Radical Nautical
Thu. 08/02 | 7:00PM - Sat. 09/01 @ Gallery Lombardi (West Sixth)
Artist Lecture: Silver Lining flat Lining: Michael Wutz at Volitant Gallery (2pm)
Fri. 08/10 | 2:00PM - Sat. 09/22 @ Volitant Gallery
Silver Lining flat lining: Michael Wutz Curated by Till RichterAugust 10 - September 22, 2007 August 10 - September 22, 2007. Tues. – Sat. 11am – 9pm, Sun. and Mon. noon &nda…more»
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German artist Michael Wutz is this year’s visiting artist in printmaking at the University of Texas. In a solo show, he exhibits his eerie landscapes that depict a quasi-apocalyptic vision of our world close to flat-lining.read more at austin360.com
Katherine Bash : Broken Symmetries
Thu. 08/09 | 6:00PM - Fri. 09/14 @ Women & Their Work (Downtown)
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 9, 6 – 8 pmThe artist will talk about her work at 6:30pmWomen & Their Work presents new work by Texas artist Katherine Bash who is currently worki…more»
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Katherine Bash — aka the Principal Investigator for the Itinerant Laboratory for Perceptual Inquiry — looks for new meaning and new philosophy in the quotidian landscape around us, then uses photographs and poetry to bring it together.read more at austin360.com
An Almost Holy Picture-July 19 - August 26, 2007. Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 pm, S...
Thu. 07/19 | 7:00PM - Sun. 08/26 @ ZACH Scott Theatre (South Austin)
An Almost Holy Picture Keeping the Faith Photos by Kirk Tuck By…more»
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n Heather McDonald’s odd yet thoughtful one-man play, a lapsed Episcopal priest faces the ultimate test of faith when his wife, after several miscarriages, gives birth to a beautiful baby girl who is covered with downy white fur.read more at austin360.com
Passing Time and the Changing Seasons of Time
Sat. 08/11 | 7:00PM - Fri. 09/07 @ Okay Mountain Gallery (East Side)
Passing Time and the Changing Seasons of Time Opening Reception: Saturday August 11th 7-10pm Exhibition Dates : August 11th - September 1st Gallery Hours: Wednesd…more»
'Interchange: An Exhibition in Three Parts'
Sat. 06/30 | 7:00PM - Sat. 08/25 @ Creative Research Laboratory
Profile AA-S Best Bet: "Interchange: An Exhibition in Three Parts" presents work from 15 master of fine arts candidates from the University of Texas. The show is curated by six …more»
New American Talent: The Twenty-Second Exhibition
Fri. 06/15 | 7:00PM - Sun. 08/19 @ Arthouse at the Jones Center (West Sixth)
The twenty-second in a series of annual juried exhibitions, New American Talent features the work of emerging national artists working in a variety of media including sculpture, painting, phot…more»
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by Andrew Long
August 2007
A noticeable shift in this year’s New American Talent (NAT) exhibition, at Arthouse in Austin through August, is the curator’s exacting attention to photography. Digital technology is increasing the amount of photography being created and presented today.
Image
Dave Woody
Amelia
2006
Digital print
38 × 30 inches
While photography is intermittently included in survey exhibitions, NAT would suggest that the kids are now being allowed to sit at the grown-ups’ (i.e., the painters’) table. Although the photography in NAT often feels like an afterthought, curator Anne Ellegood of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., has made a bold move in bringing the medium front and center. The overall quality of the photographic works from the 850 applicants is surprising, given that many photographers are reluctant to apply to this annual juried exhibition due to its exclusion of this medium in past years.
The major weakness of NAT is the presentation of too many subsections, resulting in the feeling of a clump of work here, a clump of work there. This is true of theme (race and alienation), medium (ink, found materials and works on paper) and style (juxtaposition, overlay and sparseness). The unifying factor is the very lack of resonance — not one part jumps out or tends to be all that exciting.
NAT artists ask more questions than they provide answers to the exhibition’s question of what is new. To paraphrase choreographer Martha Graham, You can’t make up work, you have to discover it. But it seems as if many of the artists are mimicking one another’s styles rather then forging new ground. (This may simply reflect a national trend as more and more artists are graduating from MFA programs.) What you get here is fewer tour de force, whizbang pieces and more of a slow burn. While the former can sometimes be too much sugar, not enough substance, there are several exceptions.
Image
Mark Schatz
Moving Gehry
2007
Cardboard Installation
Dimensions vary
Dave Woody’s large, meditative photographic portraits are a rare treat. Their power lies in their simplicity: you carry away only what is present. With so much recent attention garnered by European photographers like Rineke Dijkstra and Thomas Ruff, the portrait is hard to make fresh. But Woody conveys a newness through a reduced color palette and the positioning of his subject, thus encouraging us to look full on. Allison Wermager’s BEEEEP, a sound installation of found answering machines, is perfectly done. Most of the messages are trivial and inconsequential, lacking any real interpersonal connection, although at times a more emotional message surfaces. Wermager serves up these vestiges of late technology in a huge jumbled pile, where distorted voices, power cords, and telephone wires have been preserved in a bizarre chasm of posterity. Roberto Bellini’s video work Landscape Theory captures the artist at work attempting to tape a horde of black grackles gathering at sunset. An older man approaches off-camera and warns Bellini at garrulous length that he can’t tape the birds: “People are on edge. Looks like you’re videotaping that overpass. The police have been making arrests for things like that.” The whole interaction is heard as a voiceover to other sunset images. Normally difficult to pull off, Bellini’s post-9/11 discourse speaks brilliantly to our collective loss of innocence and public space.
Image
Rebecca Rothfus
Untitled (highway one)
2006
Gouache, pencil and paper on panel
14 × 11 inches
The setup to Damien Gilley’s Parking Lot Miracle video piece starts off predictably –– a man walks across a deserted parking lot, sees a boombox on the ground, then continues on. Seconds later he returns to look around, and realizing he is alone, he presses play and begins to dance. The payoff to this short video is a memorable section halfway through: As the dancer is in the middle of a midair barrel turn, Gilley suspends the tape and jogs the frame back and forth a number of times, mimicking the break-beat scratching of a cheesy Casio keyboard loop. The gravity-defying choreography is charming and humorous and fresh even upon multiple viewings. Equally engaging is Elizabeth Axtman’s video American Classic, which effectively moves the race discussion forward in a cunning, yet direct manner. Framed by her hair, Axtman faces the camera directly and lip-syncs lines lifted from old movies about racial passing. Although we see her underlying torment, Axtman could also break out laughing at any moment as the joke is on the viewer, or at least on those viewers with bigoted perceptions. There are several other strong race-based works present, including Sonseree Verdise Gibson’s Let’s Discuss the Word “Nigger” and Brad Farwell’s An African Mask Looks at Sites of American Blackness: New Orleans Superdome.
Image
William Hundley
Checkers
2006
Digital print mounted on Plexiglas
22 1/2 × 30 inches
Several works of note for their material investigation include William Hundley’s photographs of suspended fabrics; Jonathon Durham’s Foreskin, composed of tobacco, oil clay and a remote control helicopter; Suzanne Wright’s large-scale colorful drawing “Rainbow Highway” (G.W.B.); Wonjung Choi’s delightful mixed-media installation evoking a kindred spirit to the fish imagery of Lee Bontecou; and Ansen Seale’s crafted screenprint Oil for Food, with its purposeful substitution of the artist’s blood for ink.
Relational works in NAT abound: Jenene Nagy’s topologically themed sculptures; Joseph Phillips’ works on paper; Miguel-Angel Avila and Michael Cambre’s use of collaged imagery; the sparse nature of both Jennifer Nelson and Wura-Natasha Ogunji’s works on paper; Felice Grodin and Elwyn Palmerton’s migrating Mylar ink drawings; and the organized line qualities of work by Tom Mueske and Kirk Stoller.
On first view, NAT seemed exciting in its new commitment to photography, but subsequent viewing revealed an overall palette that felt gray, both in tone and vision. But this is the current state of the union, is it not?
Will van Overbeek: Photographs of Barton Springs
Sat. 05/19 | 7:00PM - Wed. 08/22 @ Austin Museum of Art (Downtown location) (West Sixth)
Will van Overbeek graduated in 1978 from the University of Texas where he studied under photographer Garry Winogrand. Van Overbeek's first major project was a photo documentary book entitl…more»
Artistic License: WorkSpace Artist Josefina Guilisasti
Thu. 06/28 | 7:00PM - Sun. 10/21 @ Blanton Museum of Art (Campus)
Artistic License is a chance to get up close and personal with Blanton artists. Meet leading Chilean artist, Josefina Guilisasti on June 28 when she discusses her installation. Her work is fea…more»
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The Blanton Museum of Art is showing the artwork of Chilean artist Josefina Guilisasti in the exhibition titled “WorkSpace: Josefina Guilisasti.” The exhibit features eight canvases called “Marfa/Puerto Viejo,” influenced by the artist’s 2005 trip to Marfa.read more at austin360.com
William Wegman Emancipet Event
Mon. 08/06 | 7:00PM - Sat. 09/15 @ Design Center of Austin at Penn Field (South Austin)
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Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres to accompany a display of short films by dog photographer William Wegmanread more at austin360.com
Brian Hamill: 'La Fiesta Brava'
Fri. 07/27 | 7:00PM - Fri. 08/31 @ Russell Collection Fine Art Gallery
July 27 - August 31, 2007. Tuesday - Friday from 11am - 6pm, Saturday 10am - 5pm
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New York photographer Brian Hamill, most famous for his work with director Woody Allen on more than 25 films, exhibits his newest collection, “La Fiesta Brava,” at the downtown location of the Russell Collection. “La Fiesta Brava,” which documents a Venezuelan bullfight, is both raw and elegant.read more at austin360.com
Awakening the Soul
Fri. 07/06 | 6:00PM - Fri. 08/31 @ Las Manitas Avenue Cafe
Awakening the Soul Artwork by Victor Garcia Exhibit: July 6 – August 31, 2007 Reception: Friday, July 6, 2007 6:00 – 8:00 pm La Peña presents “Aw…more»
WorkSpace: Josefina Guilisasti
Sat. 07/07 | 7:00PM - Sun. 10/21 @ Blanton Museum of Art (Campus)
July 7 - October 21, 2007. Tues. - Sats 10am - 5pm (Thursdays open until 8), Sundays 1pm - 5pm
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The Blanton Museum of Art is showing the artwork of Chilean artist Josefina Guilisasti in the exhibition titled “WorkSpace: Josefina Guilisasti.” The exhibit features eight canvases called “Marfa/Puerto Viejo,” influenced by the artist’s 2005 trip to Marfa. Through Oct. 21. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today.read more at austin360.com
Testimonio
Thu. 03/08 | 7:00PM - Fri. 08/31 @ La Pena
Testimonio La Peña Gallery 227 Congress Ave Austin, TX 78701 March 8 – August 31, 2007 La Peña proudly presents “Testimonio…more»
Leanne Venier's "Abstractions"
Sun. 07/01 | 12:00AM - Fri. 08/01 @ New World Deli
New World Deli is now featuring the energetic and sensuous abstract oil paintings of Leanne Venier. The artist breathes life into paint, and what emerges in her works is provocative and often …more»
Vinyasa Yoga with Pamela
Every Tuesday 9:00AM @ Ruta Maya (South Austin)
Vinyasa yoga is the marriage of breath and movement. This class is taught with equal focus on breath and the postures bringing together the physical with the spiritual for a deeper understandi…more»
Exquisite Visions of Japan
Sun. 07/01 | 7:00PM - Mon. 08/27 @ Blanton Museum of Art (Campus)
Ukiyo-e, or images of the 'floating world,' are Japanese woodblock prints that feature beautiful vistas, lush scenery, and natural wonders. More than 50 Japanese woodblock prints from …more»
Austin Art Seen
Tue. 10/03 | 12:00PM - Sun. 09/23 @ Austin Museum of Art (Laguna Gloria location)
Austin Art Seen, circa 1961 reexamines the Modernist movement in Texas art, the art form that gained popularity during the time AMOA-Laguna Gloria (formerly Laguna Gloria Art Museum) was chart…more»
Shelley Tate Garner
Fri. 12/01 | 7:00PM - Mon. 12/31 @ Art on 5th (Downtown)
Garner is a talented multi-media artist from Oklahoma. Her love for art as a child has turned into a quest for knowledge and skill. Enjoy this ongoing exhibit of this fabulous artist.Tickets: …more»
Vinyasa Yoga with Pamela
Tue. 08/14 | 9:00AM @ Ruta Maya (South Austin)
Vinyasa yoga is the marriage of breath and movement. This class is taught with equal focus on breath and the postures bringing together the physical with the spiritual for a deeper understandi…more»
Katherine Bash-Broken Symmetries
Thu. 08/09 | 7:00PM - Sat. 09/15 @ Waterloo Ice House - 6th and Lamar (West Sixth)
Katherine Bash-Broken Symmetries Women and Their Work Austin August 9-September 15, 2007 Add to Bookmarks Tell a Friend
A Cabinet of Drawings
Every Tuesday 10:00AM - Sun. 01/04 @ Harry Ransom Center (Campus)
This survey or “cabinet” of more than 100 drawings from the Ransom Center’s diverse collections features book illustrations, designs, illustrated letters, landscapes, and por…more»
The ocean has always been the scene of great adventures and the subject of much wonder. read more at austin360.com