The year 2016 marks the 35th anniversary of the DMA’s Concentrations series, which was inaugurated in 1981 with paintings and monotypes by Richard Shaffer.
Concentrations I: Richard Shaffer, March 1–April 12, 1981
Initially planned as a series of five exhibitions exploring the work of living artists, Concentrations has grown into a long-running series featuring emerging and international artists working across a range of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, film and video, assemblage, and site-specific installations. Over the history of the series, nine curators have organized Concentrations exhibitions: Sue Graze (21), Steven A. Nash (1), Joan Davidow (3), Dave Hickey (1), Annegreth Nill (1), Charles Wylie (4), Suzanne Weaver (22), Jeffrey Grove (2), and Gabriel Ritter (5).
In celebration of the anniversary, I’ve pulled together some fun facts about the series with installation photos to illustrate them.
1. How many Concentrations exhibitions were held primarily outdoors in the Sculpture Garden?
Answer: Four, although there were a few exhibitions that had work in the Sculpture Garden in addition to the works in the galleries
Concentrations 8: Dalton Maroney, October 10, 1983–February 19, 1984
Concentrations 9: Richard Long, March 31–July 8, 1984
Concentrations 11: Luis Jimenez, February 17–March 31, 1985
Concentrations 51: Mark Handforth, March 23–September 23, 2007
Concentrations 8: Dalton Maroney was also the first exhibition held at the new Museum building downtown. It opened with the Sculpture Garden a few months before the Museum building.
2. What two exhibition series are related to Concentrations?
Answer: Projects and Encounters
Projects I: David McManaway, March 19-April 27, 1975
Projects was a series of three exhibitions in 1975 curated by Robert Murdock, Curator of Contemporary Art. The three exhibitions in the series featured work by David McManaway, Bruce Cunningham, and Raffaele Martini. The series inspired the creation of the Concentrations series in 1981 by Curator of Contemporary Art Sue Graze.
Encounters was a series of six exhibitions held between 1992 and 1995 that were presented in place of Concentrations. The series, created and curated by Curator of Contemporary Art Annegreth Nill, paired the work of a regional artist with that of an artist from the national or international arena to increase potential dialogue.
Encounters 1: John Hernandez and Rainer Ganahl, February 23–April 19, 1992 – John Hernandez
Encounters 1: John Hernandez and Rainer Ganahl, February 23–April 19, 1992 – Rainer Ganahl
3. Concentrations exhibitions have primarily been one-person shows, with a few duos (Peter Fischli/David Weiss, Jane and Louise Wilson, and Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla) and one collective (Slavs and Tatars). How many have shown the work of two or more artists working separately?
Answer: Six
Concentrations III: Betsy Muller/Andrea Rosenberg, June 21–August 2, 1981
Concentrations 23: Texas Figurative Drawings, May 19–July 15, 1990
Concentrations 24: Continuities of Concern, June 2–August 5, 1990
Concentrations 32: Anne Chu and Bonnie Collura, October 15, 1998–January 17, 1999
Concentrations 54: Matt Connors and Fergus Feehily, April 3-August 14, 2011
Concentrations 59: Mirror Stage, Visualizing the Self After the Internet,
April 10-December 6, 2015
4. How many artists have been part of a Concentrations exhibition?
Answer: 81 – This includes the twelve artists in Concentrations 23: Texas Figurative Drawings and counts the collective Slavs and Tatars from Concentrations 57 as one artist. Concentrations 24: Continuities of Concern is not included. About 40% of the artists are women.
I will close with a few more images from past Concentrations exhibitions to show the variety of work over 59 shows. More information on these and all Concentrations exhibitions can be found in Past Exhibitions on DMA.org. Concentrations 60: Lucie Stahl will open on September 16. Admission is FREE.
Concentrations IV: Alain Kirili, Recent Sculpture, October 18–November 29, 1981
Concentrations 14: Pat Steir, The Brueghel Series, November 1, 1986–January 4, 1987
Concentrations 16: Mary Lucier, Wilderness, October 10–November 22, 1987
Concentrations 17: Vernon Fisher, Lost for Words, January 23–April 17, 1988
Concentrations 20: Kiki Smith, January 14–April 16, 1989
Concentrations 25: Harry Geffert, November 23, 1990–January 20, 1991
Concentrations 26: Celia Alvarez Munoz, Abriendo Tierra/ Breaking Ground, May 4-June 30, 1991
Concentrations 30: Mariko Mori, Come Play with Me, September 17–November 9, 1997
Concentrations 31: Patrick Faulhaber, June 25–September 13, 1998
Concentrations 40: Maki Tamura, November 7, 2001–January 27, 2002
Concentrations 47: Jim Lambie, Thirteenth Floor Elevator, May 20–August 21, 2005
Concentrations 48: Charline von Heyl, October 28, 2005– January 8, 2006
Concentrations 49: Miguel Angel Rios, “A Morir (’til Death)” January 29-May 14, 2006
Concentrations 55: Karla Black, October 19, 2012-March 17, 2013
Hillary Bober is the Archivist at the Dallas Museum of Art.
