Love Texas Art, a gallery that opened in downtown Fort Worth last spring, has announced it is closing at the end of May. This follows the closure and relocation, respectively, of two other galleries — Dang Good Candy and Bale Creek Allen Gallery — which were located on Houston Street in Sundance Square, a 37-block area of downtown owned and operated by Ed and Sasha Bass.
Margery Gossett and Ariel Davis opened Love Texas Art in March 2022 as an extension of Artspace111, an established gallery located at the northeast edge of downtown Fort Worth. Mrs. Davis told Glasstire that the vision of the new space, which functioned as an extension of Artspace111, was to show works by Texas-based artists, most of whom were unrepresented by galleries. The space was meant to function as a gallery, a lounge, and a shop with artworks for sale at a range of prices. Being centered in a more frequented part of downtown, Love Texas Art saw a wider range of visitors, including young adults, families, and many people who do not frequent art galleries.
According to Love Texas Art, since opening the gallery has presented nine exhibitions, including Bernardo Vallarino’s solo exhibition The Butterfly Case, showcased works by more than 100 local and regional artists, seen more than 20,000 visitors, and paid over $75,000 to local artists through sales revenue. While the gallery saw many successes, some challenges it faced included the general lack of awareness of downtown parking and the amount of time and energy it takes, combined with the financial viability, of launching a new space. With the one-year lease ending shortly, Ms. Gossett and Mrs. Davis have decided to close the space rather than renew the lease.
In an announcement, Mrs. Davis stated, “Opening Love Texas Art and realizing the idea of a project space, which included a gallery and artist residency, in such a public space has been a joy. We were successful in supporting a diverse range of artists and were intentional in showing approachable yet unexpected works. We connected with a new audience and felt an overwhelmingly positive response to the gallery. We invite all those who enjoyed the work at Love Texas Art to continue to explore works by Texas artists at our sister gallery, Artspace111.”
In the last few years, Ms. Gossett and Mrs. Davis have partnered on a number of consulting projects through Artspace111. Recently they have formalized this partnership under the title One Eleven Art Consultants. Their services include project management, curation, and installation.
Ms. Gossett remarked, “We have an opportunity to grow our passion of helping individuals, corporations, and developers by listening to their specific needs, connecting them to artists, and expanding their vision with the addition of art.”
While Mrs. Davis expressed the bittersweet nature of closing the space, she also explained, “I think what is exciting to me [about consulting] is being able to work with individuals, developers, and corporations that have budgets… I think the difference is that instead of waiting for someone to come through the door and see a piece and fall in love with it, and pay the artist a portion of the sale, I can come to an artist and say, ‘I have a $10,000 budget.’ And that’s a big difference.”
Love Texas Art is hosting a Grand Closing Party on Friday, May 26, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Attendees must RSVP for the event. The final day to visit the gallery is Sunday, May 28, 2023. Learn more about the gallery via the Artspace111 website.