Ed Blackburn's Ancient History I find myself pointing to shows at Mountain View College's Cliff Gallery quite a bit recently. I'm not sure if it's just a string of good shows, recently acquired awareness of the space, or if the programming has seen an uptick. Regardless, this weekend the space opens another interesting show. Fort Worth-based artist Ed Blackburn demonstrates interest in using his painting to tell stories. His pieces in Ancient History tell the stories of a man man unwilling to accept a repressive program who gets thrown into a lion's den and a woman who uncovers a genocide plot. See it in the opening reception from 6-8 p.m. Friday. Artist remarks at 6:30 p.m. More information.
Ryan Goolsby's Semantic Field In addition to language, humans have also developed symbols to communicate. From numbers to scientific data, these modern hieroglyphs inspire the work of Dallas-based artist Ryan Goolsby. In his exhibition at Liliana Bloch Gallery, Semantic Field, his reference to these symbols subtly questions the trustworthiness of the systems we use to organize human life. Much of his work comes in mock scientific diagrams sculptural pieces that hint at data structures. See the work in its opening exhibition at 6 p.m. Saturday at Liliana Bloch Gallery (2919 Commerce St.), or through December 6. The gallery is open from 12 - 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. More information at lilianablochgallery.com.
Julieta Aguinaco: To My Daughter When I was a little girl, I had a fantasy about wearing my mother's wedding dress. Hers was the first white gown that represented marriage and happiness to me. As humans we learn traditions from our parents. We learn where in life to place value, and daughters learn from their mothers how to dress. This idea that an outfit can serve as a symbol of motherhood and family is a piece of Mexican artist Julieta Aguinaco's exhibition, To My Daughter, that opens at Cydonia Gallery this weekend. She arranges a clothes rack with dresses from her grandmother, her mother and herself, while 101 photographs of the artist in the dresses line the walls. For Aguinaco, it's not just about the mother daughter dynamic, but about the complex history of her Mexican ancestry. See the exhibition at is opening recpetion from 6 -8 p.m. Friday at Cydonia (167 Payne St.), or thorugh December 27. Admission is free. The gallery is open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Wednesday - Sundays. More information at cydoniagallery.com.
Black Radical Imagination On the same weekend that the city hosts the Dallas Faces Race conference, the Dallas Museum of Art presents Black Radical Imagination, "a touring program of seven short filmsthat delve into the worlds of new media, video art, and experimental narrative. Focusing on new stories within the diaspora, each artist contributes his or her own vision of postmodern society through the state of current black culture." The screening at the Dallas Museum of Art is free and open to the public. See it at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Tête-à-Tête: "A Conversation with Draftsmen of the Apocalypse: Thor Johnson and Joachim West" To know a bit more about Thor Johnson's history is to better understand his art, which often contains excessive mess and violence. If you've had it on your calendar to see the latest exhibition at CentralTrak, seize the opportunity to see the work and hear from two of the artists at 7 p.m. Thursday when both Johnson and Joachim West will discuss their work in the show. More information at centraltrak.net.
