doors open until midnight, offering extended viewing of two concurrent solo shows of Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg’s three-dimensional works. The Nasher, alongside the Dallas Museum of Art and The Green Family Foundation, is conveniently located just blocks from the fair. Other stops include the Design District’s Gallery Night on Wednesday, where 15 galleries will be hosting receptions, and the Friday opening of “Francisco Moreno: Historia Sintética” at the Dallas Contemporary, curated by the brilliant Thomas Feulmer.

“Do not miss the newly opened shows at The Warehouse,” Cornell adds. Located a 15-minute drive from the fair, The Warehouse Dallas Art Foundation is a major must-see, showcasing the collections of storied veteran Howard Rachofsky and Thomas Hartland-Mackie. Led by the aforementioned Feulmer, the 18,000-square-foot storage facility is known for its rigorous programming as much as its sheer scale. On view now is curator Alexandra Terry’s “Chase a Crooked Shadow: Film Noir as Contemporary Mirror,” a 77-artist exhibition contemplating the darkness underlying America’s postwar boom, with works by Hiroshi Sugimoto, Arthur Jafa, Christian Marclay, Cecily Brown, Danh Vo, and many, many more.

To Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

The quality of cuisine in Dallas can’t be overstated. Salsa Limón, for example, a casual and unassuming spot halfway between the Fashion Industry Gallery and the Joule hotel, serves the most extraordinary burritos. For a more chef-driven experience, Cornell recommends Mirador, located on the top floor of the Forty Five Ten shops. Her favorite dining is at Mot Hai Ba in Lakewood, a 15-minute drive from the Dallas Arts District. After a long day of looking, there’s also the hifi listening experience at the newly opened nightlife spot Shyboy. “It’s in an underground space in downtown Dallas and feels like you’re walking into a James Turrell bunker,” she says. And while you’re there, “Make sure you try the soft serve—yes, soft serve ice cream—it’s delicious.”