In Tessa Granowski’s imagination, fine arts, car culture, cinema, rock ‘n’ roll and literature coexist harmoniously. The former “Hockadaisy” is blending these disparate elements in a charming single-story bungalow on Sale Street, the site of her new gallery, Nature of Things.
The former co-owner of the New York outpost of Brackett Creek Exhibitions, Granowski returned home to create a dream space she hopes will become a gathering spot for the cool and curious of Dallas. Drawing its moniker from a poem by Lucretius, her 1,000-square-foot gallery opens on April 10 with an homage to “the bad boy of art criticism,” Texas writer and gallerist David Hickey.
Hickey’s short-lived but influential Austin gallery, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (which gets its name from a Hemingway short story), inspired Granowski’s first show. It draws heavily from Hickey’s stable, including work from musician Terry Allen and Armadillo World Headquarters poster artist Jim Franklin.
“To me, [Hickey] was the most interesting and relatable arts writer I’ve read,” Granowski explains. “He broke open this art bubble of circular knowledge that feeds on itself and doesn’t go anywhere.”
Hickey, who died in 2021, was known for penning memorable essays about everything from the Carpenters’ music to Robert Mapplethorpe’s photography. This mix of subjects may seem hard to unpack, yet Hickey’s outlaw spirit inspires the work Granowski is showing and the types of events she hopes to bring to her new space.
Just like Hickey, she’s allowing artists to do their own thing, mixing the work of newbies like Sam Linguist with beloved local figures like David Quadrini and Bale Creek Allen. She also brings books into the mix with a selection from Brandon Kennedy’s 00ps b00ks project.
Granowski plans to install an art car by Big Al Bartell in the backyard and host Texas-centric film nights with screenings of the 1974 documentary A Poem Is a Naked Person (about musician Leon Russell) and David Byrne’s 1986 musical comedy True Stories.
“I just want there to be a lot of depth,” she explains of her vision. “Under everything you turn over, there will be something else. In my head, [the space] isn’t for the collectors; it’s for the college kids who are lost and don’t know what cool is. We can make a fun time in a weird place, but there has to be these connecting forces to bring these communities together to make things happen.”
Details
“A Clean, Well-Lighted Place: An Homage to Dave Hickey” will be on view at Nature of Things from April 10 to May 31 at 2921 Sale St. The gallery is open every Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. natureofthings.xyz.
