5 Art Events for Your Weekend, October 14-16

FIVE: Ties That Bind
The Art Room
2712 Weisenberger St., Fort Worth
6 to 9 p.m. Friday

Sibling rivalry. Mommy issues. Crazy aunts. Local artist Deedra Baker explores these themes and more at FIVE: Ties That Bind, a one-night show featuring portraits, still-lifes and landscapes that document the nexus of three generations of females in Baker’s family (specifically, the interconnectedness between her mother, three sisters, two nieces and herself). As an extension of the traditional family archive of snapshots, the work consists of color photographs and high-definition video. Deedra Baker is a photographer and book artist currently based in Denton. Her work focuses on themes of adolescence, femininity, identity and sexuality. More info at artroom.space.

Expo 2016 (pictured at top)
500X Gallery
500 Exhibition Ave.
7 p.m. Saturday

The application deadline has passed, but starting Oct. 15 Dallasites are invited to judge for themselves at an opening reception for Expo 2016 at 500X Gallery, one of Texas' oldest artist-run cooperative galleries. 500X, which is a contemporary survey of work chosen by a guest curator from the local arts scene, is usually one of North Texas' most anticipated yearly juried competitions. The formats of entries can run the gamut: All visual media are fair game, including drawings, paintings, sculptures, installations and video. This year’s juror is Rachel Rogerson, director at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary (MAC).

The brainchild of a teacher from Massachusetts and a painter from Dallas, 500X Gallery opened in 1978. Nearly four decades later, its mission remains the same: To provide space for up-and-coming Dallas artists to show their works free of outside influence and dealer restrictions. The gallery is located in a historic circa 1916 tire factory and offers over 3000 square feet of exhibition space. It’s served as a springboard for legions of local artists who subsequently achieved national acclaim. Among the Gallery’s alumni are artists Vincent Falsetta, Otis Jones, Nic Nicosia, Frances Bagley, Tom Orr, Frank X. Tolbert, Randall Garrett and Paul Booker. More info at 500x.org.

Abundant Plains
Circuit 12 Contemporary
1811 E. Levee St.
6 p.m. Saturday

Today’s hyper-visual culture inundates us with images streaming in and out of our news feeds, mobile apps and Google searches. As a result, the original context is all but lost in translation. Abundant Plains, which will host an opening reception Oct. 15 at Circuit 12 Contemporary, is an exhibit of new works by a pair of artists both interested in answering the question, “How do people process all this sensory overload? Casey Gray and Clark Goolsby may share the same philosophy, but it manifests in vastly different mediums: Gray is committed to aerosol paints and hand-cut masking techniques, resulting in an intriguing artistic breed he calls “skewed hyper-realism.” Goolsby’s works are heavy on geometry, walking the line between painting and collage. Both artists will be in attendance. More info at circuit12.com.

Dislocated Histories by David Crimson
Craighead Green Gallery
1011 Dragon St.
5 p.m. Saturday

Imagine a grandiose painting of your favorite historical figure (who, for the sake of this argument, is Abraham Lincoln). Revel in the pleasantry of simpler times back when an honest, normal person was POTUS. Next, imagine the Abe portrait slashed, pixelated and otherwise distorted to the point you feel like you’re hallucinating. This feels like an accurate description of Dislocated Histories.

In his oil paintings on metal, Oklahoma artist David Crimson manipulates images from the past to accentuate the truth-stretching that occurs when reconstructing history. Crimson's technique involves digitally altering large reproduced images of art, then splicing them into psychedelic, fractured tiles. Then he paints them onto metal. Somehow, it works, and history becomes not just revisionist, but fractured. More info at craigheadgreen.com.



Not Monumental
Gray Matters Gallery
113 N. Haskell Ave.
6 p.m. Saturday 

Bubble wrap, burlap and triangular cuts from old linoleum floors are just a sampling of the mishmash of unlikely materials you’ll find at Not Monumental, an exhibit of small works by three contemporary artists (Josephine Durkin, Stacy Fisher and Jay Henderson). Opening at Gray Matters Gallery this weekend, the quirky collection explores the intersection of the salvaged object and “the tension between individual authorship and cultural ownership.” Indeed, 99 percent of the materials the artists used can be found at the hardware store. Durkin builds relief sculptures by combining studio leftovers. Fisher creates abstract floor-to-wall sculptures. Henderson uses a hot glue gun and metallic leafing to create trash sculptures of which the glue itself is the subject matter. All three approaches result in eye candy, at once sensual and enticing. More info at vancewingate.com.