“Foreign Affairs” and “Moonlight”: Two Exhibitions in Dallas

Foreign Affairs at SITE131, June 22 – August 17, 2024

Site 131’s exhibition, Foreign Affairs, showcases the works of doctoral and graduate students from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), bringing together a selection of graphic works, interactive installations, and multimedia pieces. The diverse roster of artists come from countries including Brazil, China, Ecuador, Israel, Philippines, and Vietnam, with seven from Iran. The Iranian artists included here offer an exploration of themes of representation and dissent.

Fatemah Baigmoradi’s manipulated photographs stand out, as she physically burns them to conceal or reveal the personas within her images, evincing a strain on their bodies. Maryam Takalou’s piece features what appears to be a magnifying lens for dentists draped in sheer white fabric that’s painted with birds in flight among the words “Body” and “Home,” reflecting on the interplay between physical presence and personal space. Zahra Jafarpour’s installation presents a table with its front legs modified into a kneeling position, with plates painted to show dead birds she encountered on the street during her studies in Italy. In each of these pieces, there is a sense of compromised material. This manipulation adds layers of meaning, emphasizing themes like physical strain, the intersection of body and home, and the presence of death in everyday life.

Vajihe Zamaniderkani’s dual abstractions offer a different contrast: on the wall, canvases show fragmented portraits reduced to jagged lines, alongside similar paintings of broken planes of color. Below these works, a collection of sprouting plants in jars of water adds an organic element, emphasizing the elemental separations of form, color, and life.

Hadi Asgharpour’s Echoes of Dried Waters is a particularly evocative installation. This piece features a canoe made of clear plastic, flanked by two oars. Sensors at the bow of the canoe detect the viewer’s proximity, causing the oars to turn and change speed accordingly. When the viewer steps away, the object jolts the oars back into their original position, creating a visceral, sensorial alarm. The plastic boat, in its fragility and unstable seams, expresses obsolescence, as if it was made to fail.

Foreign Affairs is an exhibition that offers a weighty exploration of identity, political systems, and personal experiences. The works here not only speak to the individual perspectives of artists who have come to Dallas to pursue an education in the arts, but also reflect their navigation to their studies. This collective narrative brings to light shared experiences, qualms, and fears, offering larger lessons about cultural integration and the global exchange of artistic ideas.

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Haas Brothers: Moonlight at the Nasher Sculpture Center, May 11, 2024 – August 25, 2024

The Nasher Sculpture Center presents Moonlight, an exhibition that captures the playful and imaginative spirit of the Haas Brothers, Nikolai and Simon Haas. This duo creates enchanting environments filled with fantastical flora and fauna, merging art, design, and technology into a magical experience. The exhibition features three bodies of work displayed throughout the Nasher’s indoor and outdoor spaces, each piece showing the brothers’ blend of curiosity, humor, and a deep passion for nature.

Visitors to the Nasher are greeted by the Moon Towers on Flora Street, tall and slender sculptures that serve as glowing streetlamps at dusk. These pieces draw inspiration from the organic forms of architect Antoni Gaudí and the sinuous art nouveau designs of Hector Guimard, resembling mutant vegetative organisms that complement the existing Burr Oak trees.

Inside the museum, a majestic tree adorned with larger-than-life strawberries, giant blue blossoms, and beaded vines transforms the familiar into the whimsical. Its blue trunk and limbs create an otherworldly atmosphere in the artists’ enchanting garden. This installation showcases the intricate beading techniques executed by a group of women from Lost Hills, California. The collective’s work not only brings beauty to the exhibition, but also highlights a significant community initiative that empowers and employs these artisans.

The exhibition additionally features sculptures made from Portuguese Pele de Tigre (tiger’s skin) marble, a material the Haas Brothers recently revisited from their childhood experiences working with stone under their father’s guidance. These solid, smooth sculptures, provide a grounded contrast to the delicate elements of The Strawberry Tree.

Moonlight is a testament to the Haas Brothers’ ability to transport viewers to a fertile, fanciful, and futuristic world, blending playful aesthetics with profound craftsmanship. This exhibition at the Nasher Sculpture Center is a must-see for anyone interested in the transformative power of art and nature.

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William Sarradet is the Assistant Editor for Glasstire.