INSIDE: DALLAS REAL ESTATE ’08! THE HOMES! > THE HOODS! > THE PLAYERS!
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LOCO FOR COCO: CHANEL ENCORE! FAME FINDS AARON ECKHART STROKES OF GENIUS! THE JOULE’S MOD ART JULY
2008 $5.95
ABACUS SPINS A WIN SMOKIN’ SIPS: KILLER WINES AND ’CUES! AND ALL THE BEST PARTIES
THE RADAR ART
GALLERY GUYS From left: Philip Romano and J.D. Miller in the raw space at Samuel Lynne Galleries. Below: Detail of Rush, 5 by 8 feet, acrylic and oil on canvas by Philip Romano.
BY LISA MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT HAWTHORNE
FIRE STARTERS
Philip Romano and J.D. Miller hang a shingle on red hot Dragon Street When it comes to cutting-edge art, L.A. has Bergamot Station; New York City has Chelsea; and now Big D’s own Dragon Street is becoming the epicenter of the city’s thriving art scene. Come September, Samuel Lynne Galleries will breathe another burst of fire into the smoking hot destination. This brainchild of legendary restaurateur Philip Romano and painter/art dealer J.D. Miller will also serve as a bastion of the Reflectionist movement, a school of multidimensional art. Romano brings more than his business acumen to the venture. The 68-year-old visionary behind Fuddruckers, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Cozymel’s, EatZi’s and other thriving eateries has also painted with acrylics since the 1970s. Miller encouraged the selftaught Romano to incorporate oils into his dramatic, color-saturated works. “He helped me understand the medium,” says Romano, whose large-scaled canvases can measure 7 feet by 7 feet. “I approach my art like I approach
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business, wanting to create something that looks different from what everyone else is doing.” Until now, Romano has felt satisfied filling his home and office with his paintings. Selling his works seems a logical progression. Miller made that leap four years ago; at age 50 he opened Reflection Fine Art Gallery on Fairmount Street. Though he represented other artists (including locals such as Cynthia Chartier and Gregory Beck), some 65 percent of the gallery’s sales were of his own work. When the Gerald Peters Gallery moved from Uptown to Dragon Street in late November, Miller had a wakeup call. “Dragon Street has become like Canyon Road in Santa Fe,” he says. “Dallas has never seen such a concentration of galleries before.” In the last few years, lower rents and ease of accessibility have helped lure a number of galleries to this Design District thoroughfare. Today, Dragon Street boasts Craighead-Green Gallery, Holly Johnson Gallery, Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery, Joel Cooner Gallery and Pan American Arts Project. The space at 1105 Dragon St. also attracted the owners of the Samuel Lynne Galleries (named for Romano’s son and Miller’s daughter). At 11,000 square feet, the stand-alone building will enable them to host crowds and showcase a range of artwork. (“Presenting fine art of the Reflectionists and other contemporary American masters” is the gallery’s expressed intention.) To create a wholly contemporary backdrop for the paintings and sculpture, they gutted the venue down to the studs. Miller and Romano anticipate opening the gallery in mid-September; their own exuberant and sensual works will provide a permanent anchor to the space. “It’s exciting,” says Romano. “It’s always good to do something new.” Keep up with the gallery through www.samuellynnegalleries.com.