DALLAS TO CELEBRATE POP ART MOVEMENT WITH RED BULL ART OF CAN
55 Innovative Works of Art on Display at Galleria Dallas July 31 – August 22

DALLAS, TX – There is no question that Dallas is a buzz over the increasingly sophisticated, diverse and growing local arts community and that there are more patrons of the Dallas arts than ever before. With an exciting summer upon us, the Red Bull Art of Can exhibition is a must see. The exhibition will feature more than 50 unique pieces - a wide variety of art made from recycled cans, digital media, paint and more. The free and open to the public exhibition opens July 31 and runs until August 22 at Galleria Dallas.

What will you see in the Dallas collection? A life size racing airplane, an old world style painting, a baby bull, a ball gown and much more. The Red Bull Art of Can competition challenges artists to construct pieces created with or inspired by the iconic Red Bull cans. Innovative artists – professional and amateur – submitted their designs for consideration. The featured artists are creative types of all ages and occupations – from medical professionals to high school students and fashion designers to classically trained artists.

A COLORFUL CANVAS

The aluminum offerings in Dallas guarantee not just diversity and variety, but edge and excitement. Local Dallas finalist Hai Nguyen created some buzz with his cascade of migrating birds in flight. "The Art of Can exhibition gives everyone, whether they are a full time artist or not, the opportunity to showcase their work to thousands of people and meet other artists and art lovers in their community,” Hai said.

THE EXPERT OPINION

With this much talent on hand, a distinguished judging panel was brought in to help sort through the array of submissions and determine which pieces earned a coveted pedestal in the exhibition. Their decision was based on the overall creativity, execution and construction of each piece. Dallas’ judges include:

Michael Cain is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Dallas Film Society. Cain is an award winning producer/director with more than 50 commercials and music videos to his credit. His documentary, TV JUNKIE, received the Special Jury Prize for Documentary Excellence at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Cain is currently in production on THE STARCK PROJECT, a portrait of the infamous Dallas STARCK Club.

Brad Oldham is a nationally recognized sculptor with the mind of an engineer who enjoys creating artistic, useful pieces. In 2009, Oldham introduced The Traveling Man, a $1.4 million sculptural series, which has been dubbed by media as a new “hallmark” for Dallas.

Gail Saschson is an integral part of the Dallas art world and has been for over thirty years. Saschson created ASK ME ABOUT ART, which offers lectures, writings, tours, program planning and consultation in the arts. She is the Vice-Chair of the Cultural Affairs Commission, a member of the Dallas Public Art Committee and a representative on the Board of Directors of a myriad of art organizations, such as Booker T. Washington High School and TITAS.

Jason Sheeler is Style Editor for FD Luxe, the monthly luxury lifestyle magazine of The Dallas Morning News. The Parsons grad began his career in New York City where he worked as an accessories designer at high-end labels Marc Jacobs and Jill Stuart. With a keen eye for both fashion and frugality, Sheeler brings a fresh and often cheeky perspective to Dallas fashion coverage. When he isn’t busy at FD Luxe, Sheeler moonlights at local radio station Mix 102.9 with a weekly segment highlighting fashion deals and steals.

Tammy Theis is a fashion stylist and has been a writer for the award winning Fashion!Dallas section of The Dallas Morning News since 1985, where she covered the local fashion beat and reported on the New York, London, Milan and Paris collections each season. In July 2009, she opened Wallflower Management, a boutique model agency in Dallas.

Bob Wade is a university art professor and the past recipient of three NEA grants, which included biennials in Paris, New Orleans and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. His collections reside in Chase Manhattan Bank, AT & T, The Menil Collection, and the Austin Museum of Art.

The judges will also award special honors to the top three artists/pieces including the grand prize all-expenses-paid trip to Art Basel, the world’s leading modern art exhibit in Switzerland. Second place receives tickets for two to Art Basel Miami, while third place takes home a specially customized local art experience. These three winners will be announced during the private opening on Friday, July 30. The public will also have a chance to designate a “People’s Choice Award” by casting votes at the exhibit and online at www.redbullartofcan.com.

Galleria Dallas is located at 13335 Dallas Parkway in Dallas and the free public exhibition runs July 31- August 22. For more information, visit www.redbullartofcan.com.

Myra Walker, Director and Curator of the Texas Fashion Collection in the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design, has officially signed on as curator of the Red Bull Art of Can exhibition appearing at Galleria Dallas this summer.

In addition to her work at UNT, Myra Walker was guest curator for the 2009 fashion exhibition Yeohlee: Design for Now at the Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, Texas. Walker served as curator of a major fashion exhibition at the Meadows Museum of Art entitled Balenciaga and His Legacy: Haute Couture from the Texas Fashion and published a book of the same title for Yale Press, UK. Since 2006, Walker has organized exhibitions at Fashion on Main in downtown Dallas that focus on historical and contemporary aspects of fashion.

Since 1999, Walker has been the featured guest curator for exhibitions at the Kimbell Art Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She is a member of the Costume Society of America and the American Association of Museums.

“I am thrilled to be invited to be guest curator for the Red Bull Art of Can project. Fashion is a great metaphor for artists to explore in mixed media," says Walker. "The use of the Red Bull graphics and recycled cans inspires creativity and ingenuity . The aluminum is very pliable and can be made to look soft or rigid.”

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