Jim Nolan is hard at work (work/play) on a project for the Blaffer Art Museum (University of Houston). The CentralTrak artist-in-residence is re-contextualizing his modestly-scaled sculptures in a humorous take on a sculpture park. With the addition of miniature figures from a hobby shop, Nolan's tabletop pieces are transformed into the monumental.

We've got a brand new t-shirt design at CentralTrak. Get yours now!

Modeled by artist R.E.Cox, (featured in the group exhibition "That Mortal Coil", opening this Saturday night, 8-10pm at CentralTrak)

Modeled by our resident graphic designer, Spencer Brown-Pearn (with a sneak peek at Denise Prince's photographs, which are featured in the upcoming group exhibition "That Mortal Coil")

We’re very proud to announce that D Magazine has nominated CentralTrak for Best Art Space in Dallas! Please vote for us, which will contribute to spreading the word about CentralTrak and will support our continued efforts to provide experimental and educational programming to the North Texas cultural community. Click on the hyperlinks below to check out some examples of the wonderful exhibitions, panels, and performances that we’ve hosted over the past year and some exciting upcoming events! Vote here!

Upcoming:

That Mortal Coil: Rebuking the Ideal in Figurative Art
May 11 - June 29, 2013

Texas Biennial

September 5 – November 9, 2013

Current/Past/Ongoing:

NEXT TOPIC: CentralTrak’s Ongoing Lecture Series

Ex Mus: Experimental Music Series

April 27, 2013, November 9, 2012

Failing Flat

March 9 - April 27, 2013

Painting of All Excuses

January 19 -  March 2, 2013

Co-Re-Creating Spaces

November 17, 2012 - January 5, 2013

SHEET/ROCK

July 14 - August 18, 2012

HARAKIRI: To Die for Performances

April 21 - May 19, 2012

Graduate student resident Danielle Georgiou was recently selected to represent the University of Texas at Dallas' graduate art program at Red Arrow Contemporary Gallery.

In preparation for the show, Art This Week conducted interviews with each of the 7 artists chosen for “The Best,” which opened on April 6, 2013. Check out Danielle's interview here.

The other universities represented are: University of North Texas in Denton, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Dallas in Irving, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and Texas Woman’s University in Denton. Make sure to check out this special exhibition at Red Arrow Contemporary; it's on view through May 11, 2013.

Current artist-in-residence Anh Tran (Vietnam) has big plans to complete a series of stone sculpture during his time at CentralTrak. An artist working in this old-world medium is a first for CentralTrak. Because of the incredible weight of the stone, it had to be sourced locally - not your typical trip down to the art supply store (see pics). Anh is a tireless worker and it's been amazing to watch his progress. Stay tuned for more pics!

Help Us Build a Better CentralTrak

If you are interested in donating unused items that could help CentralTrak operate and grow, please view our Amazon Wish List for examples of specific items we need. Additionally, as always, we benefit greatly from both gift cards and monetary support.

You can either send your donations to us directly (to our address listed below), or arrange to drop them off personally by sending an email to CentralTrak.ToolDrive@gmail.com with your contact information and the items you are interested in donating.

We appreciate your support,

CentralTrak

800 Exposition Ave.

Dallas, TX 75226

NEXT TOPIC: CentralTrak's Lecture Series' will kick off its spring 2013 season on Thursday, March 21, 7-9 pm. We wish to thank our outstanding Advisory Board for their generous support in helping us shape the program.

SPRING 2013:

March 21, 7-9 pm:

Artist and curator Nathan Green, artist and UTD Professor John Pomara, and artist and educator Kim Camdus Owens will discuss issues surrounding CentralTrak's current exhibition 'Failing Flat: Sculptural Tendencies in Painting,' a group exhibition of paintings that exist in a dual state of objecthood and the pictorial, featuring the work of Ivin Ballen, T.J. Donovan, Faith Gay, and Shane Tolbert, curated by Nathan Green.

April 4 , 7-9 pm:

Rebecca Carter
Artist Talk

April 18, 7-9 pm:

Fran Colpitt, Dee Mitchell, Peter Simek, Charissa Terranova
on ‘Art Writing & Art Criticism in Texas’

May 2, 7-9 pm:

Richard Patterson, Kevin Ruben Jacobs, Peter Doroshenko
on 'Creating an Art Community/Scene’

'NEXT TOPIC' is a bi-weekly lecture series at CentralTrak Artist Residency and Gallery that aims to foster critical discussions on contemporary art issues among Dallas artists, thinkers, critics, educators, theorist, and shapers across DFW area.

Artist/curator Nathan Green and artist/UTD Professor John Pomara discuss the issues surrounding CentralTrak's upcoming exhibition "Failing Flat: Sculptural Tendencies in Painting."

Failing Flat is a group exhibition of paintings, featuring the work of Ivin Ballen, T.J. Donovan, Faith Gay, and Shane Tolbert curated by former resident Nathan Green.

It is an interesting time for "painting. Everything is available and anything goes. Gone are the days of Clement Greenberg and the strict adherence to modernist notions and rigid categorization. Painters can freely mine and augment the visual languages of the past, endlessly colliding them with new methods and materials to explore the boundaries of the medium. The artists included in Failing Flat expand and explode painting into three dimensions while staying firmly grounded to a traditional support. By depicting graphic images with sculptural form, these artists create works that exist in a dual state, vacillating between objecthood and the pictorial. Though the works are in dialogue with tropes of the past, these works fail to conform to their flat ancestry. They are a testament to painting's ability to restore, reframe and reinvent itself.

Also, on Thursday, March 21, 7-9 pm, 'NEXT TOPIC: CentralTrak's Lecture Series' will host a session with curator of the show Nathan Green, artist John Pomara, and artist Kim Camdus Owens about issues surrounding the exhibition. Please mark your calendars!

opening reception, Saturday, March 9, 8 - 10 p.m.
exhibition runs March 9 - April 27, 2013

We are in the midst of planning for our spring 2013 schedule of NEXT TOPIC (lecture series at CentralTrak).

Any art scholars, practitioners, critics, or art leaders you'd like us to invite? We love to hear from you!

NEXT TOPIC with Paula Gaetano Adi - Oct 25, 2012

NEXT TOPIC with Frank Dufour & Thomas Riccio - - Oct 11, 2012

NEXT TOPIC with Brittany Ransom - Nov 29, 2012

NEXT TOPIC with Alejandro Borsani - Nov 8, 2012

NEXT TOPIC with artists & curators of "Co- Re-Creating Spaces" - Dec 13, 2012

As you may already know, CentralTrak is partnering with the 2013 Texas Biennial!

The Texas Biennial is an independent survey of contemporary art in Texas, founded to provide an exhibition opportunity open to all artists living and working in the state. The fifth edition of the Biennial will take place in the fall of 2013, with a range of exhibitions and other programming at venues in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Marfa and San Antonio. Details on the scope and format of the project for 2013 are available at www.texasbiennial.org.

The 2013 Texas Biennial Open Call for Art has begun!

Details on how to apply online are available NOW at: http://www.texasbiennial.org/open_call.html