Learn the Secret of Life

Nasher Xchange ends with enticing infomercial promising secret to everlasting life

The Nasher Sculpture Center's Xchange program will come to the end of its four-month run on February 16, and the Good/Bad Art Collective will finally unveil the last piece of the puzzle, premiering the short film FOREVER on Saturday, February 8, at 3 am on KTXA/Channel 21.

Yes, that's 3 in the morning, meaning you'll either have to set your DVR or pull an all-nighter to catch the premiere of the 28-minute piece. The timing is intentional, of course, as the film is supposed to have the feel of an infomercial. Ones like I Hate My Hair! and Joint Relief air on KTXA at the same time on other days.

The film will also air at 1:40 am on Sunday, February 9 on WFAA/Channel 8, with additional airings in New York on February 14 and Los Angeles and Miami on February 16. All dates and times are subject to change, so make sure to check your local listings.

FOREVER isn't actually selling anything except, oh, the secret to immortality. The film mainly features a lone actor recounting stories about his family, along with his philosophies on life. His monologues are intercut with footage captured on opening night of the Xchange program, when visitors to the Good/Bad studio were invited to perform three different tasks for the cameras.

Anyone who participated in the initial filming will have to pay really close attention to those segments for a glimpse of themselves, as each lasts for only a minute and has multiple people blending into each other. Those segments are accompanied by a voiceover inviting viewers to call the on-screen number, where they will learn the secret to everlasting life.

How successful the film is in its message and as an addition to the Xchange program as a whole is up to the individual viewer. At the very least, it's a compelling piece of solo theater by the actor, Fred "Spike" Spiker, who may or may not be the son of late actor Steve McQueen.

If you happen to miss the two local airings, Good/Bad Art Collective says it'll air the film again at some point in the future.

Good Bad Art Collective's short film/infomercial Curtains mainly features an unnamed actor recounting personal stories and his philosophies on life.

Photo courtesy of Good Bad Art Collective

Good Bad Art Collective's short film/infomercial Curtains mainly features an unnamed actor recounting personal stories and his philosophies on life.

unspecified

Balloon News

Global art exhibit Balloon Museum bounces immersively into Dallas

Balloon Museum

A new museum tour featuring huge airy installations — also known as balloons — is coming to Dallas: Called Let’s Fly – Art Has No Limits, it's a multisensory exhibition from an entity called the Balloon Museum, and it will touch down at Dallas' South Side Studios at 2901 Botham Jean Blvd. on Saturday, November 22, where it will reside until April 16, 2026.

Created by Italy-based Lux Entertainment, Let’s Fly will feature huge artworks spanning more than 65,000 square feet. Rooted in the concepts of flight, freedom, and lightness, the exhibition explores air as both a physical element and a symbol of movement and limitless travel.

According to a release, Lux Entertainment specializes in traveling as well as site-specific exhibitions that combine monumental artworks, engaging environments, and live performances. In June 2024, an Italian investor SIMEST (CDP Group) pledged $5.8 million to expand Lux into the U.S., spawning the creation of the first permanent Balloon Museum overseas.

Their mission is to transform entertainment into a personal journey, where the audience is not a spectator but a protagonist via innovative formats such as Balloon Museum, This is Wonderland, Christmas World, and Color Hotel.

Balloon Museum was founded in Rome in 2021 as a pioneering art space dedicated to showcasing inflatable and air-based contemporary installations that merge creativity, technology, and sensory exploration. They have four main exhibitions: Pop Air, EmotionAir, Let’s Fly, and Euphoяia, which have toured across three continents.

Let's Fly previously stopped in Austin and, simultaneous to Dallas, it will also stop in Houston, as well.

The dozens of artists featured in each exhibit vary from city to city; Dallas' Let’s Fly – Art Has No Limits stop will include:

“Squeezed In,” an installation inhabited by oversized characters, by Lucas Zanotto
“Her Joy,” a mirrored sphere that breathes and reflects light like a resonating body, by Alex Schweder
“Crazy Love for Polygons" explores geometric forms, by Cyril Lancelin
“Balloon Tree,” uniting nature and artifice, by Myeongbeom Kim
“Lava Lamp,” a 44-meter psychedelic and breath-like installation inspired by the iconic 1963 lamp, by Michael Shaw
“BB,” using hundreds of balloons to explore symmetry and reflection, by Tadao Cern

One notable piece is Christopher Schardt's “Mariposa”, a 26-foot butterfly sculpture with 39,000 LEDs, which was first presented at Burning Man 2023.

Dallas seems to have a child-like rapture for big bouncy round things — from the Yayoi Kusama pumpkins at the Dallas Museum of Art to Bubble Planet, the immersive experience with larger-than-life bubbles which makes its debut at Grapevine Mills on October 23.

“With its world-class arts scene and bold, design-driven landscape, Dallas offers the perfect backdrop for Balloon Museum’s “Let’s Fly,” says Lux Entertainment founder Roberto Fantauzzi in a statement. “We’re proud to bring an exhibition that reflects the city’s scale and spirit — dynamic, creative, and constantly in motion, always reaching for what’s next.”

galleries museums openings