5 Art Exhibitions to See This Weekend

Why are you leaving? Where are you going? Will you come back?
If you've ever stuck your nose down in an art history book, you've likely learned that master French artist Paul Gauguin spent several years in Tahiti. It's also likely that you've seen one of his resulting paintings, “Nafea faa ipoipo (When Will You Marry Me?)”. It's a lovely, figurative work of two young women on the island. Since its completion in 1892 the piece has had a long provenance that started with its display in a Paris exhibition where it was one of the only pieces that sold. Since then, “Nafea faa ipoipo” has changed hands numerous times and was the subject of a Swiss property law controversy when it was on display at the Kimbell Museum in 1997. In 2015 it sold for $300 million to a private collector in Qatar and it was seen for what might be final time last year in Washington DC. This painting and what it means for such a prominent public work to be sold into a private collection is the subject of Why are you leaving? Where are you going? Will you come back?, an exhibit by Aaron Krach taking over the Reading Room (3715 Parry Ave.) this weekend. See it from 6-8 p.m. Saturday or during open hours through July 11. More at thereadingroom-dallas.blogspot.com.

Zeke Williams: Heat Check
Some artists can't stop making. They won't go a month, a week, or even a day without picking up a paintbrush or dancing their fingers over a typewriter. They're constantly churning out new work and posting it on Instagram. Other artists let more than a decade breeze by without putting work out into the world. That's what Zeke Williams did. It's not that this Dallas based artist put down the spray can - his art tool of choice - he just hasn't been publicly exhibiting the results. Lately, he's returned to his art with a vigor though, and this weekend he'll display his latest paintings in a solo exhibition at Erin Cluley Gallery (414 Fabrication St.). See his big, colorful paintings in an opening reception from 6-8 p.m. Saturday or through July 11. More at erincluley.com.


Jesse J. Griffith: Hyperfocus
What is meditation if not personal? What does it mean to observe meditation? Or to be observed? This is the complicated exploration artist Jesse J. Griffith embarks upon in his latest video and sound installations, which will be on display at CentralTrak (800 Exposition Ave.) starting this weekend. The combinations of sight and sound captured in the moments of peace and quiet documented for public consumption become observational meditation. It seems highly appropriate in a world over-saturated with Instagram photos of newly acquired yoga poses. See the work in opening reception from 8-10 p.m. Saturday or through June 27. More at centraltrak.net.

Le Train Bleu
Let me stretch your brain for a minute with something I've never proposed before, although many an art critic before me certainly has. Dance = Visual Art. Ok, maybe not equals, but certainly the art forms share more than a few qualifications, if there be any such unchallenged rubric in the 21st century. With that in mind, I'll use the venue as my qualifier. Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet moves into the Dallas Museum of Art Saturday afternoon with a French ballet. See Le Train Bleu at 1 p.m. or at 3 p.m. if you can still snag tickets. More at dallasneo-classicalballet.com. 


The Lord of the Yum Yum, Orgullo Primitivo & Randy Guthmiller 
You're still with me, so I'm guessing I can challenge you once again. Take the above video as an example of the visual/performative/noise/music/sound art variety. Consumed that way this Lord of the Yum Yum figure is a veritable genius. And he'll be at the alternative space, Black Lodge this weekend for what will prove to be a night you won't want to miss. There will also be a performance by Stefan Gonzalez, and projections by Shape master, Randy Guthmiller. Be there from 7-10 p.m. Friday.