For the past few years, I have had the chance to stop by The Other Art Fair in Dallas to check out art from artists who have come from across the country and world to showcase their raw talent. I have been collecting art for about 15 years now. It started with a few swaps from artists. In a previous life, I owned a graphic t-shirt company so they would exchange a piece of their art for one of my t-shirts. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by a group of pretty brilliant artist friends so throughout the years I have picked up a piece or two that have been gifted to me. The more art I collected, the more I appreciated the process, the commitment and the shear talent that it took to create such pieces. I tend to lean more towards contemporary art pieces and photography, but I have learned to appreciate all forms of art. When I roamed the aisles of The Other Art Fair earlier this year, I couldn’t help but to gravitate toward a few artists in particular that caught my eye.

Sasi Kladpetch

The first thing that caught my eyes about her artwork was the simplicity of how it was displayed. Yet there was a complexity in how it was created. That juxtaposition was what made me approach her booth. Kladpetch is a Bangkok born and raised, multimedia artist based in San Francisco. She uses a combination of human-made materials and natural materials such as clay, soil, plaster, concrete and plants to create her pieces. What I appreciated most about her work was the texture that the materials and her method gave each piece. I love when you can almost feel a piece of art by just observing it because of all of the texture it contains.

Xan Padrón

The symmetry and pattern to his photography series, Time Lapse, is what stopped me in my tracks. The linear aspect to each piece is extremely satisfying and pleasing to the eye while still maintaining a high level of visual interest with each individual character. Photographer Xan Padrón began this series in 2011. The series consists of portraits of cities around the world that capture a moment in time for each individual in each portrait. As I stared at his pieces, it put things in perspective. Each of us have our own agenda each day, needing to get from point A to point B and sometimes points beyond. Yet, if you compare snapshots of each of our own lives, we really walk in similar paths as many others making us way more alike than different. He has taken portraits in New York, London, Beijing, Sydney, Trinidad, Berlin, Paris, or Medellín and has had his work exhibited globally.

Paola Gracida

Paola Gracida is a Mexican-American artist from Mexico City. Her work with clay pushes the boundaries of uniformity, adapting to the form that each unique piece evolves into. What I loved about her work is how she gives each piece a geometric aesthetic with the perfect blend of curvature. I can appreciates curved lines in art, but there is something about a piece that has structure and is more or less confined by its own boundaries. When you mix those two aesthetics, you get a harmonious balance of movement that makes each piece quite gratifying. Her Opening Thought and Surfaces collections are perfect examples of this artistic duality. One piece that stood out at this art fair was titled Happy Together, Family Conversations #4. It embodied what I described above in the most satisfying way.