About Us

Gallery 86 was founded in January of 2017 by Juan Castillo, Javier Riojas, Nicolás González, and Arturo Hernandez.

The 86 in Gallery 86 is a reference to Sigma Lambda Beta, founded in 1986. The founders’ common membership in the fraternity is how they first met.

The founders envisioned a virtual art gallery dedicated to bringing greater exposure to undiscovered artists, largely borne out of their desire to display their own work. The founding artists operated both as an artist collective and online art space, producing online shows and collaborating on art projects, until the fall of 2022 when the physical location was acquired.

The group achieved many milestones before opening the physical location, including:

In 2017, the gallery presented its first online show and partook in a show at the Mexican Consulate in Dallas, which was promoted on Spanish-language television.

In 2018, G86 welcomed, and displayed, artwork from outside artists for the first time. The group also set out to produce one public artwork by applying to opportunities with the City of Dallas.

In 2019, the group was one of three finalists for the Santos Rodriguez Public Art Project through the City of Dallas. It was during this time that Hernandez separated amicably from the group to pursue his own business venture.

Finally, in the fall of 2022, Gallery 86 moved into its physical location in Pleasant Grove, and hosted its first event in the fall of 2023: a talk on artificial intelligence in art funded by the Dallas Office of Arts and Culture. The group continues to grow the arts in Pleasant Grove through art shows, classes, and murals.

The dots and line in the group’s logo is the Mayan numeral for the number 86.