Fort Worth Museums Celebrate Major Milestones With Stunning New Exhibitions — Your Arty Guide
The Kimbell, The Sid Richardson and The Modern All Get In On the Fun
BY Courtney Dabney // 09.23.22The Kimbell Art Museum's Kahn Building's barrel vaults still leave a major impression. (Photo by Nic Lehoux)
The Kimbell Art Museum is celebrating a big birthday. But it’s not the only Fort Worth museum having a major happening this fall. These are the Fort Worth museum events you need to know about.
The Kimbell’s 50th anniversary week will be run from October 4 through October 9. Recognized as one of American architect Louis I. Kahn’s greatest achievements, The Kimbell opened in 1972. From the beginning, its dramatic barrel-vaulted ceiling canopy diffused gossamer natural light to the space, creating an unforgettable experience.
Italian architect Renzo Piano added his own crescendo when The Kimbell’s versatile second building opened in 2013. It is located across the lawn from Kahn’s modern, cascading water features and tree-lined setting.
Over the past half-century, Fort Worth’s love for the museum’s architecture has been matched by visitors and students from around the world. Still, the remarkable buildings are only the beginning. The Kimbell Art Museum carries a world class reputation for its own collection, which has just grown once more.
In celebration of Kahn’s stellar achievement, The Kimbell has acquired three pastel and charcoal drawings of the Temple of Apollo at Corinth, which are part of a small, remarkable group of pastels that Kahn created himself. Kahn made the drawings while traveling in Italy, Egypt and Greece during his tenure as architect in residence at the American Academy in Rome between 1950 and 1951.
The Kimbell’s 50th Anniversary Fun
The Kimbell is offering free admission to its new Murillo: From Heaven to Earth exhibition during its 50th anniversary week.
The museum is also hosting a free family festival and celebration on Saturday, October 8, from 1 pm to 7:30 pm. This true community event will feature family-friendly activities, movies, lives performances, food trucks and a special performance from Fort Worth-based singer-songwriter Abraham Alexander.
From 1 pm to 4 pm, performances will take place on the grand lawn. You can expect Taiko drummers, Flamenco dancers and more.
From 4 pm to 7:30 pm, light bites will be available for purchase from local food trucks, including Magdalena’s and Heim Barbecue, and there will be a cash bar from the Kimbell Cafe. At 4 pm, local band Cotinga will take the main stage, followed by Abraham Alexander at 5:30 pm.
Tickets are free but required for all attendees, including Kimbell members, adults and kids. Free ticket reservations are available here.
In addition to special architecture tours and film screenings, The Kimbell at 50 art exhibition will begin on October 4 inside the Louis I. Kahn Building, giving visitors the chance to learn about the history of Fort Worth’s beloved museum.
It includes archival materials and photographs that chronicle memorable events in the history of the foundation and museum, including the design and construction of the Louis I. Kahn Building and the Renzo Piano Pavilion. An interactive digital presentation will enable viewers to revisit outstanding acquisitions and noteworthy exhibitions throughout the years.
40 Years At The Sid Richardson
Meanwhile, the Sid Richardson Museum is also celebrating a major milestone this fall. That would be 40 years of prompting the art of the American West. Opening this Saturday, September 24, Night & Day: Frederic Remington’s Final Decade presents rare artworks made in the final decade of the iconic Western artist’s life. It’s a time when he shifted focus from work in illustration to fine art, prior to his untimely death at age 48.
Alternating between color palettes of blue-green and yellow-orange, Remington created Western scenes using impressionist painting techniques.
An installation of Remington’s bronzes will be on view along with a rare series of prints. Remington’s Revisions in Bronze show side-by-side sculpture subjects he remade with different finishes in varying sizes.
Exhibition programming kicks off October 7 with a lecture from art historian Mark Thistlethwaite, titled From Illustrator to Fine Artist: Frederic Remington’s Final Frontier.
Additional Sid Richardson Museum 40th anniversary programming includes the Tea & Talk series, in-person lectures, a book program focusing on the American West and trivia nights. For more details, click here.
The Modern’s Tribute to Anne Marion
Of course, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is also getting in on the art fun. Modern Masters: A Tribute to Anne Windfohr Marion will be on view October 23 through January 8. The show features one of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth’s greatest patrons, tracing her support over nearly a half century.
This Modern exhibition includes 80 works from 47 artists. The five renowned works gifted to the Modern on Marion’s recent passing include Arshile Gorky’s The Plow and the Song (1947); Willem de Kooning’s Two Women (1954 to 55; Mark Rothko’s White Band No. 27 (1954); David Smith’s Dida Becca Merry X (1964); and Ellsworth Kelly’s Spectrum III (1967).
The tribute exhibit will feature work from post World War II art movements, including the abstract expressionist artist Jackson Pollock; iconic minimalist works from Carl Andre, Agnes Martin and Richard Serra; and post-1970 photography from an international field of artists such as Bernd and Hilla Becher, Yasumasa Morimura, Thomas Ruff, Cindy Sherman and Carrie Mae Weems.
Works presented in this Modern exhibition were made possible by Anne Marion, Anne and John Marion, or The Burnett Foundation. There are also gifts donated anonymously or in partnership with the Sid W. Richardson Foundation on display.
Fort Worth is having another major art moment. And any art lover can be part of it.