Today we’d like to introduce you to Giant Runt Gallery.
Hi Giant Runt , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
The idea for Giant Runt began with a curatorial project called Kickpigeon Kids, founded by two artists, Max Marshall and Cosmo Jones. Beginning in 2022 and continuing still (with an upcoming show at The Grackle in May), the pair organizes shows under the name “Kickpigeon Kids” that explore the idea of curation vs. art-making through collaborative gallery-scale installations. This gave the pair a foundation in curating that they could later carry over into the gallery.
Cosmo graduated with a Master’s in Painting and Drawing from UNT in 2021, Max with her Master’s in Sculpture from TCU in 2024. Cosmo has taught, worked in construction, theater, and project management for a major art festival. Max has taught and worked as a professional art handler. Together, these skill sets come in handy for running a gallery.
During Max’s time in school, the couple became friends with local Fort Worth gallery owner, Bale Creek Allen. In the spring of 2024, they heard that he may be leaving Fort Worth for a while and was looking for someone who might be interested in renting the gallery space. Looking for an opportunity to develop their curatorial practice and perhaps influence the Fort Worth art scene, the pair jumped on the opportunity, opening in the Fall of 2024 and naming the venture Giant Runt (a breed of pigeon, playing off of the curatorial practice’s name). Since then, Max and Cosmo have curated nine separate exhibitions in the space, with an upcoming tenth exhibition by UK artist Joseph Carway opening on November 22, 2025.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We are fully aware that we come from a privileged position which makes us able to focus on who we show rather than how much we sell. We came into this carrying the assumption that we would never sell a single thing. This has thankfully not quite been the case, nevertheless driving attendance and sales is the biggest challenge of probably any gallery that sells art. We are not marketing professionals but we’ve tried our best to get the word out and make openings fun for all who attend. So far, press, interviews, art walks like Third Thursday and FWADA’s Gallery Night, and Instagram have been our primary ways for us to let people know who we are and what we’re doing
Chronologically, our first challenge was finding artists to show. We understood that, as a new gallery with no name recognition, artists may be hesitant to work with us. However, being artists ourselves, we were able to use our existing connections to put together a list of artist willing to give us a shot. That is how we were able to stucture our first year of programming. Moving into the second year, now that we have a track record and some level of name recognition, we’ve been able to reach out to more artists outside of our personal circle.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Giant Runt ?
Although the gallery is theoretically a commercial enterprise, our focus is not on what will sell within the current market but on what kind of art we think should be shown in Fort Worth. We often choose artists who work in areas such as ephemeral sculpture, experimental painting, folk art, and craft-based work. Every time you come to Giant Runt, you’ll see something different.
In addition, we occupy a niche stratum in the local gallery world. Neither wholly grass-roots nor Dallas-style commerical, we provide an outlet for mid-career and emerging artists to show their work.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
We give our artists the space to explore. The artists we choose understand that we are less concerned with sales, and that we chose them because we trust them to produce what interests them. This gives them a sense of freedom to make whatever they want for their exhibition. We only come in at the end to help curate the space if desired. The rest is up to them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/giantrunt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566363312626
