Top Five: April 20, 2023

Glasstire counts down the top five art events in Texas.

For last week’s picks, please go here.

1. Cerámica Suro: A Story of Collaboration, Production, and Collecting in the Contemporary Arts
Dallas Contemporary
April 20 – December 31, 2023

From Dallas Contemporary:

“cerámica suro: a story of collaboration, production, and collecting in the contemporary arts will be the first comprehensive american presentation of the studio’s influence on contemporary art vis-à-vis the collection amassed by josé noé suro and his wife marcela. selections from this collection, which is made up of over 700 pieces, are curated into the exhibition by executive director and chief curator of guadalajara’s zapopan art museum (maz), viviana kuri, who also organized the previous iteration of the exhibition at maz.

cerámica suro: a story of collaboration, production, and collecting in the contemporary arts features three thematic elements that together tell a single story of a personal collection: pieces produced in the cerámica suro workshop by artists who have used high-fired ceramic or other techniques or materials; productions aimed at the fields of industrial design and architecture; and a representative survey of the history of contemporary art from the late twentieth century to the present day, with pieces by both mexican and foreign artists who have been associated with the workshop through collaborative efforts and exchanges.”

2. Hyperreal: Gray Foy
The Menil Drawing Institute (Houston)
April 21 – September 3, 2023

“Between the 1940s and 1970s, American artist Gray Foy (1922–2012) created a body of extraordinarily meticulous drawings, most often rendered in graphite on paper. This exhibition celebrates two recent gifts that have been made to the Menil Collection the foremost repository of Foy’s work. Intrigued by Surrealism and Magic Realism as a young artist, Foy characterized his artistic method as ‘hyper-realism.’ His exacting technique — which required intense concentration and even months to complete a single drawing — rewards sustained looking.

The exhibition spans the entirety of Foy’s career, from his early Surrealist compositions to his later inventive botanical and geological renderings. Also included are a selection of the artist’s commercial illustrations, which will be displayed publicly for the first time. Hyperreal: Gray Foy is curated by Kirsten Marples, Curatorial Associate, Menil Drawing Institute.”

3. Old Wounds, Dark Dreams
The Art Galleries at Black Studies UT Austin
February 8 – May 19, 2023

From The Art Galleries at Black Studies The University of Texas at Austin:

“The University of Texas at Austin’s Art Galleries at Black Studies (AGBS) is excited to announce its spring exhibition Old Wounds, Dark Dreams, which features video works by contemporary African American artists Carrie Mae Weems, Cauleen Smith, Rodney McMillian, and Charles Gaines.

Curated by Dr. Cherise Smith, AGBS Founding Executive Director, Old Wounds, Dark Dreams is AGBS’ first all video exhibition. Gaines, McMillian, Smith, and Weems use video to meditate on anti-Black racism and the wounds it inflicts on the American psyche while participating in the tradition of appropriation: when artists quote other artists’ motifs, methods, and works to contribute new meanings to the old which, in turn, allows them to comment on, critique, or amplify the original.

As exhibition curator Cherise Smith remarks, ‘In this time when our country continues to reckon with events during which our citizens’ human rights have been abused, it is crucial to see how artists reckon with and commemorate dark episodes in our history. Weems, Gaines, Smith, and McMillian convey deep feelings, such as grief, tenderness, and longing, about U.S. history that are critical to explore.’”

4. Womanish: Audacious, Courageous, Willful Art
McNay Art Museum (San Antonio)
March 4 – July 2, 2023

From Mcnay Art Museum:

“Since its opening in 1954, the McNay has consistently collected and presented artwork by women. The Museum’s founder, Marion Koogler McNay, was an artist and a supporter of the arts — and we strive to honor her legacy.

Womanish: Audacious, Courageous, Willful Art features artwork by women acquired by the McNay from 2010 to the present. In 2010, the McNay presented the landmark exhibition Neither Model Nor Muse, which celebrated artwork by women from all of the Museum’s major collecting areas. Envisioned as a second chapter to this exhibition, Womanish features over 70 artists and demonstrates the McNay’s ongoing commitment to women.”

5. re.e.mer.gence: Women AbEx and Color Field Artists
Jody Klotz Fine Art (Abilene)
March 21 – June 1, 2023

From Jody Klotz Fine Art:

“There is a current focus on the rediscovery of women Abstract Expressionist artists who have been relegated to semi-obscurity, along with great attention to elevating the importance of more established figures who played integral roles in the dynamics of the period. re.e.mer.gence presents a selection of some lesser-known figures of the period alongside artists that are more established in the canon, and it challenges the viewer to ask the questions, “who is this artist and why have I never heard of her?” Overshadowed by their male counterparts of the post war period, there is an ongoing rediscovery of artists who were oftentimes widely exhibited and highly talented but who have somehow been overlooked by the reductive narrative.

Gradually, these artists are shifting into the light, capturing the attention of collectors, curators, museums, and gallerists. It’s a mystery how some of these artists can be so little known once you look at the strength and individuality of their work. There is a rhythm of rediscovery in a climate hungry to re-establish these artists. In the upcoming show, aptly titled re.e.mer.gence, Jody Klotz Fine Art focuses on three impactful women from the Abstract Expressionist and Color Field movements in addition to 12 other highly relevant artists.”