Christina Rees and Brandon Zech on a host of solo shows to catch across the state as you break for the holidays.
“If you have some time this weekend, you can use this as a guide.”
The Problem We All Live With, 1963 Norman Rockwell.
1. Norman Rockwell: American Freedom
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
December 15 – March 22, 2020
“Norman Rockwell: American Freedom is the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to Norman Rockwell’s iconic depictions of the Four Freedoms outlined by Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Fear, and Freedom from Want. The presentation explores how Rockwell’s 1943 paintings came to be embraced by millions of Americans. These works of art provided crucial aid to the war effort and took their place among the most indelible images in the history of American art.
Organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum, the exhibition features a range of works in addition to Rockwell’s celebrated images of the Four Freedoms. Norman Rockwell: American Freedom showcases paintings, illustrations, prints, and more by Rockwell (1894–1978) and many of his contemporaries, including Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, J.C. Leyendecker, Arthur Rothstein, Mead Schaeffer, Ben Shahn, and Arthur Szyk.
Historical documents, photographs, videos, and artifacts throughout the installation bring the era to life. A selection of photographs from a contemporary response—the For Freedoms photography project by Hank Willis Thomas and Emily Shur—is on display in an adjoining gallery.”
2. Tommy Fitzpatrick: SUPERFLUX
Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas
November 23 – January 25, 2020
“A series of new paintings by Tommy Fitzpatrick. This exhibition marks the artist’s fifth solo show at the gallery.
For the past twenty years, color, space, and architecture have been primary sources of inspiration for Fitzpatrick’s paintings. In 2013, he began creating sculptural assemblages in the studio that were stand-ins for the architecture. Most recently, Fitzpatrick is using computer-aided design (CAD) programs as the blueprint for the painted imagery. Because of this digitally dominant process, he is now leaving more evidence of the hand, by adding texture, and thickness of paint on the surface in addition to his hard-edge techniques. By combining digital and analog processes, Fitzpatrick is creating work that instigates a conversation between what it is and how it is made. This new approach to painting makes the meticulously painted geometric shapes appear as if it were hovering atop the canvas.”
3. Jennifer Ling Datchuk: Don’t Worry Be Happy
Ruiz-Healy Art, San Antonio
November 6 – January 11
“Following her 2019 Artpace Residency, Jennifer Ling Datchuk’s concurrent exhibitions at Ruiz-Healy Art, San Antonio and New York, explore social expectations placed on girls and how this pressure translates into womanhood. In the words of the artist, this work confronts how “little girls are taught to be seen not heard, perpetuating our roles as empty vessels for the desire and fulfillment of men.” Datchuk takes on these complexities of femininity through an active recontextualization of the objects that define it. Through her championing of the handmade and her use of materials such as hair and porcelain, Datchuk seeks to rewrite the histories and traumas of womanhood and ultimately find empowerment through objects of womanhood.”
4. AMoA Biennial 600: Textile + Fiber
Amarillo Museum of Art
October 11 – December 22
“AMoA Biennial 600: Textile + Fiber is the eighth in an ongoing series of juried biennial exhibitions exploring specific areas of artistic practice, material, and content. Artworks were selected from entries submitted by artists residing within a 600-mile radius of Amarillo, Texas. AMoA received over 500 artwork entries for this year’s Biennial 600. Artworks from more than 60 artists are included in the exhibition.”
5. Ruth A. Keitz: Invisible Perspectives
Ao5 Gallery (Formerly ART on 5th), Austin
November 23 – December 22
“Ruth A. Keitz is a Texas paper collage artist living in the Rio Grande Valley. She creates her work using discarded materials from the modern world, in the tradition of Duchamp’s “ready-made” found object style. She is most interested in the inherent physicality of these objects; their texture, shapes and color, as well as their relationship to our everyday experience. “Ruth was a finalist in the 2019 Contemporary Texas art competition at Ao5 Gallery this spring. We’re very excited to bring a solo exhibit of her work to Austin for the first time!”
To see our Top Five from last week, go here.
