Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: May 28

As critic and commentator Darryl Ratcliff commented in a recent article for Glasstire, the Goss-Michael Foundation was once perceived as one of the more elite galleries around town, to put it mildly. Ratcliff argues that it was the hiring of a couple of intensely boundary-pushing, local scene figures—Ariel Saldivar and Kevin Rubén Jacobs—who turned things around. The foundation started incorporating more Dallas-based talent and events into its programming and curating, and tonight a celebration will take place to mark the fruits of such regional endeavors. Artist Nathan Green recently had an exhibition at Goss-Michael, and as a direct result will now be represented by London’s HUS Gallery, so there will be a cocktail party in his honor.

HUS was featured in Interview Magazine following the “increasingly influential” Dallas Art Fair, and basically this is all evidence of Dallas’ rising international profile in the art world, something it desperately tried to buy for decades. As it turns out, all it really needed to do was tap what was already here. I’m told that all are welcome and to “come as you are.” As for Ratcliff, he was recently made the community engagement associate at SMU, so congrats on that.

If you’re like me, you’ve been mourning the death of two of the greatest Henderson Avenue-based eateries—Neighborhood Services Tavern and Tried and True—for some time now. The shuttered Nick Badovinus concepts were simply a cut above everything else on Hendy, though I’m slowly warming up to Gemma. All this to say, it’s a tall order to get me to walk past the ghosts of two of my favorite restaurants to eat at J. Black’s, though their mac-and-cheese is not bad at all. Should you find the courage to do so, they do have a trivia night this evening, known as “Booze & Brains.” The drink special this evening will be $4 Mind Erasers, and here’s hoping that helps to forget what haunts you.

For more to do in Dallas tonight, go here.