In the aptly named Design District, dozens of unique, small galleries are open and practically uninhabited each week.
“You get a front row seat [for] no money — these artists are bringing it here,” says Nancy Whitenack, who works at the Conduit Gallery in the district. “People don’t know what they’re missing.”
On Saturday, the Conduit launches two brand new exhibitions: one by Soomin Jung, a mixed-media illustrator from San Antonio, and another featuring panoramic photographs by Jeff Baker, originally from Dallas but now living in New Mexico.
Jung’s exhibition, Home, marks her third solo showing at Conduit, this one featuring 33 dreamlike landscape drawings and paintings. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Jung based this collection of work on her travels as a child, where she saw unique slices of life as the daughter of a Korean military officer. The landscapes come together in a distinctive color scheme, one that manages to be as saturated as it is muted, creating a paradox of sorts. Most were created with colored pencils on paper, but some feature watercolor, too.
Soomin Jung's "Honeysuckle Berries."
Courtesy of Conduit Gallery
Captured over a two-year period in New Mexico, Baker utilized a high megapixel panoramic camera to shoot sprawling southwestern scenes vertically. He then print-stitched the photos together on Photoshop and printed them horizontally, creating a series of mammoth pieces that could take up an entire wall.
We spoke to Baker about a few of the pieces over the phone, ahead of the unveiling on Saturday. His photo, titled "La Virga," struck us most. The piece was taken on the Taos Plateau, printed and hand-framed in a 30.5x48.5” by Baker himself.
Jeff Baker's "La Virga."
Courtesy of Conduit Gallery
Baker says moments like that have to align for a photographer to best replicate their exact point of view in a single image.
“I’m always trying to make sure that in the image, the color feels like it felt to me when I saw it,” he says. “I always had the camera in the car. It’s not like, ‘I’ll go shoot the landscape today.’ It’s about the weather, it has to all be happening at the same time. It’s being prepared to be lucky and being meditative and reactive at the same time. Danette describes it as a sort of martial art.”
He’s referring to Dannette Dufilho, director of the Conduit Gallery for 25 years and one-half of a Dallas arts power couple with her husband and prolific musician, John Dufilho. We briefly caught up with Dannette during the transition between the previous show, which was an exhibition of intricate labyrinthine drawings by David Canright, and the installation of Baker's and Jung’s work. Her enthusiasm was palpable as she continued to parade us around the room after it had been closed for 15 minutes.
“It does feel like the Dallas art scene not only has a lot to offer, but is thriving,” she says.
She’s right — every day in Dallas, dozens of free art galleries open their doors for just a small handful of consumers who know about them. In 2007, a number of the galleries, including Conduit, formed the Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas, a nonprofit that organizes gallery day events with walkable maps between the galleries and created a scholarship for Booker T. Washington graduates.
“It’s always our mission to bring as many people into the Dallas art scene as possible," says Dannette. "It's free, engaging, friendly, and in all the levels, from the museums to private collections, it's world-class.”
The new exhibitions at Conduit open on Saturday, June 14, with a free reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m., where both artists will be in attendance. The showcases run through August 9.
