Wandering through the Dallas Museum of Art as a college student, it never occurred to John McAllister that his work could potentially wind up on its walls.
Now, as the winner of the inaugural Dallas Art Prize, his work will be considered for the DMA’s collection and he will receive $20,000 to use however he chooses to continue his work.
For the Massachusetts-based painter, the possibility is surreal.
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but, of course, that would be spectacular,” he said.
John Sughrue, founder of the Dallas Art Fair, said the prize is meant to recognize an individual who is shaping contemporary art today and likely years to come.
“John McAllister will be a lasting influence in the art world not because his work demands attention, but because it quietly earns it — making him deeply deserving of major art prize recognition,” Sughrue said in a press release.
Strong Texas ties
As an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin, McAllister made frequent trips to North Texas for its museums.
“I would drive up to Dallas just to see the iceberg painting by Frederic Church at the Dallas Museum [of Art],” he said.
McAllister is best known for his lush natural landscapes and distinct color palette. Instead of using the typical muted earth tones like mossy greens or ruddy browns, his paintings burst with bright colors. The lake is purple, the sky is yellow and the trees are often pink.
As an avid biker, McAllister spends about 20 hours a week outdoors, but he rarely sketches or shoots photos to take to his backyard studio.
“Rather than trying to draw a hill and a tree exactly as it was, [I] try to recall how that felt to be out there and then use colors that might elicit that kind of response,” he said.
‘I just kept making’
McAllister said he didn’t make a conscious effort to become an artist. He’s always been one, and he believes kids all start out that way.
“Then you sort of get socialized out of it because you start worrying about whether it looks real or what's correct and things like that,” he explained.
“People just start becoming sort of conscious of what they're doing. I think I just never went through that part. And I just kept making.”
His works are titled in a way that can feel poetic and playful if not a little ambiguous.
One painting is named “sometimes beguile await while” and another is “vaunting haunting jaunts go romping.”
“I'm giving a clue as to how I thought of it, and that way I also feel like it's disarming,” McAllister said. “Like it's okay to be kind of hokey.”
He said the art prize will allow him to continue on with his work without worrying about the cost of paints or brushes.
“I'm not gonna, you know, suddenly be painting something alligator and surfboards or something — maybe I should do that — but it's going to be this sort of subtle shift [with my work] with occasional larger shifts, it's always just pushing on,” McAllister said.
You can see McAllister’s work at the James Fuentes Gallery booth throughout the Dallas Art Fair.
The Dallas Art Fair is open to the public April 17-19 at 1807 Ross Ave, Dallas.Tickets start at $40. Children 12 and under get in free.
Got a tip? Email Marcheta Fornoff at mfornoff@kera.org.
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