161 Glass St,
Dallas, Texas TX 75207
USA
Dallas Contemporary is pleased to announce an ambitious and diverse exhibition schedule for 2019, which will present a range of artists working in various media spanning painting, sculpture, photography, design, fashion, and site-specific installation. In addition to the first museum survey documenting the creative output of fashion designer Jeremy Scott, highlights include an expansive John Currin exhibition tracking the evolution of male iconography over his entire career; an exhibition of new works made specifically for the museum by Polish artist Alicja Kwade, which will mark her largest US museum show to date; and a presentation of murals by Francesco Clemente that were inspired by Dallas’s Trinity River and will be the largest series of his site-specific murals displayed in one location. Following Dallas Contemporary’s 40th anniversary just this past year, the following exhibition listing unveils the institution’s impressive programming as an increasingly recognizable and notable international platform for 2019. Executive Director Peter Doroshenko has expressed that “the seminal exhibitions at Dallas Contemporary have and will continue to set the institution apart from others—always bold and beautiful.”
Winter 2019
Ian Davenport: Horizons
Currently on view through March 17
In this major solo exhibition, contemporary British artist Ian Davenport’s colorful drips of paint create multi-layered sets of information for viewers to absorb, process, and consider. More concerned with the function of paint as a material than with standard color theory, the work ultimately questions the practice of painting. Alongside a selection of paintings created over the course of the last 30 years is a number of new works created specfiically for Dallas Contemporary as part of his “Puddle Paintings” series. These represent the artist’s most recent foray into the manipulation of and serendipitous acceptance of paint’s innate physical attributes to create large-scale pieces that occupy space with further physical dimensionality.
Jeremy Scott: VIVA AVANT GARDE: A Jeremy Scott Retrospective
Currently on view through March 17
Presented as an overview of Jeremy Scott’s formidable practice – from early designs for his namesake label which debuted in Paris and collections which drew critical acclaim from industry icons to partnerships with international luxury brands – this exhibition will showcase the prolific nature of one of the most provocative and influential creatives in the fashion industry. A vast selection of clothing, handbags, footwear, an automobile collaboration, and documentation of notable runway shows tells the sensational story of an iconic designer and celebrates the work of a true visionary and living icon.
Margarita Cabrera: It is Impossible to Cover the Sun with a Finger
Currently on view through March 17
Featuring a new print series and over 40 soft sculptures, this survey exhibition addresses Margarita Cabrera’s interests in migration, labor practices, and economic empowerment. An immigrant from Mexico, the artist uses her work to both conceptually and formally explore the impact of border politics. The title of the exhibition is a metaphor and figure of speech from the artist’s childhood that stands for perspectives—one can cover the sun with a finger, but the sun will still shine. Cabrera’s work acts as a vehicle to promote cross-cultural exchange and illustrate the importance of seeing in the round.
Spring/Summer 2019
Yelena Yemchuk: Mabel, Betty & Bette
April 5–December 27
Practicing for over 25 years as a photographer and filmmaker, Yelena Yemchuk—who is an active and key photographer for such magazines as Vogue and Elle—incorporates her work in the fashion industry with a studio art practice focused on identity issues. This exhibition will take-over the architecture of the museum’s narrow gallery space with large-scale photographs. Additionally, a new short film Yemchuk completed in November 2018 will premiere at Dallas Contemporary in April 2019. The project will later travel to institutions in New York and Odessa, Ukraine.
Francesco Clemente: White Caravan, Pink Thread, Red Gate
April 12-August 25
Expanding upon his oeuvre of wall frescoes and paintings, this new exhibition will represent the largest series of wall works by Francesco Clemente displayed in a single location. The images will be based on past studio iconography and also inspired by the Trinity River, which runs in close proximity to the museum. The exhibition will also feature six new large-scale sculptures produced in India.
Self Service: Twenty-five Years of Fashion, People, and Ideas Reconsidered
April 12-August 25
A 25-year survey exhibition of the famous boutique lifestyle magazine will include fashion, photography, contemporary art, music and graphic design. Self Service was among the first magazines to move away from the traditional structure of fashion media publications to incorporate satellite genres into one source.
Mario Sorrenti: Kate
April 12-August 25
This focused exhibition of early black and white photographs of Kate Moss which led to the famous Calvin Klein Obsession campaign in the 1990s will include 58 photographs and a never seen before video of Kate Moss taken during the time of the aforementioned production. Running as a parallel project to the Phaidon book published in September 2018, the exhibition will travel to additional museums in Latin America and Asia.
Autumn 2019
John Currin: My Life as a Man
September 15-December 22
My Life as a Man will focus exclusively on Currin’s depictions of his own gender, examining provocative depictions of a range of masculine identities over the course of his career. This occasion will mark the first ever attempt to track the evolution of Currin’s male iconography in a museum exhibition My Life as a Man will begin with Currin’s his lesser known early works on paper from 1990, his early series of kitschy paintings of men with beards (1993-95), his scathing portrayal of male desire in Dream of the Doctor (1997), his signature eccentric figures such as the elderly reader in 2070 (2005) and will culminate with his more baroque genre scenes featuring (gay) male couples such as in his iconic Homemade Pasta (1999), Fisherman (2002), or Hot Pants (2010). This exhibition will also feature over 50 works on paper and sketch book drawings of male figures that have never been publicly exhibited. Just as Currin used his imaginary female characters as caustic pictoral allegories, My Life as a Man will critically analyze Currin’s male gaze when it is trained on the identity politics of manhood.
Alicja Kwade
September 15-March 2020
Alicja Kwade’s work employs ordinary materials such as glass, steel and concrete to explore the conventions developed by humanity in order explain natural phenomena. In questioning the absolute nature of the concept of time, the metric system, and the value of commodities, Kwade reminds us that reality is not absolute—it is what we have agreed upon collectively as a global society. Kwade is developing a new body of work in Mexico for this exhibition which will be shown for the first time at Dallas Contemporary, and a sister exhibition will be on view at the List Visual Arts Center. Kwade’s collaboratively presented solo exhibitions at the two aforementioned institutions will comprise her largest US museum exhibitions to date.
Jessica Vaughn
September 15-December 22
Jessica Vaughn’s first museum exhibition will consist of existing and new site-specific works that consider her investigations into how architectural structures reinforce segregation. Legal and visual representations intertwine in very concrete ways in Vaughn’s work; she is drawn to material and information that are placeholders for institutions and infrastructure that have a direct relationship to the body. As such, Vaughn offers a material representation of the intersection of private enterprise and civil rights policy.
About Dallas Contemporary
Situated within the heart of the city’s burgeoning Design District, Dallas Contemporary is a non-profit, non-collecting museum modeled after a traditional kunsthalle. The institution’s programming focuses on exhibiting both new and recognized multidisciplinary works by emerging and established local and international artists, as well as commissioning site-specific works. Such presentations are further enhanced by the institution’s setting within a 37,000 square-foot industrial building, providing a wholly unique context for each individual exhibition. Dallas Contemporary is one of two bilingual contemporary art institutions in the United States, with a strong focus on expanding audience engagement through temporary exhibitions, artist lectures, and extensive educational initiatives.
Dallas Contemporary’s dynamic curatorial team is comprised of Pedro Alonzo, Emily Edwards, Caroline Elbaor, Laurie Ann Farrell, and Alison Gingeras. With Executive Director Peter Doroshenko at the helm, each of the curatorial staff employs their respective areas of research―including feminist theory, street art, memorialization, issues relating to diaspora, and various forms of labor, among others―to form a compelling and interrelational exhibition programme that engenders urgent conversations both within art discourses as well as contemporary issues at large.
Museum hours are Tuesday-Saturday 11am-6pm; Sunday 12pm-5pm. Admission is always free.
T +214 821 2522
www.dallascontemporary.org
Press inquiries:
Esther Park: dc [at] estherpark.com
Dallas Contemporary: press [at] dallascontemporary.org
