Current Exhibitions

Günther Förg: A Fragile Beauty will survey the prolific and provocative career of the late artist Günther Förg (1952-2013). Förg was closely associated with the Cologne scene of the 1980s, a group of irreverent artists who challenged the traditions of painting. This exhibition—the first major museum presentation of his work in the United States since 1989—will bring renewed attention to Förg’s work by examining his legacy in relation to key issues of the 20th century, including postwar nostalgia and loss and the utopianism of high modernism.

Concurrent with Günther Förg: A Fragile Beauty, the DMA will present a special installation of works by German artists in the Museum’s collection to contextualize Förg’s practice. Over the past 25 years, the Dallas Museum of Art has emerged as a leading US institution in collecting and exhibiting postwar German art. Förg was featured in the Museum’s Encounters series in 1992, and solo exhibitions of work by German artists Sigmar Polke and Thomas Struth followed in the decade to come. These years also saw the exponential growth of Museum holdings in this area. From Düsseldorf to Dallas brings together a selection of editions and paintings by Gerhard Richter, including three new acquisitions, along with works by Polke, Struth, and Jörg Immendorff.

Opening this fall, Women + Design: New Works is an exhibition composed of recent works by seven contemporary female designers. It also features two newly created pieces that will go on view for the first time by Iris van Herpen and Najla El Zein. International in origin and diverse in their media, forms, and objectives, this dynamic group of emerging and mid-career female designers additionally includes Katie Collins, Carrie Dickens, Iris van Herpen, Genevieve Howard, Katie Stout, and Faye Toogood.

This exhibition brings together prints and drawings by European artists, such as Fernand Léger, Kazimir Malevich, Lyonel Feininger, and El Lissitzy, who captured the impact of industrialization on urban life in the early 20th century. Subjects such as power lines, neon signs, and factories became emblems of the speed and dynamism associated with modern life. Working in a variety of innovative styles that range from representational to abstract, these artists underscored the modernity of their subjects by adopting unique artistic philosophies.