{"id":523905,"date":"2026-01-18T00:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T00:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/523905\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T00:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T00:04:16","slug":"new-space-new-shows-mark-conduit-gallerys-latest-chapter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/523905\/","title":{"rendered":"New space, new shows mark Conduit Gallery\u2019s latest chapter"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a celebrated local history of over 40 years, most recently on Hi Line Drive in the Design District and before that in Deep Ellum, Conduit Gallery<\/a> has become one of the most established galleries in town and a bulwark of the Dallas art scene. \u201cWhen I started Conduit, Dallas thought art was impressionism,\u201d says founder Nancy Whitenack. \u201cSince then, we\u2019ve watched a very healthy contemporary art scene develop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitenack started Conduit after teaching in Dallas ISD for 13 years. \u201cBy the end, I was ready for a change,\u201d she says. \u201cI moved into a warehouse and essentially taught myself. I remember sitting upstairs by a heater that first winter, trying to come up with a name. Conduit made sense: something that connects artists\u2019 work to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, the gallery has consistently steered its own course, embracing unorthodox and unconventional work in preference to ephemeral trends. More than any particular style or school, this determination to go one\u2019s own way is a common thread among the gallery\u2019s 36 artists<\/a>, of whom 28 are displaying work in the shows that open its new location. <\/p>\n

The new space, directly in front of the Trinity River levees and the miles of open space<\/a> behind them, lends a feeling of fresh air to the ambient surroundings. That feeling continues, figuratively speaking, on entering the gallery, which is situated across the hall from fellow stalwart Cris Worley<\/a>, in the high-ceilinged space that formerly housed the late, lamented Holly Johnson Gallery<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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Compared to the old space on Hi Line, the new gallery includes more small walls that allow for presenting a single artwork on its own, says gallery director Danette Dufilho, who has been at Conduit since it was on Main Street above the Undermain Theatre.<\/p>\n

\"Kirk<\/p>\n

Kirk Hayes’ 2025 oil-on-signboard work “The Self Mocking Painting” features an unassuming figure rendered in a blocky, simplified style, with heavy helpings of a fleshy pink that recalls Philip Guston and Carroll Dunham.<\/p>\n

Conduit Gallery<\/p>\n

Hung in the front rooms are seven paintings on signboard by Kirk Hayes of Fort Worth, a Conduit artist since 1997. Most of these works portray an unassuming figure rendered in a blocky, simplified style, with heavy helpings of a fleshy pink that recall Philip Guston and Carroll Dunham<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"Kirk<\/p>\n

Kirk Hayes’ 2025 oil-on-signboard work “Edge Sitting in Pink” is featured in the exhibition at Conduit Gallery.<\/p>\n

Conduit Gallery<\/p>\n

Bald, in button-down shirt and trousers, and with a face covered in Band-Aids, Hayes\u2019 anti-hero busies himself with various tasks: arguing with his shadow, stabbing a knife into the space between his fingers, wearing a plaster \u201cdeath mask\u201d or sitting on the edge of a black void. Each painting\u2019s title, such as The Self Mocking Painting and What I Desire I No Longer Believe, is handwritten across the top, providing a further interpretive clue.<\/p>\n

Like the stories of a great stand-up comedian or songwriter, Hayes\u2019 episodes can elicit a range of responses from different perspectives, whether identification with the hapless protagonist or relief not to be in his shoes. The biggest strength of Hayes\u2019 work, though, is his astounding use of trompe l\u2019oeil, a French term for the optical illusion that here makes it hard to believe the masking tape and plywood on Hayes\u2019 surfaces are not what they seem (they are, in fact, made of paint). <\/p>\n

The physical thickness of Hayes\u2019 paintings (both the paint itself, and the board underneath) gives them a considerable visual weight. That, along with the trompe l\u2019oeil technique, creates an overall enigmatic aura, as if a viewer\u2019s mind isn\u2019t quite sure how to categorize the piece. <\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/p>\n

Robert Jessup’s 2025 acrylic-on-canvas work “Robinwood 58” is included in Conduit Gallery’s “Phase Four” exhibition.<\/p>\n

Conduit Gallery<\/p>\n

In the spaces toward the rear of the gallery is \u201cPhase Four,\u201d an assortment of works in which 27 of Conduit\u2019s other artists are represented. Looking along the rows of artworks, I could sense the passage of time. I could hardly believe how many years I\u2019ve been coming to Conduit (though still less than half the gallery\u2019s life so far), or how long many of the artists have been with the gallery. <\/p>\n

Among the pieces in \u201cPhase Four\u201d is a large painting from the Robinwood series of Robert Jessup, who has had 19 solo shows at Conduit since 1993 and is one of four artists to have been with Conduit since its beginning. There is also an abstract work by Marcelyn McNeil (five solo shows at Conduit since 2011), as well as works by Annabel Daou and James Sullivan, both of whom had work in Conduit\u2019s first show at Hi Line Drive in 2002.<\/p>\n

Such long-term commitments between artist and gallery, never to be taken for granted, allow a viewer\u2019s eye to develop over time \u2014 to really get to know an artist\u2019s work in a way that any single exhibition can\u2019t accomplish. Although a visual artwork can be taken in all at once, as opposed to, say, a novel or symphony, it still encodes the passage of time, both in the hours spent making it and the years of experience that shape its creator\u2019s mind. Nothing demonstrates this better than repeatedly coming back to an artist\u2019s work over a period of years.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, such consistency is grounded in the solidity of the gallerists who shape Conduit\u2019s vision. \u201cIt\u2019s always been a team effort, from curating and exhibition design to cleaning, packing and shipping,\u201d says Dufilho, adding that the team now includes a \u201cyoung, whip-smart\u201d new associate, Karina Coscia Cedillo \u2014 one of numerous reasons to be optimistic about Conduit\u2019s next 40 years.<\/p>\n

\"Marcelyn<\/p>\n

Marcelyn McNeil’s 2025 oil-on-canvas work “Woodsy with Green” is included in the “Phase Four” exhibition at Conduit Gallery.<\/p>\n

Conduit Gallery<\/p>\n

Details<\/p>\n

\u201cKirk Hayes: New Paintings\u201d and \u201cPhase Four\u201d continue through Feb. 14 at Conduit Gallery\u2019s new location, 1845 E. Levee St., Suite 100, Dallas. Free. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 214-939-0064. conduitgallery.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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\"The<\/a>Residents question public art for Dallas\u2019 new police training academy<\/a><\/p>\n

City cites ordinance that requires the projects for capital improvement projects. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With a celebrated local history of over 40 years, most recently on Hi Line Drive in the Design…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":523906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,18465,979,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,5548],"class_list":{"0":"post-523905","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-design-district","11":"tag-galleries","12":"tag-texas","13":"tag-tx","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa","20":"tag-visual-arts"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115913180584843911","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}