Chasing Down New Histories on Sale Street Tessa Granowski’s Nature of Things connects the joy of the unknown with the search for community. BY BRANDON KENNEDY
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s I heard it initially, turned backwards in a crowded amphitheater, the Latin phrase was uttered enthusiastically to confused ears. De Rerum Natura, a first-century didactic poem by Lucretius, promotes Epicureanism, a philosophy practicing simple living and healthy relationships. It also serves efficiently as a plain manila envelope newly stamped as a “space for art exhibitions and cultural events…with a focus on emerging contemporary artists and Texas history.” From being misheard in its native tongue between friends at a Terry Allen concert in Brooklyn to the namesake venue in a turn-of-the-century domicile off Turtle Creek Boulevard, Nature of Things invites the curious viewer in to discover new and historical artists alike, and the hidden connections both therein and in between. The juxtaposition of the two, founder Tessa Granowski states, “reminds us of our humanity.” After leading a somewhat peripatetic existence since the pandemic, Waco-born, Dallas-raised Granowski returns to her hometown to open an exhibition space in a house built in 1905 whose mission and locale sets it apart from the standard white-cube gallery model. Having recently discovered that she is a seventh-generation Texan, Granowski’s “joie de vivre” for her unfolding project is implacable and contagious, infusing a contemporary vitality into a sometimes overlooked past. As it turns out, Sale Street itself used to be a bustling block of antiques dealers, complete with street fairs featuring all manner of art,
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Clockwise from above left: Sam Linguist, propellerfrau, 2024, under-glazed stoneware, 6.25 x 4.5 x 2 in.; Jim Franklin behind his painting for A Clean Well-Lighted Place exhibition. Courtesy of Barbara Zabel; Candice C Chu, Swan Dreams, 2021, graphite on watercolor paper, 57.50 x 47.12 in. Courtesy of the artist.