When guests visit Don Artemio in Fort Worth, they’re treated to an array of gourmet dishes and a warm dining environment that transports them to Mexico.
Now, they’ll immerse themselves in something less expected: an art gallery.
The team at Don Artemio reimagined the restaurant to temporarily house an exhibition of seven bronze sculptures from Mexican artist Alejandro Fuentes Gil.
Known as “Equus,” the collection spotlights horses and their relationships with cowboys and the Old West. The sculptures capture the “action, movement and force of the horse,” the artist’s son, Alejandro Fuentes Quezada, said.
Bronze figures face off in Alejandro Fuentes Gil’s 2025 sculpture “Edge of the Moment” at Don Artemio on Jan. 21. The sculpture is included in the “Equus” collection. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report)
The sculptures depict cowboys on horseback and equines in various poses, including drinking water and trotting. The pieces were created over two decades from 2004 to 2025.
“The sculptures mix with the restaurant’s atmosphere,” Fuentes Quezada said in Spanish. “They’re not meant to serve as decoration but rather as an exhibition.”
If you go
What: “Equus” sculpture collection
When: Monday to Sunday through March
Where: Don Artemio, 3268 W. 7th St., Fort Worth
Fuentes Gil is from Saltillo, Mexico, where the original Don Artemio restaurant is located. The artist is renowned for his sculptural representation of wildlife and nature. He has worked as an artist for more than three decades and been featured in nearly 70 solo and group exhibitions.
His son frequently collaborates with him on projects, including the “Equus” collection. Fuentes Quezada visited Fort Worth on behalf of his father for a private opening dinner at Don Artemio in late January.
Restaurant founder Juan Ramón Cárdenas became familiar with the family’s work in Saltillo and felt the art would complement his Fort Worth location. The pieces went up Jan. 16, which coincided with the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, which ran from late January to early February.
The exhibition, which will be on display in Fort Worth through March, boosts Don Artemio’s status as a “cultural embassy” in Fort Worth, Cárdenas said. The restaurant often invites artists to spotlight their work inside the space, which opened in 2022.
Fort Worth artist Fernando Rojas Cervantes displayed his landscape portraits at the restaurant last June.
“Don Artemio is not only a restaurant. We are rooted into our culture, and the culture is a manifestation of the ways human beings reflect themselves through art,” Cárdenas said.
The artist’s 2004 sculpture “Wild Spirit” is the oldest piece in the collection on display at Don Artemio. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report)
The invitation to display Fuentes Gil’s sculptures at Don Artemio marks the first time showcasing his art in a restaurant setting, his son said.
It was a unique opportunity to invite guests to explore art when they least expect it, Fuentes Quezada said. Diners are invited to purchase a sculpture if interested, he added.
“When you go into a gallery, you go specifically to see the artwork. Here you come to eat, and you stumble upon the piece. So it’s complementary to the meal,” Fuentes Quezada said. “It’s not something you’re actively looking for, but you can take it with you.”
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
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