Dunn and Brown Split Leaves Talley Dunn Gallery Standing

Dunn and Brown Contemporary, a 12-year-old Dallas gallery focusing in high-end contemporary art, is changing its name in conjunction with partial changes in the business’s ownership.

I spoke with Talley Dunn Tuesday to learn more about the changes that we can expect as Dunn and Brown Contemporary becomes Talley Dunn Gallery, and Dunn takes on full ownership of the gallery.

Talley Dunn (left) featured here with David Bates and former partner Lisa Brown

For the past 12 years, Dunn and Brown Contemporary was co-owned by Lisa Brown and Talley Dunn. Dunn and Brown met while working at Gerald Peters Gallery in Dallas.

Brown will be moving on to work exclusively as an art consultant, and focus only on sales. This will allow Brown greater flexibility; she will deal directly with clients, without the demands of having a space. “I understand Lisa’s desire to get out of the gallery business,” says Dunn. “There are a lot of demands that come with having a public space, and those are demands that I enjoy,” she continues.

“I’m very excited that we are making a change,” says Dunn, “Lisa and I have been great friends for many years, but now we are reassessing what we are doing.”

Dunn says that she further anticipates that Talley Dunn Gallery will have occasion to work with Brown as a solo selling entity. “The more successful the gallery is, the more successful Lisa will be as a consultant, and I very much want that,” says Dunn.

Dunn, who will now take on the entire responsibility of the gallery, is excited about the change, she reports. She is eager to focus on museum projects, and working more intensely on building collections. And, “sales is just one component of what we do,” adds Dunn.

When asked if the location of the gallery will change (it is at 5020 Tracy Street in Dallas), Dunn replied, “I own the property, and we will stay in the same location.” The gallery owner also mentioned that Talley Dunn Gallery will have a different phone number than Dunn and Brown Contemporary, as well as a new website.

The artists that Talley Dunn Gallery works with will also change. However, Dunn insisted that, “a lot of names that have always been associated with me will continue to be.” Dunn says she considers this time an opportunity to work with new artists.

Although there is speculation that the gallery might lose Vernon Fisher, other established gallery artists, such as David Bates, Trenton Doyle Hancock, and Nic Nicosia should continue on under the gallery’s new ownership. Work by Bates, Doyle Hancock, and Nicosia appeared frequently at Dunn and Brown art fair appearances, such as at Art Aspen, Pulse Art Fair, and the Dallas Art Fair. (Vernon Fisher disputes the claim he is leaving the gallery. He writes on June 13th: “For your article about the Dunn and Brown split, you should have contacted me to see whether or not I was leaving the Gallery. I’m not. Printing such speculations without regard for the truth can be damaging both to the gallery and to my career. You should print a retraction.” (Editor’s Note: Four individuals were interviewed for this article.)

Lisa Brown and Nic Nicosia

Dunn is using the summer months to transition, and establish new programming. The formal announcement will also go out in the coming weeks.

Despite the changes that will occur, as Dunn and Brown Contemporary becomes Talley Dunn Gallery, the “essence of the gallery will remain very similar,” says Dunn, adding that her role “isn’t changing; just intensifying.”

*Images courtesy of PaperCity Magazine, and Moderndallas.net with artworks by Susie Rosmarin – Installation View