One of the major sticks that gets shaken at Dallas is that it doesn’t have much of a college scene. Most of the universities in the area are on the periphery of the city center, and collegiate life tends to keep to itself in those places or nearby. If new talent happens to spring up out of those schools, it often flees to other talent-magnet cities where a kid can chase a dream with romance and what feels like courage. Time and again we hear that if Dallas is going to really become a cultural hub, it’s got to start making, and keeping, first-rate artists.

Clearly savvy to this need, the artist folks over at 500 X have begun this year what will hopefully become an annual event: College Expo — a statewide juried show that gives college kids a chance to see how they measure up to students from other schools. For the public, the show is a good way to see what kinds of ideas are clonking around in classrooms and studios, and to get a sense of what Dallas’ future art scene could look like.

College Expo is a lot to take in, and I’ll admit to being a mite overwhelmed at the quantity of work on display. It is, however, a pleasure to get through it all, though a few things stood out. 

Work by Gregory Ruppe

On the first floor Megan Eakins small sculptures of Swarovski gilded hand weapons: a grenade, brass knuckles and a metal star, called Glitterati in a Fight, recall Mona Hatoum’s colorful cast grenades, Nature morte aux grenades, only these are even more candy-coated. There like little Dallasite, fashionista backstabbing tools, and each comes with its own swanky price tag.

Lauren Hirsch’s Untiled 51 drawings show 51 letterpress images of jars, each on a separate paper, each in a muted peachy flesh tone. Loose scribbles in bright colors flit around the jars like flies or vapor. It’s a quiet series, but has that powerful punch that serial art often does. As Eva Hesse said: “If something is meaningful, maybe it’s more meaningful said ten times.”

I liked Gregory Ruppe’s quasi-erotic, Japanese-inspired prints. They are gorgeously crafted, and walk that fine line between culling from tradition and pushing the envelope in a new direction.

Elizabeth Claffey’s photographs about the gradual erasure caused by cancer are poignant and measured.

Be sure to check out these artists and a myriad more at 500 X; but hurry, the show closes this weekend.