To Be Determined juxtaposes works from many centuries, geographies, and cultures to trace how the significance of art can shift when presented in new contexts. Drawn from the DMA’s global collection, the exhibition features works of art, sacred objects, and design from the 13th century to the present, including 13 new acquisitions and important paintings by Dallas-based artists. To Be Determined affirms the resilience of individuals and communities through evocative—and occasionally unexpected—groupings of works that resonate with current and historical struggles.
Organized through collaboration among the DMA’s entire curatorial team, the exhibition explores what it means to be present with works of art after extended time apart. It shines a light on how viewers create their own meaning for the works they engage with. To Be Determined takes an audience-centered, open-ended approach to interpretation, encouraging viewers to make personal connections.
Admission is FREE.
To Be Determined is organized by the Dallas Museum of Art. The Dallas Museum of Art is supported, in part, by the generosity of DMA Members and donors, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.
Images: Matthew Wong, The West, 2017, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Fair Foundation Acquisition Fund, 2017.28. Courtesy of the Matthew Wong Foundation and Karma, New York; Jammie Holmes, Four Brown Chairs, 2020, acrylic on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Charron and Peter Denker Contemporary Texas Art Fund, 2020.25; Lorna Simpson, Blue Turned Temporal, 2019, ink, watercolor, and screenprint on gessoed fiberglass, Dallas Museum of Art, TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art Fund, 2020.16, © Lorna Simpson. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: James Wang; Jeffrey Gibson, I WANNA STAY HERE WITH YOU FOREVER, 2019, repurposed punching bag, repurposed wool army blanket, glass beads, metal studs, tin jingles, artificial sinew, nylon fringe, and steel, Dallas Museum of Art, TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art Fund, 2019.87. Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California. © Jeffrey Gibson; Dorothy Austin, Slow Shuffle, c. 1939, carved plaster, Texas Art Fund and Early Texas Art Fund, 2001.47; Oshay Green, Untitled, 2020, cement, black pigment, and resin on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Lay Family Acquisition Fund, 2020.24. Courtesy AND NOW; Ini Archibong, theoracle strikethrough, 2019/2020, blown glass, brass, water, caution tape, and synthesizer. Photo by John Smith; Adam Pendleton, Untitled (WE ARE NOT), 2019, silkscreen ink on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art Fund, 2020.17. Courtesy of the artist; Attributed to Antonio Pereda y Salgado, The Sacrifice of Isaac, c. 1659, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation, 1987.36; Rufino Tamayo, Dog Howling, 1960, color lithograph, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Marvin Small, 1963.120.FA. © 2020 Tamayo Heirs / Mexico / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Fannie B. Shaw, Prosperity is Just Around the Corner, 1930-1932, appliquéd cotton, Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous gift, 1998.209