One Last Look: Must-See Art Exhibits in North Texas This Winter

The presents are unwrapped, the turkey is devoured, and the mall is deserted. Yet you’ve got a house full of relatives needing to be entertained during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. What’s an enterprising host to do? 

Take them to see some art, of course. In the waning days of 2025, Dallasites are spoiled for choice with an eclectic list of exhibitions that everyone from your Rome-loving dad to your jewelry-coveting sister-in-law will love.   

The Balloon Museum
Let’s Fly Art Has No Limits through April 26, 2026
In the hands of artists like Leonardo Da Vinci and Andy Warhol, balloons are much more than helium-filled amusements — they’re ethereal subjects ripe for exploration and reinvention. Founded in 2021 in Rome, The Balloon Museum builds on this tradition with 65,000 square feet of inflatable objects that beg to be touched and played with, making it the ideal time filler for little ones and tweens. There are plenty of Insta-worthy moments in the mix at this “museum,” but pieces like Karina Smigla-Bobinski’s kinetic, charcoal-studded “Ada” are serious works that are still fun to play with. “Hyperstellar” by Hyperstudio serves as a grand finale to this effervescent experience. Under a supersized disco ball, kiddos can frolic and play in a ball pit to an escalating EDM soundtrack. Baby’s first rave, if you will.

Dallas Contemporary
Chris Wolston: Profile in Ecstasy through Feb. 1, 2026, and Pam Evelyn: Savaged Future through March 15, 2026 
Since his earliest days creating furniture for the contemporary design gallery The Future Perfect, sculptor Chris Wolston straddled the worlds of craft and art with a (Dr.) Seussian twist. Whether he is exploring terra cotta, bronze or wicker in his work, his gestural chairs and nature-inspired coffee tables are functional, sculptural, and a hell of a lot of fun to look at. For his first museum show at the Dallas Contemporary, a “greatest hits” of old and new work is displayed across four catwalks in the manner of a fashion show or drag ball, interspersed with videos highlighting his imaginative process.

Also on view are the vivid abstract works of Pam Evelyn. Passages of oil are scraped and reapplied by the artist to reflect the London-based painter’s frame of mind, making each oversized canvas an “emotional field” that defies obvious interpretation.

Dallas Museum of Art
International Surrealism through March 22, 2026, and Constellations: Contemporary Jewelry at the DMA through May 3, 2026
Developed in the aftermath of World War I, surrealism is one art movement that hasn’t lost its lustre over the years. To better display some of the iconic works from the Tate Modern, the Dallas Museum of Art built an engaging gallery space that embodies the dreamlike aspects of surrealism. An eye cutout in the opening wall sets the stage for works by Dali and Magritte, as well as lesser-known pieces by Latin American and British surrealists. Culminating in a dark and dreamy room filled with paintings, sculpture and prints, the show is a fantastic Cliff’s Notes that explores the enduring appeal of a mind-bending movement that still has art lovers enraptured 100 years after its debut. 

If you didn’t get diamonds in your stocking this year, you can still bask in the dazzle of the wearable works of art featured in Constellations. Drawn from the museum’s own holdings, the exhibition challenges traditional notions of jewelry through rings, necklaces and bracelets made from unconventional materials such as eggs, paper and plastic. Even a cursory look at these treasures will inspire one to think outside the (jewel) box and level up their accessories for a shiny new year. 

Kimbell Art Museum
Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection through Jan. 25, 2026.
Myth and Marble draws on the best of a collection once assembled by the French-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia in the 19th century. Hewn from marble, gods and goddesses, animals and emperors are among the 58 sculptures crafted to ensure the epic grandeur of ancient Rome wouldn’t fade through the centuries. Considering how many men think of this time period on a regular basis, this show is a fun way to time-travel to the days of Marcus Aurelius without leaving the Metroplex.

While you’re there, take a moment to gaze on Caravaggio’s Judith Beheading Holoferne, a groundbreaking classic on loan from the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica, Palazzo Barberini, Rome. On view through Jan. 11, this boldly realistic portrayal of feminine rage captures the mood of everyone who has recently paged their way through the Epstein files. 

Meadows Museum
Roaming Mexico: Laura Wilson and Manuel Álvarez Bravo: Visions of Mexico through Jan. 11, 2026
If you wanted to celebrate the season in CDMX this year, dual shows at the Meadows Museum at SMU offer a glimpse of Mexico Lindo without leaving the Metroplex. Dallas-based documentary photographer Laura Wilson’s vivid diptychs and triptychs capture the denizens of border towns and vibrant Oaxacan parades with an unerring eye. Having assisted Richard Avedon in his iconic American West series, Wilson has a well-honed ability to highlight the humanity in her subjects. These supersized, colorful images should be required viewing for any errant uncle who still approves of ICE.

Also on view is a complementary exhibition of the silver gelatin prints by Latin American photographer Manuel Álvarez Bravo from the 1920s through the ‘80s. Reflecting the complexities of Mexican identity, these meditative studies of light and shadow highlight subjects ranging from Day of the Dead to Frida Kahlo while avoiding folkloric cliches.  

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting through Jan. 18, 2026
The fantasy and reality of flesh is writ large in British painter Jenny Saville’s epic canvases. On view at the Modern in Fort Worth, works such as “Fulcrum” (which measures 16 feet across) demand a reaction — positive or negative. Some viewers might be repelled by her vast bodies coming together in love or conflict, while others may feel drawn to the intimate flaws of her subjects, including cloudy eyes and port-wine birthmarks. Yet even flaws become more beautiful under her adept hands. It may take a well-trained eye to fully appreciate these paintings, but each one serves as a welcome contrast to our filter-obsessed society.

Nasher Sculpture Center
Survey Antony Gormley through Jan. 4, 2026 
In the first major museum survey of his work, British sculptor Antony Gormley straddles the line between the absence and presence of the human form. Featuring 17 major sculptures from his 45-year career, the exhibit expands beyond the borders of the Nasher’s light-filled spaces to surrounding buildings, including One Arts Plaza and the JW Marriott. Perhaps most intriguing is the downstairs gallery, full of sketchbooks and maquettes that illustrate the thought process behind Gormley’s forms, which are both ambiguous and intimately familiar.