5 Essential Art Events, June 2-5: Puppetry, Piñata-Inspired Art and More

Figures at Nasher Sculpture Center
2001 Flora St.

Part of Soluna Music and Arts Festival, Figures is a performance by artist Mai-Thu Perret. Originally performed at the 2014 Biennale of Moving Images in Geneva, Perret’s performance will function as a series of happenings throughout the Nasher and its garden. Figures reflects the artist’s research into woman’s role in the development of computer technology, the aesthetics of code writing and the connections between art and technology. The story has an elaborate narrative that involves a 1950s computer programmer, Artificial Intelligence and a journalist. The staging of the piece recalls the Japanese style of puppetry known as bunraku, in which the manipulators appear on stage alongside the puppets, providing a parallel performance of real and artificial bodies in motion. Figures starts at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 2. This event is free with advance registration; more info at nashersculpturecenter.org.


Material Evidence and Forms of Altercation at Umbrella Gallery
2803 Taylor St.

This multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary painting exhibition features work from Marcy Bishop, Kelly Ingleright-Telgenhoff and Yuni Lee. These paintings are abstract and sometimes ominous, but also convey a sense of familiarity and warmth. This is bright imagery with deep colors, often built with ambiguous materials to create dense textures and compositions. Material Evidence and Forms of Altercation runs through June 25 starting Friday, June 3. More info at lifeindeepellum.com.


Giovanni Valderas: Forged Utopia at The MAC
1601 S. Ervay St.

Inspired by piñatas and real estate signs, Valderas’ new mixed media works acknowledges his Guatemalan, Mexican and American heritage as well as the displacement of Latino communities through gentrification. Valderas has been best known for his curatorial role at Kirk Hopper Fine Art as well as his work with the Office of Cultural Affairs as of late. But with his latest exhibit at The MAC, he presents real estate signs as ominous indications of changes to come. The opening reception is from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, June 4. More info at the-mac.org.


Procession: The Art of Norman Lewis at Amon Carter Museum of American Art
3501 Camp Bowie Blvd.

Part of the New York City art scene in both Harlem and downtown for 20 years starting in 1946, influential Abstract Expressionist Normal Lewis was a also politically conscious activist. But issues of race prevented him from having as much of a gallery life as contemporaries like Willem de Kooning. Processions were a common thread in Lewis’ work; they could be celebratory or — like Ku Klux Klan marches — terrifying. With 65 paintings and works on paper, this is the first comprehensive exhibit of his work. On view from Saturday, June 4, through August 21. More info at cartermuseum.org.


Alexander Paulus: The Morning After at Ro2 Art
1501 S. Ervay St.
Memphis-based artist Alexander Paulus' solo exhibition of new paintings playfully explores the unexpected response viewers experience when encountering barely hidden realities. In Paulus’ work, happiness and grief coexist: a small dead body is embedded in a beautiful landscape, a roller coaster is surrounded by dead bodies. This is strange imagery, often in bright and bold colors, about how ridiculous life can be sometimes, tempered with a sense of humor. The opening reception is 7-10 p.m., Saturday, June 4. More info at ro2art.com.