West Dallas Sculpture Park Provides an Oasis in a Rapidly Changing Neighborhood

The West Dallas group show "Looms" encompasses both the triumph and tragedy of what art can achieve in a gentrifying area.Walking into the show at Sweet Pass Sculpture Park, a 1-acre park near Trinity Groves, transports the viewer away from the urban core and into a reverent, contemplative state. It's a green refuge from the crush of high-rise apartment complexes being built around it.Humming throughout is the sound sculpture A Composition in Parts by R. Eric McMaster and Danny Clay, a reminder that sound can indeed be architectural and that this open space without any walls creates its own lovely chapel.Sweet Pass Sculpture Park, founded by Tamara Johnson and Trey Burns, is an artist-run, outdoor exhibition space featuring emerging and midcareer artists. The show was curated by Partial Shade, a nomadic project organized by Rachael Starbuck, Michael Muelhaupt and Jesse Cline, who worked with 12 talented artists from across the United States to create a thoughtful exhibition highlighting the varying mediums of contemporary sculpture.   Continue reading...