The Three Coolest Art Exhibits to Check Out in Dallas This Spring

From a cool, multi-media contemporary exhibit to one of the largest private Japanese art collections, these are the three new art exhibits to catch in Dallas this spring.

Concentrations 64: Ja’Tovia Gary, I KNOW IT WAS THE BLOOD

Dallas Museum of Art (April 23 through November 5)

Dallas-born artist and filmmaker Ja’Tovia Gary‘s first solo exhibition debuts this Sunday. The exhibit features five artworks created by Gary over the past three years including one sculpture piece commissioned by the DMA. “An evocative memoir that celebrates the power of ancestral knowledge,” this exhibition boasts paintings, films, and installation. In my mother’s house there are many, many… (2023) is a never-before-seen sculpture that will remain as part of the museum’s permanent collection after the exhibit. It’s a giant, armillary sphere covered in cotton. Projections from Gary’s upcoming memoir film are featured on the sculpture.

Japan, Form & Function: The Montgomery Collection

Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas (through April 2024)

Just opened at the Crow Museum of Asian Art, this new Japanese exhibit is the first that has taken over the entire museum for an extended period. It encompasses six galleries and features almost 250 works that have never been shown in the U.S. These pieces (from ceramics to kimonos) were selected from over 1,000 objects that Swiss collector Jeffrey Montgomery has acquired over the years. Emphasizing the Mingei Movement, an exploration of Japanese folk crafts that began in the 1920s, the collection also includes wooden sculptures, banners, metalware, and more. Curated by Luigi Zeni, the exhibit is a wonderful representation of Japanese culture beginning as early as 5,000 to 3,520 BCE.

Thaddeus Mosley: Forest

Nasher Sculpture Center (May 13 through August 20)

Over the last 60 years, 96-year-old artist Thaddeus Mosley has been transforming trees that had fallen near his home in Pittsburgh into large, abstract sculptures. “Forest” presents five of these trees made from walnut. All together they create a shapeshifting experience for the eye that has been formed by Mosley’s carving and chiseling techniques.