Terrific Tandem: From the searing portraits and hypnotic canvases of an international art star to a poignant look at the vanishing American tradition of the sideshow, this summer has it all. Catch the first-ever American retrospective for the masterful mid-career Belgian Luc Tuymans at the Dallas Museum of Art, the second leg of a national tour. Tuymans, a painter’s painter, is an influential artist within his figurative oeuvre, which spans the grand tradition of Northern European painting, extending back to the late Gothic era, to today’s media-saturated, cinematic spectacles (through September 5) ... As a counterpoint to the Tuymans retrospective, we suggest “World of Wonders” at Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery. This amazing series by husband-and-wife team Jimmy and Dena Katz, follows the vanishing carnival folk of the “World of Wonders” troupe, from 80-year-old ringmaster Ward Hall in his faded finery to classic but destined-to-be-bygone acts such as fire-breathing John Johnson (extended through July 24).
Cheers to the Contemporary: Dallas Contemporary puts its soaring new space to work by bringing in up-to-the-minute, Brooklyn-based guest curator Regine Basha for the fresh exhibition “Seedlings,” billed as “Nature. Industry. Productivity.” Basha corrals nine Texas, New York City and California talents for a topical look at artists taking on the environment, including Hilary Berseth, whose hive sculpture formed from towers of actual honeycomb provided the show-stopping invitation image (through August 8) ... While you’re in the neighborhood, cruise by The Goss-Michael Foundation’s new 12,000-square-foot home, unveiling this fall in the lower Oak Lawn area at 1405 Turtle Creek Boulevard. Stay tuned for details about the grand opening.
Gallery-Rama: Make tracks to Dunn and Brown Contemporary for a doubleheader that pairs Texas painter Aaron Parazette with the smart group show “Floor Plan.” Parazette’s jubilant exhibition, “Snow White Tan,” touts abstraction through compelling shaped canvases and a new wall painting. “Floor Plan” brings together eight from D and B’s esteemed stable whose work addresses space, implies architecture and proves that Texans can hold their own with anyone in the room: Tara Donovan, Vernon Fisher, Joseph Havel, Annette Lawrence, Amy Myers, Nic Nicosia, Matthew Sontheimer and Erick Swenson. (Both exhibitions through August 21.) ... Carl Jung’s recently released private journal, The Red Book, has inspired Rome Prize artist Bert Long Jr. at HCG Gallery. His “Red Room” interweaves sculpture and painting within singular works that possess an incontestable power and authenticity. When the show debuted at the Jung Center in Houston, it was hailed as Long’s strongest of the past decade. No surprise, then, that this show is heading north (July 10 – August 14).
Images:
Above: Jimmy and Dena Katz’s John Johnson Breathing Fire, Florida, 2007, at Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery. Photo courtesy of the artists.
Below: Luc Tuymans’ Turtle, 2007, at Dallas Museum of Art. Photo courtesy David Zwirner, NY, & Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp.
