Occupying a transitional space within the museum, Dallas Contemporary’s Micro Exhibition series highlights the work of regional artists Claire Kennedy and Chance Al-Hajji in a double exhibition opening celebration.

Freckles is intimate and sentimental, Claire Kennedy’s interdisciplinary practice is not afraid to explore unconventional materials. Small works made out of paper pulp, paint mixed with sand and glitter, these tchotchke sized objects walk the line between painting and sculpture. Interested in collection and organization, Kennedy’s Charms and Protection Paintings are installed in small clusters around the exhibition. These objects are flexible, they allow Kennedy the room to intuitively install them as she sees fit, constructing shelving and pedestals for her on-site curio cabinet. Drawn to superstition, serendipity, and the force of a higher power, Kennedy’s objects become talismans of good luck.

Occupying highly chromatic, celestial universes, Chance Al-Hajji’s paintings in Horses in my Dreams, Like Waves, Like The Sea blend fantasy and folkloric storytelling to develop compositions of narrative wealth. Al-Hajji’s work is supported by daily reflection, a tool the artist incorporates into their paintings to encourage evolution, growth, and change within themselves and their work. The subjects of Al-Hajji’s work include horses, butterflies, and hens, as well as organic and fertile symbols including ovum, corn cobs, swirls, whirls, and vortexes, among others. The subjects, which occasionally display humanistic behaviors, such as showing moments of affection contain anthropomorphised qualities. Whether grazing in pastoral landscapes or wading through oceans and galaxies, Al-Hajji’s ponies gallop through transcendental worlds beyond human comprehension.

Freckles and Horses in my Dreams, Like Waves, Like The Sea were curated by Dallas Contemporary’s Curatorial Assistant Ryan Semegran in conjunction with the 2026 Summer Series.