Peter Doroshenko, the new artistic director of the Dallas Contemporary,  hasn’t wasted any time shaping the organization’s near-future. Appointed in July and in-house in October, Doroshenko has announced the Contemporary’s ambitious new year of shows — with a very strong international, particularly French, flavor, including a group exhibition in April of young artists from Paris (Le Pavillion from the Palais de Tokyo) which will begin an annual series of collaborations with residency programs around the world.

There is also an exhibition by fashion photographer Juergen Teller (German-born, London-based) and a video show by Elaine Sturtevant (Ohio-born, Paris-based), who specializes in deliberately appropriating and copying other artists’ work. It will be her first major exhibition in the United States.

Starting off in February with a big bang will be multiple, simultaneous shows: Light and projection artist Michel Verjux’ Breathe, Walk and Watch will be partly at the Dallas Contemporary and partly in downtown Dallas at 601 Elm Street (that’s the projection in the photo image outfront). It’s the Parisian artist’s first institutional exhibition in the U.S. in more than a decade.

Not everything will be international: Also in February, North Texas artists are also up for some limelight. Fort Worth embroidery artist David Willburn (above) will be featured in his first one-person installation, and the Oak Cliff-based collective/graffiti crew SourGrapes (right) will present Rest in Power, a series of major wall paintings on the interior and exterior of the Dallas Contemporary.

The full releases follow:

Dallas Contemporary Announces 2011 Exhibition Program

Dallas, TX [11 January 2010] Dallas Contemporary announces its 2011 schedule of exhibitions. The 2011 programming represents the inaugural year for new Executive Director Peter Doroshenko who joined Dallas Contemporary in October 2010.

MICHEL VERJUX: BREATHE, WALK AND WATCH 12 February – 27 March 2011

Opening reception – Saturday 12 February 20.00 – 22.00 (8 – 10 pm).

Primarily composed of directed, framed and focused light projections, Verjux’s sculptural exploration of light serve not simply as simple forms and geometric shapes, but as indexes and symbols of an event. On view both at Dallas Contemporary and an off-site location in downtown Dallas at 601 Elm Street, Verjux will use high-lumen architectural lights in conjunction with the gallery walls to create his first institutional exhibition in the United States since 1997. Michel Verjux lives and works in Paris, France.

DAVID WILLBURN: THE OVERUSE OF EVERYTHING 12 February – 27 March 2011

Opening reception – Saturday 12 February 20.00 – 22.00 (8 – 10 pm).

This exhibition marks Fort Worth artist David Willburn’s first one-person installation.  Willburn’s interest in collections of objects and their potential to create narrative results in an installation of hand built wooden constructions upon which austere embroidered drawings of spaces in his home are displayed with clips. Conceived as a group of conversations, each display structure will have a companion structure upon which an industrial clamp light will be fixed. Viewers find themselves navigating through and negotiating with these “characters” engaged in both private and public dialogue.

SOURGRAPES: REST IN POWER 12 February – August 2011

Opening reception – Saturday 12 February 20.00 – 22.00 (8 – 10 pm).

Members of the collective: Eddie Castro, Alejandro Diaz, Arturo Donjuan, Carlos Donjuan, Emily Donjuan, Miguel Donjuan, Jose Granados, Ricardo Oviedo, Adam Peña, Elias Torres, Isaias Torres, Mike Vasquez and Adam Werner.

Rest In Power is presented by the graffiti writer collective Sourgrapes and will be two major wall paintings at Dallas Contemporary; one on the interior and one on the exterior of the building. The production on the interior walls of Dallas Contemporary will be a dedication to graffiti writers that have passed away and were a major influence on the artists. The homage to these fallen artists will show the impact they have had on the culture of street and urban-focused art. On the exterior of the building will be a continuation of a project of the last several years by Sourgrapes. Four giant paletas (Mexican popsicles) will be painted as an ongoing memorial to those involved in a series of killings and robberies of ice cream vendors in the community.

JUERGEN TELLER 8 April – August 2011

Opening reception – Friday 8 April 20.00 – 24.00 (8 – Midnight).

Juergen Teller’s work in books, magazines and exhibitions is marked by his refusal to separate the commercial fashion pictures and his most autobiographical un-commissioned work. Teller will present an exhibition of photographs specifically created for Dallas Contemporary. His work has been published in influential international publications such as W Magazine, i-D and Purple and has been the subject of solo exhibitions including The Photographers Gallery in London, the Kunsthalle Wein and the Fondation Cartier Pour l’art Contemporain in Paris, his most recent solo show being “Calves and Thighs” at Alcala 31 in Madrid, as part of Photo Espana.

EZRA PETRONIO 8 April – August 2011

Opening reception – Friday 8 April 20.00 – 24.00 (8 – Midnight).

For more than a decade, Ezra Petronio has been independently publishing Self Service, a bi-annual, fashion and lifestyle magazine. In an Andy Warhol 70s style, Petronio’s exhibition at Dallas Contemporary is the Polaroid documentation of the creative people that have been involved in the magazine — curators, designers, editors, photographers, thinkers, musicians, artists, socialites, troublemakers. Never before seen in an institutional setting, Petronio’s exhibition explores the diversity of fashion, photography and art. Ezra Petronio was born in New York City in 1968. Petronio lives and works in Paris, France.

LE PAVILLION 8 April – August 2011

Opening reception – Friday 8 April 20.00 – 24.00 (8 – Midnight).

A dynamic group exhibition by the current participants from Le Pavillion – a post-graduate arts residency program at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France, which includes 10 artists and 2 curators from all over the world. This exhibition at the Dallas Contemporary begins an annual series of collaborations with international residency programs to create the opportunity for their first real world exhibition experience, along with creating focused art works or a curatorial theme about Dallas or Texas.

STURTEVANT 24 September – November 2011

Opening reception – Saturday 24 September 21.00 – 24.00 (9 – Midnight).

In her first major exhibition in the United States, Sturtevant’s exhibition entirely of video will run throughout the galleries inside Dallas Contemporary. American born and in her eighties, Sturtevant has been living in Paris for several decades. Challenging the notion of what is original, Sturtevant presents intense compilations of appropriated images in her video work. She is known for her work that replicates the work of other artists such as Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Frank Stella and Joseph Beuys.

ROB PRUITT November 2010 – January 2011

Opening reception – TBA

New York based artist Rob Pruitt will create a large-scale installation of work at Dallas Contemporary in his signature trash culture style. Pruitt interests lie in creating environments where participants feel free to improvise and experiment outside of their comfort zones. His work has been recently included in various museum group exhibitions in New York, London and Venice.

About Dallas Contemporary:

Dallas Contemporary is a non-collecting art museum presenting new and challenging ideas from regional, national and international artists. The institution is committed to engaging the public through exhibitions, lectures, educational programs and events. Dallas Contemporary is open to the public: Tuesday – Saturday, 10.00 – 17.00 (10 am to 5 pm); Sunday, 12.00 – 17.00 (12.00 to 5.00 pm); and 1st Thursdays until 20.00 (8.00 pm). Admission is always FREE. For information, please call 214 821 2522 or visit dallascontemporary.org.

Dallas Contemporary Announces Exhibition by French Artist Michel Verjux

French artist Michel Verjux’s exhibition of light will open to the public on 12 February 2011

MICHEL VERJUX: BREATHE, WALK, LOOK

Exhibition dates: 12 February 27 March 2011

Opening Reception: Saturday 12 February 2011 20.00 – 22.00 (8.00 – 10.00 pm)

Gallery Walk Through: Date TBD

Dallas, TX [15 December 2010] On 12 February 2011 Dallas Contemporary will present Parisian artist Michel Verjux’s high-intensity exhibition of light – MICHEL VERJUX: BREATHE, WALK, LOOK.

The exhibition is on view through 27 March 2011. Verjux who spent his childhood and university years in Dijon, Dallas’s sister city, will create a series of new site-specific works influenced by Dallas Contemporary’s new building and the artist’s research about the 1850s utopian French settlement, La Reunion, later to become the city of Dallas. La Reunion, was located less than 2 miles from the Dallas Contemporary, also on the Trinity River.

Primarily composed of directed, framed and focused light projections, Verjux’s sculptural exploration of light serve not simply as simple forms and geometric shapes, but as symbols of an event which visitor’s become active participants. On view both at Dallas Contemporary and in downtown Dallas at 601 Elm Street, Verjux will use high-lumen architectural lights in conjunction with the gallery walls to create his largest institutional exhibition to date.

Peter Doroshenko, Dallas Contemporary Executive Director, states: “We are very excited about Michel working with our exhibitions space to create simple, yet layered art works, which will also be linked to Dallas’s rich cultural history.”

Michel Verjux began his exploration of the sculptural effects of light in the early 1980’s. The artist stated, “It dawned on me that, after all, light is the most essential element in the visual arts. We can reduce our means no further.”

Verjux lives and works in Paris, France.