We found out yesterday that House of Dang is leaving us, and now its next-door neighbor is going too. And/Or Gallery owner Paul Slocum is moving to New York this fall and closing his East Dallas gallery. “I kind of feel like I’ve reached some limits on what I can do in Dallas,” he said.
That is, it’s not profitable. Slocum opened And/Or Gallery on Bryan Street near Peak over three years ago. Since then, he’s put on some good shows and exposed artists from all over the place. But the Dallas art market is limited, he says. “The gallery didn’t really make enough to sustain itself, and most of our sales were to people outside of Texas,” he said.
For his “final show,” Slocum plans to release all of the gallery’s financial records and juxtapose them with the finances of the Dallas Museum of Art, the Dallas Contemporary and the Mac. “I just feel like the Dallas art scene is out of balance,” Slocum said. “A lot of people have been disappointed that we’re leaving, so we wanted to show them why we’re leaving.”
More after the jump.
Slocum is planning to focus on his own art and join a writing group, and he’s working on a plan to open a gallery in Brooklyn.
And/Or Gallery’s next-door neighbor, House of Dang, also is closing its doors. Owners Doug Voisin and Andrew Bayer are ducking out of the retail business and moving to Oak Cliff to focus on their clothing line, which also is called House of Dang. Bayer says the new studio at 411 N. Tyler St. will have a small showroom for sales by appointment only, and they’ll still have room for their legendary parties and movie nights.
Speaking of which, House of Dang and And/Or Gallery are throwing a double going away party on July 24.
