Dallas Museum of Art Acquires 12 Pieces from the Dallas Art Fair, Including Works by Three Texas Artists

Yesterday, the Dallas Art Fair and the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) announced the museum’s acquisition of 12 artworks from the 2023 fair.

L: Chelsea Culprit, “Self-Pollinating Androgyne Dreamsicle Covers the World in Yes(es) and Possibilities,” 2023, oil on canvas. 84 x 74 inches. Courtesy the artist and Morán Morán.
R: Karla Diaz, “Torera (bullfighter),” 2023 (from the El Corrido series), watercolor and ink on paper, 18 x 24 inches. Courtesy the artist and Luis de Jesus Los Angeles.

The purchase was funded by the Dallas Art Fair Foundation Acquisition Program, an annual gift from the fair and donors that supports the acquisition of contemporary works for the DMA’s permanent collection. Since 2016, when the acquisition program was established, the foundation has funded $775,000 of art for the museum. This year’s grant of $100,000 was used to acquire works by Texas artists Riley Holloway, Nishiki Sugawara-Beda and Yifan Jiang. Additionally, of the 12 total works purchased, half were from artists represented by Dallas-based galleries. See the bottom of this story for the full list of artists whose pieces were acquired.

L: Yifan Jiang, “Pelican,” 2022, oil on canvas, 72 x 60 inches. Courtesy the artist and Meliksetian | Briggs.
C: Riley Holloway, “Records on Repeat,” 2023, oil on canvas, 64 x 46 inches. Courtesy the artist and Erin Cluley Gallery.
R: Masamitsu Shigeta, “Interior Flower,” 2023, oil on shaped canvas with oak frame with door, 26 x 20 inches. Courtesy the artist and 12.26.

Records on Repeat, a new painting by Dallas-based artist Riley Holloway, is a classic example of the artist’s work, featuring a moment between two figures with text providing context for the unfolding narrative. Four panels were acquired by Japanese-American and Dallas-based artist Nishiki Sugawara-Beda, who was awarded a DMA Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant last year. Each of the long vertical pieces is created with Sumi ink on paper and is representative of a season.

L to R: Nishiki Sugawara-Beda, “KuroKuroShiro Kami CI (winter),” 2021, Sumi ink on paper mounted to fabric. 76.5 x 21 inches; “KuroKuroShiro Kami CII (spring),” 2021, Sumi ink on paper mounted to fabric. 76.5 x 21 inches; “KuroKuroShiro Kami CIV (autumn),” 2021, Sumi ink on paper mounted to fabric. 76.5 x 21 inches; “KuroKuroShiro Kami CV (summer),” 2021, Sumi ink on paper mounted to fabric. 76.5 x 21 inches. Courtesy the artist and Cris Worley Fine Arts.

The acquisition of Out in the Open, an illustration-style painting of animals at sea, by collaborative artists Michael Dumontier and Neil Farber, speaks to another work in the museum’s collection, The Minotaur by Marcel Dzama. Mr. Dzama previously worked with Mr. Dumontier and Mr. Farber and other artists as part of The Royal Art Lodge, a collaborative group of Winnipeg artists active from 1996 to 2008.

L: Yowshien Kuo, “True Westerners for One Strange Hour,” 2023, acrylic, bone ash, glitter, and plastic on aluminum, 60 x 60 inches. Courtesy the artist and Luce Gallery.
C: Uuriintuya Dagvasambuu, “Portrait Vignette: Healing,” 2022, acrylic on canvas, 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches. Courtesy the artist and Sapar Contemporary.
R: Michael Dumontier & Neil Farber, “Out in the Open,” 2023, acrylic and ink on MDF, framed, 45 x 63 inches. Courtesy the artist and Patel Brown.

At the press preview, Dr. Anna Katherine Brodbeck, the DMA’s Hoffman Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, noted, “The acquisitions made at this year’s Fair are perhaps the most expansive yet, representing our commitment to expanding representation in our collection from artists of the Asian, Latin American, and African diaspora. From Dallas to Mongolia, these artists respond to our challenging contemporary moment with humor and beauty, reinventing art historical traditions, creating alternative worlds, and challenging our preconceived notions of divisions based on identity.”

The works were selected by Dr. Brodbeck along with Dr. Vivian Li, the DMA’s Lupe Murchison Curator of Contemporary Art; Dr. Nicole R. Myers, the DMA’s Interim Chief Curator and the Barbara Thomas Lemmon Senior Curator of European Art; and a group of fund donors. The full list of artists whose work was acquired includes: Chelsea Culprit (acquired from Morán Morán), Uuriintuya Dagvasambuu (acquired from Sapar Contemporary), Karla Diaz (acquired from Luis de Jesus Gallery Los Angeles), Michael Dumontier & Neil Farber (acquired from Patel Brown), Riley Holloway (acquired from Erin Cluley Gallery), Yifan Jiang (acquired from Meliksetian | Briggs), Yowshien Kuo (acquired from Luce Gallery), Masamitsu Shigeta (acquired from 12.26), and Nishiki Sugawara-Beda (acquired from Cris Worley Fine Arts).