Must-see art

10 eye-opening art exhibitions around Dallas-Fort Worth in January

Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents "Morning Light: Photographs of David H. Gibson" starting on January 14.

Photo by David H. Gibson

From exploring and celebrating identity to sharing the dawn of a new day or a new year, Dallas-Fort Worth artists are jumping into 2023 with both feet and a lot of heart. Local art galleries and museums have shows ready to lead us to new discoveries and nourish our spirits. Here are 10 must-see exhibitions to visit in January, in order of opening date.

"The Miseducation of Boys and Girls"
Cris Worley Fine Arts, through February 11
In her playful yet powerful paintings for this series, Abi Salami borrowed from pop culture and her indigenous Nigerian religious experience to explore and question such concepts as femininity and masculinity, innocence and seduction, betrayal and desire. Her work uses humor and shocks of color as a way to prompt unasked questions and address (mis)education around these topics.

"Color is the dope"
Galleri Urbane, through February 11
After being included in Galleri Urbane's 2021 group summer show, RIPE, and showing numerous presentations across Europe, Hungarian painter Aron Barath brings his first solo exhibition in the United States to the Dallas gallery. His paintings, created using brooms, sponges, sprayers, and handmade tools, simultaneously display as transparent and impasto, creating a vibrant fusion of gesture, color, and light.

"Appropriated Portrayals"
Arts Fort Worth, through February 25
Artist Kelly Waller creates sculptural forms she considers self-portraits using mixed media including paper, printmaking, and fiber. For this display, Waller used materials found in antique or resale shops to fabricate works to illustrate that we are products of our own environment, the media we choose to consume, and the decisions we make in life.

The Punjabi Cowboy, mixed media and photo collage on wood 2022 will be on display at Oak Cliff Cultural Center starting January 14.Usama Khalid

"Punjabi Cowboy"
Oak Cliff Cultural Center, January 14-February 11
First-generation Pakistani-American Usama Khalid delves into memory, identity, food, immigration, terrorism, and Pakistani culture in sculptural self-portraits of collaged photographs and fabrics. Khalid brings together issues of identity and homeland in the exhibition and in a communal barbecue, fusing Texas brisket with Punjabi spices, he has organized for the opening reception. The reception and BBQ will take place 6-8 pm January 14.

“hasta que me muera”
500X Gallery, January 14-29
In this exhibition, Fort Worth artist Christopher Nájera Estrada's drawings encased in resin honor cherished familial memories while acknowledging the gender roles and ideologies imposed onto him as a child. He explores the coexistence and acceptance of queer ideas alongside historical machismo culture with the intent to heal intergenerational trauma. There will be an opening reception on January 14 with a performance at 8 pm.

"Morning Light: Photographs of David H. Gibson"
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, January 14-May 21
Few of us will get to experience pre-dawn hours at Cypress Creek in Wimberley, Texas, or Eagle Nest Lake near Taos, New Mexico, but Dallas photographer David H. Gibson has been photographing those moments for decades. The 20 works in this exhibition demonstrate his expertise in capturing effervescent moisture and changing light, imbuing each image with mysticism and the quiet beauty of nature.

"Year of the Rabbit"
Laura Rathe Fine Art, January 14-Februray 11
Born in a since-past year of the rabbit, Hunt Slonem has long been captivated and inspired by the symbol of good luck. His neo-expressionist paintings incorporate playful contrasts in color and texture in this solo presentation of his popular series of bunnies that fittingly celebrates another upcoming lunar year of the rabbit. The exhibition opens on January 14 with a book signing from 4:30-5:30 pm, a reception from 5:30-7:30 pm, and an artist talk at 6 pm.

Grand Opening
Art on Main, January 21
A new arts facility with exhibition space for group or solo shows, private events, and art classes is opening in East Dallas. Art on Main (4428 Main St., Ste. 200) will celebrate its Grand Opening from 3-7 pm Saturday, January 21 with work on display by founder and principal Andrea Lamarsaude. The East Dallas Chamber of Commerce will host the official ribbon cutting at 5 pm.

Mark di Suvero: "Steel Like Paper" opening day Nasher Sculpture Center presents "Mark di Suvero: Steel Like Paper." Photo courtesy of Nasher Sculpture Center

"Mark di Suvero: Steel Like Paper"
Nasher Sculpture Center, January 28-August 27
Mark di Suvero's steel sculptures might be some of the most recognizable art in Dallas, with Ad Astra rising to 48 feet tall in NorthPark Center's North Court and equally monumental works in the Dallas Arts District. As the Nasher Sculpture Centers rings in its 20th year, the museum celebrates di Suvero's more than six-decade career with "Steel Like Paper." The exhibition gives us a glimpse into his studio work with rarely seen drawings and paintings, plus 30 sculptures of varying sizes.

"Connections: Frank Frazier, Earline Green, John Johnson, Gerald Leavell and Burl Washington"
Irving Arts Center, January 28-February 25
Irving's annual Black History Month art exhibition, presented by the Irving Black Arts Council, brings the work of local artists to the Irving Arts Center main gallery every February. This year's exhibition features work by Fort Worth painter Burl Washington, ceramics instructor and historian Earline Green, and the art of Frank Frazier, John Johnson, and Gerald Leavell. A reception for the exhibition will be held at 5 pm February 4.

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Lorenzo di Masi/Torlonia Collection

The Torlonia Nile

A major exhibition of ancient Roman masterworks is coming to the U.S. for the first time to be viewed at only three museums — including the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

Called Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, it's an assemblage of works stewarded by the Torlonia Family beginning in the early-19th century, and will be installed at the Kimbell from September 14, 2025 – January 25, 2026.

As part of the Foundation’s mission to showcase these historical works to the public, the exhibition will premiere at the Art Institute of Chicago on March 15 through June 29, before traveling to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Its third stop will be at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, from March 14 - July 19, 2026.

The Torlonia Collection was established during the course of the 19th century by the Franco-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia and his son Alessandro, then handed down over generations, eventually growing into the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures.

Today, the Torlonia Foundation represents the culmination of the Family’s continued passion for art. Created at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925–2017), the Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia.

In 1876, Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1800-1886) created a museum to house and exhibit the Family’s holdings, which was open to small groups until its closure at the onset of World War II. The sculptures remained unseen by the public from that time until the Foundation’s first exhibition at the Musei Capitolini in Rome in 2020. That was followed by a stint at the Louvre, the first presentation of the collection outside of Rome, where it has drawn more than 600,000 visitors to date, an unprecedented feat.

The exhibit
The curators of Myth & Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection are Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum Box. All of the sculptures in the exhibition have been restored by the Foundation with the support of Bvlgari.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, edited by Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff, with essays by Silvia Beltrametti and Salvatore Settis.

The North American presentation will feature 58 highlights from the Torlonia Collection, including 24 newly restored works that have not been on view in nearly a century. The sculptures date from approximately the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, with the majority of the works dating to the High Imperial period (1st–2nd centuries CE). Highlights include examples of the most emblematic genres of ancient marble sculpture, acquired by the Torlonia Family from the most prominent collections of Rome’s patrician families, as well as from excavations made on the Family’s own estates throughout Italy.

“The Foundation is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in North America for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia Family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of the Torlonia Foundation.

The presentation is organized thematically in six sections, featuring sculptures found on the Torlonia Family’s properties in Rome and the surrounding suburbs and their estate in Porto, Portugal, as well as a number of exceptional sarcophagi (stone coffins), among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome.

The tour reinforces the work of the Foundation to advance the appreciation and understanding of this unparalleled collection and the rich cultural heritage it represents. The Foundation’s mission is carried out through a continuous joint effort between the public and private sectors, including with the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Culture. The Foundation is supported by a longstanding collaboration with Bvlgari as the principal sponsor of the restoration project since its inception in Rome and throughout the global tour, and Chiomenti, who has lent invaluable support to the Foundation’s core activities.

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