To truly understand what makes Dallas so appealing to visitors and locals alike, we decided to take an up close look at the work and inspiration of three unique artists who live, work, play, and create in Dallas. Their art is a remarkable showcase of their personal experiences as well as a beautiful example of the creativity being nurtured in this diverse and ever-evolving city.
BROOKE CHANEY
Brooke Chaney ย ( https://www.madexmom.com ย ), also known as MOM, is a contemporary artist living and working in Dallas, Texas. In 2012, she graduated from the University of North Texas with a BFA concentration in Fibers. Through that program, she was inspired by many mediums, but the one that made the most impact on her was screen printing. With that experience she eventually found interest in other decorative apparel methods like heat transfer vinyl. The flat opaque sheets of vinyl both layered and puzzled together were the catalyst for her current art, abstract hard edge landscapes and dreamscapes.
Brook Chaney
When and why did you decide to make Dallas your home?
Iโve lived in the Dallas area for over 30 years as it is where I grew up. Before becoming a professional artist, I never gave much thought to where I lived. Now that I am here, starting my art career, Iโm thankful. Dallas has a vibrant and expansive art culture that Iโve been able to contribute to in a multitude of ways including public art and muraling over the past four years. ,
When did you first realize that art would be your calling and passion?
Art is an integral part of my life. Iโve always had a passion for creativity and specifically for visual art. I think the first time I ever felt like it was my calling, and not just an interest, was when I declared art as a major in college. By that point, I had widdled down my life-long list of extracurriculars including various performing arts and sports like volleyball, tennis, soccer, classical piano, theatre, and orchestra. To dedicate myself for those four years to art, felt like a no brainer; there were no other options.
Are there specific artists that have influenced you the most?
With the internet at our fingertips, Iโve been exposed to and influenced by countless artists over the years. Most recently and intentionally, Iโve been looking toward Giorgio De Chirico, for his surreal sense of light and perspective and Reine Paradis, for her immersive, surreal scapes featured in her self-portrait photography. The aesthetics of each artist greatly differ, but they possess sensibilities that I try to achieve in my own work: surreal landscapes that explore time, dream, and memory.
Point of Entry, Latex on wood by Brooke Chaney
PASSPORT readers love to explore museums and galleries when they travel. What art venues in Dallas would you recommend, and what makes them special to you? Is there a true โhidden gemโ?
If you want to experience local art I would recommend the 500x gallery or any of the cultural centers [Latino Cultural Center, Oak Cliff Cultural Center, South Dallas Cultural Center, Bath House Cultural Center] around Dallas. These spaces have consistent and frequently free programming featuring local artists and cultural events. The 500x gallery is special because itโs an artist-run gallery. Iโve met a wealth of artists and others in this space and participated in my first art show as MOM there. I can definitely attribute the beautiful community I met there with aiding in my personal and professional growth as an artist.
A number of cities have Art Events such as the Washington Square Art Show in New York City and the Open Studios in San Francisco where the public is invited to meet local artists. Does Dallas have something similar?
Dallas hosts large events like Dallas Art Fair and The Other Art Fair Dallas where you can see a multitude of new art and artists at once, making for an accessible experience. Smaller and more intimate opportunities are available as well like the Cedars Open Studios and Art Walk West, where you can meet the artists and see their working space.
What personal projects and/or exhibitions are you working on currently?
Iโm currently working on a small canvas series of experimentally simple and bare compositions. Many of the works in progress feature holes or openings through which the sky can be seen in an otherwise closed or tight environment. In most of my work, I tend to plan a piece until the point of completion, then I start to paint. This series is an exercise in play in which I start a painting without a plan for its end. Through this exercise I intend to gain distance from perfection or expectation through a looser and more open process.
MOLLY SYDNOR
Molly Syndor
Molly Margaret Sydnor ( www.mollysydnor.com ) ย is a Dallas-based multidisciplinary fine artist with an eye for bright colors and textiles. Molly creates interactive work through storytelling and the layering of imagery. Utilizing a maximalist approach, Sydnor pulls from memory, experiences, and body functionality. Her work explores the complexities of gender, race, and sexuality. Sydnor is a biracial, neurodivergent, queer identifying woman whose self-identity heavily influences her work. In addition to her artistic endeavors, she works as a Marketing and Digital Engagement Manager for a local museum.
When and why did you decide to make Dallas your home?
In 2015, I came here for a job. I was a rug designer for 6+ years and changed my career during the pandemic to marketing. Iโve slowly built a large community here between art, CrossFit, and the queer community. Being in Dallas for almost a decade now feels so surreal.
When didย you first realize that art would be your calling and passion?
My mom might have a different answer to this question since I was always showing my artsy side in forms of messing up the house. But for me, after essentially creating my whole life, art didnโt become more than just a passion until I got diagnosed with a heart condition in high school and saw my future athletic career end. Instead of going to college for sports, I quickly transitioned to my other love, art.
After the Rain, woven textile by Molly Syndor
Are thereย specific artistsย thatย have influencedย youย the most?
Way too many to mention!!! But I am a huge fan of Kara Walker and the Haas Brothers. As far as influence, I really love to look at a wide variety of famous and not famous work. I have also gone to Art Basel for eight years, as well as enjoying my full-time role at a museum and the perks of visiting art museums for free!
PASSPORT readers love to explore museums and galleries when they travel.ย Whatย art venues in Dallasย wouldย you recommend, and what makes themย special to you?ย ย Is there a trueย โhidden gem?โ
The Nasher Sculpture Center is always my go to, and not just because I work there. One of my favorite things about the Dallas scene is when all the galleries sync up openings! As far as hidden gems, Daisha Board Gallery never disappoints.
What personalย projectsย and/or exhibitions are you working on currently.
Iโm working on furthering a concept I started last year called โStill Fruity.โ I soft launched it at Art Basel this past year and it went really well. The work is soft sculpture, quilts ,and ceramics currently. Itโs about being queer in the south. Iโve also been working on a book about being biracial, and have a residency coming up in Greece in 2025!
WILL HERON
Will Heron (wheronart.comย ), who also goes by the street art mononym โWheronโ works in a variety of mediums, including large-scale spray paint murals, pen & ink paper illustrations, and hangable, free-standing 3D epoxy sculptures covered in rhinestones and resin. His current works around the city are stylized black-and-white, spacey, surrealist cactus. He thinks of his works as giant, public-facing pen drawingsโฆbut in mural form. He loves to use the cactus as the subject inspiration for many of his art works because different prickly pear species are native to the Black Land Prairies of North Texas and have magical, resilient properties that he thinks symbolically represent many Queer Texans who are also rooted in the ecosystems of North Texas.
Will Heron
When and why did you decide to make Dallas your home?
I was born and raised in Dallas, so Iโm a Texan through and through. After graduating from a small liberal arts college in North Texasโincluding internships with arts non-profits in both Washington D.C. and Costa RicaโI decided to return to my roots in Dallas, Texas to start my adult art career in hopes of creating murals for the city I love so much. One of the main reasons I chose to stay in Dallas was two-fold: its thriving art community and its thriving LGBTQ+ community, two communities that were shaping the Dallasite I hoped to become. I started teaching high school art at a West Dallas high school in 2011 by day, while at night working on my personal art portfolio using the moniker โWheronโ seeking out public art opportunities outside of my nine-to-five teaching gig. By 2021, I was making enough money and getting wonderful opportunities to fulfill my lifelong dream of a career as a full-time artist here in Dallas.
When did you first realize that art would be your calling and passion?
From a very young age, I was always drawn to using my hands and creativity, especially with arts and crafts. My mom tells me that by the age of 4 or 5, whenever I was asked the typical childhood question of โWhat do you want to be when you grow up?,โ I would confidently reply with crayons in either hand: โA PROFESSIONAL COLOR-ER!!โ Throughout my formative years, art and art-making was always a safe space that I would return to for my passion projects outside of school. While my sisters explored volleyball and sports, I attended weekly art classes at a small North Dallas art studio, Jโs Art, because nothing made me happier than starting with a blank canvas/piece of paper/slab of clay, and turning into something I created with my own hands. While in high school and college, I tried exploring things outside of the visual arts such as pre-law and Psychology because I thought Art was just my passion, not something I could make a career out of realistically. But the minute I took my first studio art class in college I came home for winter break telling my parents โI DONโT KNOW HOW, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE ART THE REST OF MY LIFE!โ So with their support, I switched to a major in 2D studio art so I could fulfill to my childhood dream of becoming that professional color-er.
Are there specific artists that have influenced you the most?
Iโm definitely inspired by some of the great queer artists of the 80s and 90s like Keith Haring. Not only did he have such an iconic style of drawing in gallery settings, but also in his New York subway graffiti bombs. His work often uplifted and highlighted themes of LGBTQ struggles and triumphs. Other artists who have influenced my art practice include surrealists of decades past like M.C. Escher or Salvador Dali. Probably my biggest artist influences are the actually contemporary artists and muralists who are creating works today, like Dallas-based artists Dan Lam (known for her brightly-colored drippy, otherworldly sculptures and installations), or Francisco Moreno (known for his imaginative giant paintings that fuse European painting traditions with colorful contemporary Mexican-American imagery). These artist contemporaries, some of whom Iโm lucky enough to call friends here in Dallas, have helped me stretch my own mural and sculpture practices more than any art history textbook or college class ever could.
Will Heron Outside Mural
PASSPORT readers love to explore museums and galleries when they travel. What art venues in Dallas would you recommend, and what makes them special to you? Is there a true โhidden gemโ?
The Metroplex has a thriving and diverse art community, from the underground graffiti scene festivals, to the dozens of reputable galleries hosting local and international talent at monthly openings, to world-renowned museums and institutions that bring major exhibitions to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. My favorite โhidden gemโ would definitely be the Fabrication Yard located in the Tin District of West Dallas. The Fab Yard is the cityโs only legal graffiti yard, where artists are free to practice their spray paint skills without worrying about repercussions from the authorities or property owners. Itโs nestled off Fabrication Street, surrounded by over 70 artist studios tucked away in the graffiti-covered Tin buildings. If you come out to the Fab Yard on any given weekend, youโll be sure to see graffiti artists, professional muralists, and even people who are trying out spray paint for the first timeโฆall adding color to the tin and cement walls. A beautiful portrait created by local legends like Hatziel or Jeremy Biggers may pop-up one Saturday in Fab Yard, to only be covered less than a week laterโฆthe definition of temporal and ever-changing street art.
As the current artist liaison for Meow Wolf Grapevine Iโm definitely biased, but The Real Unreal (located about 20 minutes outside of Downtown Dallas at the Grapevine Mills Mall) is a beautiful, imaginative, immersive exhibit worth experiencing. It is filled with art created by over 40 Texas-based artists as well as rooms of wonder created by the creative geniuses of the Santa Fe-based company Meow Wolf.
Other venues in Dallas I would highly recommend are some of my favorite galleries like Erin Cluley Gallery (Design District), Daisha Board Gallery (Tin District), Cris Worley Fine Arts (Design District) and Pencil on Paper Gallery (Design District). And some of my favorite museums include the Nasher Sculpture Center (Downtown) as well as the Dallas Contemporary (Design District).
A number of cites have Art Events such as the Washington Square Art Show in New York City and the Open Studios in San Francisco where the public is invited to meet local artists. Does Dallas have something similar?
Dallas has all sorts of cool art events throughout the year. Our โarts monthโ is in April where you can attend the Dallas Art Fair located downtown, as well as a plethora of art openings and events across the city. As I mentioned already, my studio is located in the Tin District of West Dallas, where we host two big open studio events every year including the Spring Open Studios (typically happening in April) and Art Walk West (typically happening in October). Iโve participated in Art Walk West every year since its inception in 2015, where artists in Tin District open their studio doors for one day only for the free and public self-guided studio tour, giving participants a peek into the studio lives of artists based here in the city. The Wild West Mural Fest joined the art walkโs programming in 2018, where over the years we have added over 75 public mural works to the West Dallas community during the week leading up to Art Walk West. Keep your eyes out for information on the 11th annual Art Walk West coming up in October, 2025!
What personal projects and/or exhibitions are you working on currently.
I have some fun group shows and projects coming up for 2025. Iโve currently have a piece up in San Francisco with Spoke Art Gallery as part of the twelfth annual Moleskine Project group show with the gallery. I also have a few public and private mural commissions that will be popping-up here in Dallas this spring. One upcoming project Iโm excited about is with a few other local artists (like SM Sanz and Drigo) working on an exciting refresh of a nine-course indoor golf course at Another Round in West Dallas that opens this summer. Going on my third year with the company, we just opened the fifth Meow Wolf exhibit in Houston, Texas where you can find my cactus and cloudy murals in different pockets of the beautiful exhibitโฆand rumor has it that the next Meow Wolf will be opening in Los Angeles in 2026, so Iโm definitely looking forward to that! While public mural works are currently my bread-and-butter for my art practices, in the studio Iโm currently exploring new ideas of 3D sculptures and more immersive gallery showsโฆso without giving too much away, lots of fun projects and art shows in the works coming up!
