All the Art Exhibitions to See in Dallas This Weekend

You're running out of time to see a few of my favorite exhibitions so far this year, so I've made you a list that combines those and a few new openings. 

Closing this weekend: 
Concentrations 58: Chosil Kil
This is the little show that can't be ignored. London-based artist Chosil Kil was inspired by a road trip across Texas to create a landscape littered with pennies and playfully filled with statues of dogs; flesh-colored, floppy, slightly phallic objects; and balloons that brush an aluminum plate along the ground as visitors walk through them. She creates a path for you to navigate with these balloons and large box structures, which puts you in a state of childlike wonder — you're rapturously lost in a fabricated world. On display through August 2. Admission is free.

Frank Bowling's Map Paintings
Bowling's "Marcia H Travels" is a recent acquisition and it's part of his map paintings series. He used maps to organize these immense and gorgeous abstractions. This exhibition includes four other paintings in the series on loan from private collections to recreate a 1971 exhibition at the Whitney. "Marcia H Travels" is the fiery red and purple map of the world. On display through August 2. Admission is free.

Bold Abstractions: Selections from the DMA Collection 1966-1976
Gavin Delahunty must spend most days digging through the Dallas Museum of Art's stock of paintings. This is the second exhibition he's curated with works from the permanent collection and it's a fascinating range of art that serves to connect the Bowling map paintings to the Chosil Kil with paintings by artists the likes of Robert Motherwell, Frank Stella and Julian Stanczak. In the press visit, Delahunty mentioned that at least one of the artists on display has never been exhibited in the DMA before. On display through August 2. Admission is free.

Closing this month: 
Anila Quayyum Agha's Interesections
Enter the small exhibition gallery at the Dallas Contemporary and find yourself suddenly immersed in the shadows flowing from a square light box in the center of the room. It's a piece that equally inspires reverent meditations and selfies. Admission is free. Closes August 23. 

Nate Lowman's America Sneezes & David Salle's Debris
Two internationally renowned artists offer different perspectives on painting in solo exhibitions in the bigger galleries of the Dallas Contemporary. David Salle marries figurative work, mostly focused on the female body, with abstraction in a series of diptychs, as well as in ceramic sculpture both separate from and attached to the canvas. The way the work wrestles with objection and materialism sent me into a fuzzy, conflicted headspace about either Salle, or society, or both. Nate Lowman's approach to painting is more playful. His exhibition — which includes a map of the U.S. made with dropcloths from his studio, as well as a forest of lamps made of found objects — sends viewers into the world of a painter, or at least of Lowman. It questions what is allowed to be a painting — a studio ceiling? A remnant of another painting? The floor? Admission is free. Both exhibitions close August 23. 

New this Weekend:
  Retreat at Lilana Bloch Gallery
It's always a special thing when a gallerist invites an outside curator in to play with the space. That's precisely what Lilliana Bloch has done for the next show at her namesake gallery. Dallas-based curator Rachel Rogerson takes over the reins for Retreat, an exploration of human interaction with nature. She's invited a group of artists including Sally Warren, Allison Starr and Leigh Merrill to display work that asks the questions “What remnants of civilization do we impose on our environment? What features of nature do we attempt to possess?” They seem especially pertinent given the rise of the adventure vacation, sustainable living and the early effects of climate change. See the work in an opening reception at Liliana Bloch, 2271 Monitor St, from 6-10 p.m. Saturday. More at lilianablochgallery.com. 

Chaos!!!
Want to see more art than your brain can process at one time? The walls of Ro2 Art will be filled up and down, right and left, and — if it's possible — inside out for the annual summer show, Chaos!!! Gallerists Jordan Roth and Susan Roth Romans invite artists they show and then some to help them fill the downtown space with paintings, photography, sculpture and more. This year the artists number more than 100 and it will become a veritable treasure hunt to track down the one you're looking for, whether it be Liz Trosper, Jeff Parrott, Terry Hays, Daniel Birdsong, Jesse Meraz, Cassie Phan. I could go on forever, baby. See the work in an opening reception from 7-10 p.m. Saturday at Ro2 Art, 110 N. Akard St. More at ro2art.com. 

The Art of Dirk Fowler
Lubbock, Texas, artist Dirk Fowler brings his latest letterpress posters to {neighborhood} this weekend. Previously, Fowler has designed posters for numerous bands including Wilco, Modest Mouse, Slobberbone and more. See the work in an opening reception from 7-10 p.m. Saturday.