DFW Museum Corona Update
Texas is opening up and museums are ready for those of us with quarantine fatigue.
Cover photo: Masked and ready for a visit at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, United States (2020).
The New Normal
It feels like ages since Texas first entered sporadic lockdown measures in March. Many Texans — understandably — are experiencing quarantine fatigue. Despite a continued increase in COVID-19 cases, the state is ‘opening up’.
Like most public spaces, art museums are making renewed commitments to hygiene and safety during this once-in-a-century pandemic. Water fountains are turned off, plexiglass barriers have been installed in front of admissions desks, audio guides and educational materials have been removed. Hand sanitizer stations can be found in most buildings and many institutions are offering free face masks. In restrooms, every other toilet and faucet has been barricaded to encourage physical distancing.
As COVID-19 is airborne, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems may contribute to the spread of the virus. It is best not to remove your face mask while indoors. If possible, maintain a distance of six feet from other people. When in public, wash your hands often. If you are sick, please stay home. Several museums have also invested in digital resources to supplement their physical collections.
Here is an update on my favorite DFW museums (The DMA, Crow Museum, Nasher Sculpture Center, Amon Carter, Fort Worth Modern, and Kimbell Museum), so you know what to expect in these crazy times.
Dallas
Semiramis, marble, by William Wetmore Story, 1872-73, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States (2020).
Dallas Museum of Art
General admission to the DMA remains free, but timed tickets for entry must now be reserved in advance. I recommend reserving at least a week ahead of your planned visit, preferably two. Have your ticket ready on your phone or printed to scan.
Entrance is available only through the doors facing Woodall Rodgers Freeway (by Klyde Warren Park). Once inside, as usual, visitors will be greeted by William Wetmore Story’s 19th century sculpture Semiramis, which is coincidentally an approximate six feet long — the distance the CDC recommends to keep between people in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.
In addition to the permanent collection, the DMA is featuring several exhibitions including Flores Mexicanas: Women in Modern Mexican Art, My|gration, and Frans Hals: Detecting a Decade. For museum lovers still wary to leave their home, many of the exhibitions have been made available online, as a virtual experience.
The coat check is closed, as well as the indoor café. The gift shop, however, is open for a limited number of guests.
Flores Mexicanas (Mexican Flowers), 1915-1929, oil on canvas, by Alfredo Ramos Martínez, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States (2020).
Bench, cast aluminum, by Zaha Hadid, 2003-06, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States (2020).
Lure/Dallas, 2020, cotton thread hand-coiled into discs of two to five inches in diameter, sewing needles, by Beili Lu, Crow Museum, Dallas, Texas, United States (2020).
Crow Museum of Asian Art
The Crow Museum of Asian Art is now open, with parts of the building closed for repairs as a result of destruction during protests following the killing of George Floyd by officers of the Minneapolis Police Department.
The collection — which boasts exquisite lacquer work as well as other traditional forms of Asian art — was thankfully unharmed. The Museum remains free, but donations are always kindly encouraged. The gift shop is closed.
Chinese born, Austin based, Beili Lu is the first artist to be featured in the Crow Museum’s new series committed to representing Texas-based contemporary Asian women artists. Lu has created two site specific installations for the Museum, Lure/Dallas and Each and Every/Dallas.
Lure/Dallas is inspired by the ancient Chinese legend of The Red Thread, according to which everyone is connected to their soul mates by an invisible red thread. Each and Every/Dallas is dedicated to the migrant child crisis at the southern United States border of Texas.
The invisible enemy should not exist (Room F, section 1, Northwest Palace of Nimrud), 2020, installation, by Michael Rakowitz, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas, United States (2020).
Nasher Sculpture Center
The Nasher Sculpture Center has extended the Barry X Ball exhibition, Remaking Sculpture: a truly marvelous collection of work including Ball’s recreations of centuries old masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s last Pietà and the ancient Hellenistic sculpture Sleeping Hermaphrodite.
The Corner Gallery is currently dedicated to 2020 Nasher Prize Laureate Michael Rakowitz, an American artist of Iraqi Jewish descent. The museum features Rakowitz’s installation The invisible enemy should not exist, a recreation of the Northwest Palace of Nimrud destroyed by ISIS in 2015. You may recognize Rakowitz from the museum’s celebratory BBQ back in February.
For the fall, free entrance on the first Saturday of the month has been suspended, with free activities instead encouraged at home. The physical gift shop is closed, as well as the café, but your craving for artsy wares can still be satisfied online.
Saint Bartholomew Flayed, 2011-2020, after San Bartolomeo (1562) by Marco d'Agrate, Sculpture: French Rouge de Roi marble, stainless steel, Platform: aluminum, acrylic lacquer, stainless steel, ABS plastic, by Barry X Ball, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas, United States (2020).
Sleeping Hermaphrodite, 2008-2017, Sculpture: translucent pink Iranian onyx, Pedestal: Greek Thassos marble, stainless steel, by Barry X Ball, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas, United States (2020).
Fort Worth
Seven and Seven Flower, 1998, pine limbs and steel, by James Surls, Amon Carter, Fort Worth, Texas, United States (2020).
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
The Amon Carter continues to offer free admission. The museum is showcasing multiple temporary exhibitions including the sculpture Seven and Seven Flower by local Texan artist James Surls. The museum is known for its collection of works by Frederic Remington and features numerous paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe. The Carter Library and gift shop are both open.
Room featuring Modern America, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, United States (2020).
Medusa, mixed-media, by Mark Bradford, 2016-20, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas, United States (2020).
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The Modern’s Mark Bradford solo exhibition, End Papers, has been extended until January. Bradford — who represented the United States in the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017 — began his career as a hairdresser and his works reflect a complex range of materials and textures.
The permanent collection is open. Other artists on view include Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Martine Gutierrez, and Kehinde Wiley. The coat check and café are closed, while the gift shop remains open to a limited number of visitors. The Modern is continuing its policy of free entrance on Fridays.
Permanent Collection on view in the Louis Kahn Building, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, United States (2020).
L’Air, bronze, by Aristide Maillol, 1861-1944, Courtyard, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, United States (2020).
Kimbell Art Museum
The Kimbell Art Museum maintains free general admission. The coat check is closed but the gift shop is open for a limited number of visitors. The Louis Kahn building is open, featuring artworks from the wide-ranging permanent collection. Items span time and space, allowing for new and fascinating connections to be made.
The Renzo Piano building is currently closed while preparing for the upcoming exhibition of Queen Nefertari’s Egypt. The Kimbell Buffet has reopened as the Kimbell Café, with courtyard seating available as well.