The Perilous Texas Adventures of Mark Dion

February 8–July 5, 2020
Second floor

Artist Mark Dion retraces the footsteps of several 19th-century explorers in Texas, collecting materials to form a site-specific exhibition you can see only at the Carter. One of the most well-regarded living artists today, Dion is part explorer and part historian; part naturalist and part collector of curiosities. His large-scale installations evoke the past in their materials and ethos, but they address today’s culture head-on with intellect and humor. More than 150 years after the Texas explorers he followed, The Perilous Texas Adventures of Mark Dion enhances our understanding of the past and ultimately brings it to life in the present day.

Over the course of two years, Dion followed in the footsteps of four explorers, including ornithologist and artist John James Audubon, watercolorist Sarah Ann Lillie Hardinge, architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and botanist Charles Wright. During his travels, Dion visited four distinct areas of Texas, including the Gulf Coast, West Texas, King Ranch and Austin, and San Antonio. The result of his adventures will be an immersive exhibition created by Dion coupled with works on paper, paintings, and archival materials from the Carter’s collection.

Installation Photos

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The Perilous Texas Adventures of Mark Dion has been organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Support for the exhibition comes from the Dorothea Leonhardt Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Alice L. Walton Foundation Temporary Exhibitions Endowment. Additional funding provided by the McGinnis Family Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas and the Rainwater Charitable Foundation for related exhibition programing and interpretation tools.