This morning, the Dallas Museum of Art announced on Twitter that its special exhibition, Günther Förg: A Fragile Beauty will be closed until further notice due to “unforeseen circumstances.” A quick visit to the museum all but confirmed our suspicions: The Hoffman Gallery, where the exhibit is mounted, is closed and emitting a faint-but-definitely-there plumbing odor. The docents simply explained the gallery was “being worked on.”
The museum has been dealing with drainage problems in the city-owned building for years, and while they’ve kept quiet about it, it seems to be affecting the space more than usual lately. A few weeks ago, the DMA shut down another special exhibition, Cult of the Machine, located in the Chilton II Gallery, for five days – also due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
In November of 2017, voters approved $6 million in bond funding to go toward building improvements. The arts facility received more money than any other city-owned cultural center. It was built in 1984.
We reached out to the DMA and they cited “building maintenance issues” as the reason for the closure. We’re still waiting to hear when Günther Förg will reopen – stay tuned for an update.