Dallas Museum of Art Presents Its 2021 Awards to Artists

May 24, 2021May 26, 2021 Staff Report 0 Comments GIVINGPEOPLE

The Dallas Museum of Art announced its 2021 Awards to Artists recipients Monday morning.

This year, 12 artists received one of three awards: the Clare Hart DeGolyer Memorial Fund Award, the Arch and Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund Award, and the Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant. All of the recipients this year are from Texas; eight are based in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, two in Austin, one in Houston, and one in San Antonio. Dr. Leigh Arnold, associate curator at the Nasher Sculpture Center, served as this year’s guest juror.

Francis Almendárez, *Rhythm and (p)leisure*, 2014/2019, 8-channel video installation, variable dimensions. Originally commissioned and produced by Artpace, San Antonio. Photo by Seale Photography Studios.

“We are honored that for over 40 years Awards to Artists has been supporting exceptional artists in our community at pivotal moments in their practice and career,” said Dr. Vivian Li, the DMA’s Lupe Murchison curator of contemporary art. “We are thrilled to continue our support of dynamic artists exploring new directions in their art around central themes, including the environment, race, gender, and the effects of the pandemic.”

The DeGolyer and Kimbrough funds will primarily support the acquisition of materials for the development of new, ambitious bodies of work. Projects and activities include the establishment of a risograph press, the purchase of essential photography and video production equipment, dedicated studio space to realize new work, and jewelry-making material, as well as painting and printmaking supplies that will allow greater artistic pursuits. The Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant will support travel to Miami and Puerto Rico to observe plazas, parks, and markets as sites of community and exchange; the Southwest to visit border communities for reflections on immigration, identity, and belonging; and cave systems in Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas to observe these sites of aesthetic, social, and cultural formation. The artists’ practices span the breadth of contemporary art today, encompassing photography, sculpture, installation, video, painting, and digital art.

Erika Suárez, *Tiny Asleep in Mami’s Bed*, 2019, digital transfer print, 24 x 18 in. Courtesy of the artist.

The three 2021 Clare Hart DeGolyer Memorial Fund Award recipients:

Logan Larsen
Christopher Liu
Kyle Penner

The six 2021 Arch and Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund Award recipients:

taylor barnes
Ari Brielle
Rebekah Hurst
Casey Leone
Erika Suarez
Colton White

The three 2021 Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant recipients:

Francis Almendárez
Carlos Donjuan
Erika Jaeggli

Ari Brielle, *Altar (self)*, 2020, gouache and acrylic on panel, 40 x 36 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Awards to Artists grants have been awarded to more than 300 recipients, many of whom have gone on to successful careers within North Texas and across the country.

DeGolyer artists include Diedrick Brackens, Jeff Elrod, and Robyn O’Neil. Kimbrough artists include David Bates, Kelli Connell, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Sedrick Huckaby, Lawrence Lee, Melissa Miller, Michael Miller, Erick Swenson, and Xiaoze Xie. Dozier artists include Helen Altman, Scott Barber, Julie Bozzi, Joseph Havel, Stephen Lapthisophon, Katrina Moorhead, John Pomara, and Ludwig Schwarz. Over the years, the DMA has acquired works from many of the artists who have received awards from the DeGolyer, Kimbrough, and Dozier funds.

Chris Schanck, a recipient of the DeGolyer award in 1994, is the subject of the exhibition Curbed Vanity: A Contemporary Foil by Chris Schanck, on view at the DMA through Aug. 29, 2021. For a Dreamer of Houses, on view until July 4, 2021, features the work of four past recipients: Misty Keasler, Annette Lawrence, Francisco Moreno, and Robert Pruitt.

Erika Jaeggli, *Flesh & Bone: Stalactite*, 2021, raw pigment, ink on fabric, and found concrete, 120 x 72 x 12 in. Courtesy of the artist.

The Museum’s annual awards were established in 1980 by the Clare Hart DeGolyer Memorial Fund and the Arch and Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund to recognize exceptional talent and potential in young visual artists who show a commitment to continuing their artistic endeavors. The two funds have awarded over $610,000 to artists since their founding.

Created in 1990, the Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant honors the memory of Dallas artists Otis and Velma Dozier, who strongly believed in the enriching influence of travel on an artist’s work. The grant seeks to recognize exceptional talent in professional artists who wish to expand their artistic horizons through domestic or foreign travel and is awarded to professional artists at least 30 years of age who reside in Texas. Since the fund’s development, the Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant has given over $190,000.