New Texas Exhibition Space Passage Arts Makes Its Debut With Epic James Surls Show — A PaperCity Exclusive

Epic news arrives at press time — a PaperCity exclusive.

Dallas’ Kirk Hopper Fine Art shutters to make way for the gallerist’s bold and ambitious new nonprofit, Passage Arts, sited in a 7,500-square-foot space bordering Fair Park and downtown at 845 S. Trunk Avenue, near the intersection of I-30 and 1-45.

The hundred-year-old warehouse will be reborn this September when Passage Arts launches with an exhibition that underscores Hopper’s decades-long commitment to Texas art and artists.

Don’t expect understated conceptual art here, but the massive sculpture of Texas titan James Surls, whose roots go deep in both Dallas and Houston — from teaching at SMU (1970-1975), to birthing the contemporary art scene as we know it by forming iconic Lawndale Art Center, established 1979 as an off-campus studio space for University of Houston art students after the UH Department of Art building burned down.

Independent curator, art historian, and author Susie Kalil co-curates the inaugural exhibition alongside the 83-year-old Surls. From the Old Growth presents 18 drawings and 25 sculptures across a half-century of Surls’ vast oeuvre, bringing forth a show that reminds the viewer of the primacy of art spun around nature, which is both Surls’ calling card and his legacy.

The exhibition’s namesake 16,000-pound redwood burl sculpture will halt you in your tracks. At Passage Arts, Surls’ primal practice — wood honed by ax and chainsaw — has the space it demands to be properly experienced.

“Passage Arts is getting back to origin stories the way artists created and wanted their art to be seen and experienced,” Kalil tells PaperCity. “Surls’ vision is of another world — a metaphysical quest of the mysteries and terrors of nature, as well as the fragility and absurdity of human life.”

We caught up with the three key players who will make Passage Arts’ arrival on the North Texas scene this September a heroic statement, to delve into how it all came about.

Gallerist Turned Nonprofit Founder

Kirk Hopper tells us, “It started years ago when I first saw the building. Last year, I made an offer and put the loan together. We’ve been in the mix renovating this year.”

On the why, Hopper shares, “I love old buildings and renovating them. I completed one in Marfa’s historic district several years ago. The Trunk Street building is over 100 years old and a perfect place to showcase Surls’ work.”

The independent-minded Hopper — who’s always enjoyed a reputation as an iconoclast in the Texas art world, coming into art dealing from the collector side — owned and directed his eponymous gallery for 18 years, first in Deep Ellum, then the Design District. His program embraced talents ranging from Bert Long Jr. to Forrest Bess. Texas Artist of the Year and Rome Prize recipient Long once shared with this writer that Hopper was his favorite among all his dealers across a notable half-century career.

On his new chapter, Hopper says, “I got bored with the gallery on Riverfront. With Passage Arts, I can do other art events, music, dance, whatever. Take my time, not have a gallery schedule.”

The Iconic Curator Weighs In

Central to achieving Hopper’s grand vision for Passage Arts will be its curator, Susie Kalil, undoubtedly the most dedicated art historian in our state committed to documenting Texas artists. From co-curating the MFAH’s 1985-1986 touring exhibition Fresh Paint: The Houston School to writing important books on artists Alexandre Hogue, Dorothy Hood, Roger Winter, and, out this fall, Kermit Oliver, Kalil is a true believer and truly in a field of her own.

On how the Surls exhibition for Passage Arts came about, Kalil tells us details of the timeline, which all came together, unbelievably, within less than nine months:

“Kirk bought the warehouse in January 2026,” she says. “We didn’t waste any time! The exhibition was my idea. Kirk took me over to the warehouse just days after the paperwork was finalized — the enormous, 100-year-old warehouse, the 28-foot ceiling height, the original clerestory windows.

“Instinctively, I knew in my bones that a James Surls sculpture exhibition had to open this significant endeavor to a larger public. But I also knew that it couldn’t be like any previous Surls sculpture show, gallery or museum.“I wanted the raw, fierce work that would convey a new narrative, impacting a long-time audience already familiar with this iconic artist, while also attracting a new generation hungering for authentic, physical experience.”

On her history with the artist, the curator says, “James and I have worked together on exhibitions, catalog essays, magazine interviews, and more for several decades. I knew he had produced important large-scale works during the past few years that would not likely be exhibited in mainstream museums but would also catch your breath if shown in a renegade context.”

Hopper was all in. Kalil says, “Kirk immediately understood and embraced the concept, boldly and without hesitation, even as it would require complex logistics — cranes and Penske trucks — to ship and install a 16,000-pound redwood burl sculpture.”

The curatorial process was built upon trust and the curator and artist’s long-standing history of collaboration. Kalil recalls, “James and I spent several weeks putting together a checklist, narrowing to 25 sculptures and 18 drawings, from the late 1970s to present, that will push viewers out of their comfort zones.”

Kail alerts us that Surls will also be stepping out of his comfort zone too. “For the first time ever,” she says, “James will be producing a sound/audio component that will add another spatial dimension as viewers journey through the cavernous space — music, the howls of a wolf, hoots from an owl, harkening to a time when artists were more like priests or shamans, throwing voices and echoes to the wind.”

Kalil also has a long history as Hopper’s main curator for special exhibitions. They have become a dream team, stepping out of the proscribed world of art commerce to something more intrinsic and elemental. Kalil says, “You know Kirk — very quiet, doesn’t network or follow the art crowd, but he is a visionary and will always honor the artist and the art with integrity and genuine commitment. Passage Arts will be seismic, a hotbed of creative ferment in uncertain times.”

The OG of the Texas Scene

On his role as Passage Arts grand opener, James Surls tells us, “For a good number of years, I have been breathing life into large-scale sculptures that do not fit the norm of the day.

“Then comes an opportunity, a possibility that only comes through the mind’s eye of imaginative dreamers and risk takers, those who have spent years looking and listening to the sights and sounds of their times. From those who can see and hear the distant voices asking me if I am ready. My answer was as clear as the call itself. I said yes to Passage Arts.”

“I am deep-seated in the trajectory of From the Old Growth in and through my lifetime. Passage Arts has opened the door. Now is the right time and place for me to say thank you to the ones who give me safe passage.”

“James Surls: From the Old Growth,” September 19, 2026 – April 17, 2027, at Passage Arts, 845 S. Trunk Ave., Dallas. Find more details here.