Belonging in Focus: Three artists, one shared question, a bold new show at Craighead Green Gallery
But here’s the twist you didn’t see coming: belonging isn’t a fixed state—it’s a conversation you can watch unfold across styles, cultures, and creative approaches. A fresh three-person exhibition at Craighead Green Gallery dives into that very question, especially during a season that nudges many of us toward family, memory, and shared stories.
The Dallas venue unveils a complimentary trio of works by Faith Scott Jessup, Linda McCall, and Damián Suárez. Their practices span realism, impressionism, and abstraction, yet they converge on a central inquiry: where do we come from, and how do heritage, personal memory, and imagination shape the way we see ourselves in the world?
Gallery director and owner William Bardin stresses that pairing such varied voices is deliberate. “We want to give every artist their own platform,” he says. “But there’s a unifying thread—despite different backgrounds, these artists are intentionally choosing stories, colors, and images that reveal a shared human narrative.”
Damián Suárez, based in Mexico City, centers his story on lineage. His series, “Kinetic Landscape,” extends the legacy of Venezuelan artists who influenced him, yet it translates that influence through a distinctive method: thousands of fine threads wound onto wooden panels form fields of shifting color. Bardin explains the effect: a rhythmic, almost moiré-like surface that surprises viewers who expect visible brushstrokes to define the image. The threads create a texture that reads as painting, sculpture, and mathematics all at once. Suárez spent two years researching kinetic art movements and developing compositions that fuse craft, precision, and emotion. With international exhibitions already under his belt, this new work foregrounds both technique and cultural heritage.
Faith Scott Jessup, based in Denton, contributes a different current to the show with a surrealist touch. Her canvases swirl with floating leaves, patterned textiles, and natural motifs that reside somewhere between the imagined and the real. Her series “Duets” features patterned fabrics draped and painted as empty dresses—garments without bodies—inviting questions about identity and presence.
Bardin notes that Jessup’s meticulous brushwork and symbolic imagery foster what she calls visual conversations. Her work continues an ongoing dialogue with the natural world, examining consistency, boundaries, and what lies beyond them.
In a quieter, more contemplative space within the gallery, Fort Worth artist Linda McCall presents “Rituals,” a set of impressionist vignettes shaped by memory and mood. Figures drift through softly rendered environments, sometimes alone, sometimes in motion, with some scenes drawn from travel and others from everyday life.
“These intimate moments—people walking a street alone, or standing by a Venetian river—appear in McCall’s work as private, almost secret experiences she recognizes with clarity,” Bardin explains. Unlike the dialogue connecting Jessup’s and Suárez’s pieces, McCall’s paintings stand independently, each a standalone meditation on privacy and personal space.
While the show isn’t marketed as holiday programming, Bardin believes the themes feel especially timely during this season. He anticipates that visitors will see themselves in the artists’ viewpoints and be reminded of their own stories.
“Being with family and sharing personal histories is a universal human impulse,” Bardin says. “Staying connected with old friends, revisiting familiar places, and simply enjoying each other’s company—these are the moments that make us human.”
Exhibition details:
- Dates: December 6 through January 10
- Location: Craighead Green Gallery, 167 Parkhouse St, Dallas
- Admission: Free
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