40 yearS of a CReatiVE ArT exPlosiOn!
Truly blessed this year to co-host this remarkable event, show and gathering celebrating 40 years of mind-blowing art in Dallas, Texas.
In this show titled " OG’s Return to Deep Ellum", Eight original artists return to the neighborhood they helped revive in the 1980s.
The exhibition features work by: Bill Haveron, Brad Ellis, Brad Smith, Clay Austin, Dwayne Carter, Frank Campagna, Greg Contestable, and Thor Johnson, along with a tribute to the late Albert Scherbarth, who passed away sadly in the planning stages of this epic adventure. A short video of the 2026 planning meetings featuring the Omnipresent Bert is here courtesy of Brad Smith. Click link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F40yc256gds
The exhibition is presented with guidance from myself and Jeffery Yarbrough, who co-owned The Art Bar - the gathering point, hangout and host of many shows with these guys (and gals!) and more over a 15 year run.
Noteworthy previous group efforts at Art Bar included the inagural 1989 and annual "images of Big Tex"Shows as well as the the 1992 mega mural contest - largest in the State of Texas at the time.
“The 2026 exhibition reflects a time when artists didn’t wait for permissionthey made the work with whatever they had: brushes, torches, welding rods, spray cans, canvas, plywood, steel. They got to work.
These were not hobbyists.
They were not decorators.
They were not ‘content creators.’
They were artists who committed fully to a life in art.” - Brad Smith
OG’s Return to Deep Ellum asks questions that only time can answer:
* What does it look like 40 years later?
* Was it worth it?
* Did they achieve what they set out to do?
* What would they say to younger artists considering the same path?
The exhibition also serves as an immersive attempt to reconnect with the raw creative energy of 1980s Deep Ellum:
* Can that spirit be recreated?
* What happens when youthful rebellion meets lived experience?
* Did the work stay local, or ripple outward into the wider world?
This is not nostalgia, it’s a reckoning. A reunion. A conversation between past and present, between who these artists were and who they’ve become.
Some found widespread recognition.
Some carved their own unconventional paths.
All of them made it matter.
For those who were there, it will resonate deeply.
For those who weren’t, it’s a rare chance to witness what happens when artists bet their lives on their art, and kept going.
Exhibition Details
OG’s Return to Deep Ellum
Kettle Art Gallery / 2650 Main St, Dallas, TX 75226
Opening Reception: June 6, 2026 | 2:00–5:00 p.m.
June 6 – August 16, 2026
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