We first met Dennis when he was a college student about 1999, when we hosted his class visit to the gallery.

A few years following he met us in Hugo Oklahoma on a rogue and random trip to the funeral to Mr. Barnes of the Carson & Barnes circus.
It was something we caught wind of and it grew to a handful of friends making the trek to see a circus funeral.
None were disappointed with sad clowns, elephants, and the coffin resting in the middle of the big top atop of the elephant performance stands.

Funny, but years later we kept crossing paths with Dennis and learning about his life long love of costumes.

His Mother gifted him a sewing machine in his early 30’s. Some of his first pieces were shirts for his partner James followed by many costumes.
I think one of his first costumes I heard about was a Turkey suit for Thanksgiving, made complete with photos of him in it strolling the grocery store aisles.
I have always loved his odd and loving sense of humor. He is someone who makes the world a much happier place.
When asked about his recent work Dennis explained it as “embracing awkwardness”.

Dennis gets the idea that any day might warrant a costume. His job as curator at the Galveston Center of Art and dealing with artists probably makes that idea ring true most days.