From exploring and celebrating identity to sharing the dawn of a new day or a new year, Dallas-Fort Worth artists are jumping into 2023 with both feet and a lot of heart. Local art galleries and museums have shows ready to lead us to new discoveries and nourish our spirits. Here are 10 must-see exhibitions to visit in January, in order of opening date.

"The Miseducation of Boys and Girls"
Cris Worley Fine Arts, through February 11
In her playful yet powerful paintings for this series, Abi Salami borrowed from pop culture and her indigenous Nigerian religious experience to explore and question such concepts as femininity and masculinity, innocence and seduction, betrayal and desire. Her work uses humor and shocks of color as a way to prompt unasked questions and address (mis)education around these topics.

"Color is the dope"
Galleri Urbane, through February 11
After being included in Galleri Urbane's 2021 group summer show, RIPE, and showing numerous presentations across Europe, Hungarian painter Aron Barath brings his first solo exhibition in the United States to the Dallas gallery. His paintings, created using brooms, sponges, sprayers, and handmade tools, simultaneously display as transparent and impasto, creating a vibrant fusion of gesture, color, and light.

"Appropriated Portrayals"
Arts Fort Worth, through February 25
Artist Kelly Waller creates sculptural forms she considers self-portraits using mixed media including paper, printmaking, and fiber. For this display, Waller used materials found in antique or resale shops to fabricate works to illustrate that we are products of our own environment, the media we choose to consume, and the decisions we make in life.

"Punjabi Cowboy"
Oak Cliff Cultural Center, January 14-February 11
First-generation Pakistani-American Usama Khalid delves into memory, identity, food, immigration, terrorism, and Pakistani culture in sculptural self-portraits of collaged photographs and fabrics. Khalid brings together issues of identity and homeland in the exhibition and in a communal barbecue, fusing Texas brisket with Punjabi spices, he has organized for the opening reception. The reception and BBQ will take place 6-8 pm January 14.

“hasta que me muera”
500X Gallery, January 14-29
In this exhibition, Fort Worth artist Christopher Nájera Estrada's drawings encased in resin honor cherished familial memories while acknowledging the gender roles and ideologies imposed onto him as a child. He explores the coexistence and acceptance of queer ideas alongside historical machismo culture with the intent to heal intergenerational trauma. There will be an opening reception on January 14 with a performance at 8 pm.

Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents "Morning Light: Photographs of David H. Gibson" starting on January 14. Photo by David H. Gibson

"Morning Light: Photographs of David H. Gibson"
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, January 14-May 21
Few of us will get to experience pre-dawn hours at Cypress Creek in Wimberley, Texas, or Eagle Nest Lake near Taos, New Mexico, but Dallas photographer David H. Gibson has been photographing those moments for decades. The 20 works in this exhibition demonstrate his expertise in capturing effervescent moisture and changing light, imbuing each image with mysticism and the quiet beauty of nature.

"Year of the Rabbit"
Laura Rathe Fine Art, January 14-Februray 11
Born in a since-past year of the rabbit, Hunt Slonem has long been captivated and inspired by the symbol of good luck. His neo-expressionist paintings incorporate playful contrasts in color and texture in this solo presentation of his popular series of bunnies that fittingly celebrates another upcoming lunar year of the rabbit. The exhibition opens on January 14 with a book signing from 4:30-5:30 pm, a reception from 5:30-7:30 pm, and an artist talk at 6 pm.

Grand Opening
Art on Main, January 21
A new arts facility with exhibition space for group or solo shows, private events, and art classes is opening in East Dallas. Art on Main (4428 Main St., Ste. 200) will celebrate its Grand Opening from 3-7 pm Saturday, January 21 with work on display by founder and principal Andrea Lamarsaude. The East Dallas Chamber of Commerce will host the official ribbon cutting at 5 pm.

Nasher Sculpture Center presents "Mark di Suvero: Steel Like Paper." Photo courtesy of Nasher Sculpture Center

"Mark di Suvero: Steel Like Paper"
Nasher Sculpture Center, January 28-August 27
Mark di Suvero's steel sculptures might be some of the most recognizable art in Dallas, with Ad Astra rising to 48 feet tall in NorthPark Center's North Court and equally monumental works in the Dallas Arts District. As the Nasher Sculpture Centers rings in its 20th year, the museum celebrates di Suvero's more than six-decade career with "Steel Like Paper." The exhibition gives us a glimpse into his studio work with rarely seen drawings and paintings, plus 30 sculptures of varying sizes.

"Connections: Frank Frazier, Earline Green, John Johnson, Gerald Leavell and Burl Washington"
Irving Arts Center, January 28-February 25
Irving's annual Black History Month art exhibition, presented by the Irving Black Arts Council, brings the work of local artists to the Irving Arts Center main gallery every February. This year's exhibition features work by Fort Worth painter Burl Washington, ceramics instructor and historian Earline Green, and the art of Frank Frazier, John Johnson, and Gerald Leavell. A reception for the exhibition will be held at 5 pm February 4.