state of the arts

7 gallery exhibitions to fall for in Austin this February

Stepping into the gallery this February, prepare to dive into captivating worlds that subvert traditional narratives and offer new perspectives.

Beili Liu transforms everyday objects into metaphors for cultural memory and environmentalism. Tsz Kam's multimedia works draw on her multicultural upbringing to complicate notions of identity. Lydia Street's featured artists reinvent city maps and Salvadoran history books into vibrant tapestries brimming with hidden meaning.

Interwoven throughout are urgent reflections on femininity, ecology, community and our collective future.

Women and Their Work

Elizabeth Chapin: Treespell — Now through March 7
Treespell delves into the intersection of mythology and nature. Inspired by the myth of Artemis and Actaeon, the vibrant paintings of trees challenge the traditional notions of viewership and invite viewers to reconsider their relationship with nature. Chapin's paintings evoke the importance of returning our attention and gaze to the complexity of the natural world, and offer a powerful reflection on the need to reconsider our place within it.

Flatbed Press

Annalise Gratovich: Villagers Carrying Things from Home — Now through March 2
This poignant series explores displacement, identity, and nostalgia through the use of traditional textile patterns and imagery inspired by the artist's Ukrainian heritage. Each of the seven figures in the series serves as a totemic being with a unique purpose. Alongside this series are a selection of etchings and smaller woodcuts, further exploring the themes of identity and cultural heritage that are central to Gratovich's practice.

grayDUCK Gallery

Margaret Meehan & Jade Walker: Cloud Shadows — Now through March 3
Building on their previous collaboration and years of friendship, Meehan and Walker's works focus on themes of femininity, nature, resistance, and acceptance. Rather than creating physical pieces, Meehan and Walker engage in an ongoing "visual conversation" about their intentions, challenging and supporting each other's individual growth. Through shared books, contemporary fairy tales, and other gathered materials, they draw inspiration from both the real and the imaginary, finding connections between human experiences and the wisdom of the natural world.

Ivester Contemporary

Tsz Kam: Like a circle, like a moon — Now through February 4
Drawing on their own experience of growing up in both Hong Kong and Texas, Kam challenges the notion of rigidly defined cultural boundaries and celebrates the beauty of overlap and evolution. This exhibition features a vibrant color palette and diverse decorative motifs, reflecting the bustling streets of Hong Kong and the colorful aesthetics of a nightclub. Kam's paintings invite viewers to consider their own cultural identities and the complex ways in which they are shaped by personal experience and collective history.

Beili Liu: Inheritance — Now through February 4
A tribute to women's work, cultural memory, and environmental concerns, Liu’s work has been widely recognized, with honors including the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship and the Texas State Artist award in 3D medium. The use of commonplace materials and elements, such as thread, needles, and scissors, is a hallmark of Liu’s practice, in which she extrapolates complex narratives and addresses pressing environmental issues.

Lydia Street Gallery

Photo courtesy of Ivester Contemporary

Beili Liu creates evocative textile installations

Mindy Johnston: Cartography Abstracted — Now through February 18
Through their experience as a Capital Metro rider, Johnston has come to see the maps as abstractions of space, where the spaces between connections become the focus. The city is transformed into a vibrant tapestry of lines, shapes, and colors, and the journey itself becomes the destination. Johnston's drawings offer a fresh perspective on the city, allowing viewers to appreciate the hidden beauty and complexity of the routes and connections that many people rely on every day.

Sandra C. Fernandez: Sporadic Moments (Memorias Sueltas) — Now through February 18
Using pages from a 1700s book of crimes and misdemeanors as the foundation, Fernández combines printmaking, photography, and book arts to create a layered narrative that reflects her Ecuadorian-American identity. With a background in teaching and directing at various universities and institutions, Fernández brings a wealth of experience to her practice, which has been widely exhibited in museums and collections around the world. Her latest exhibit invites viewers to engage with the universal themes of identity, memory, and resilience

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State of the Arts

7 Austin art exhibits breaking boundaries this December

Courtesy of Davis Gallery

B Shawn Cox blends western imagery with floral motifs and bold graphics at the Davis Gallery Holiday Show.

From experimental ceramics to multimedia installations incorporating found materials, Austin's early winter exhibitions showcase artists who are pushing the boundaries of their mediums while exploring themes of heritage, identity, and our relationship with nature.

Across seven venues, from the Blanton Museum to intimate gallery spaces like the Wally Workman Gallery, these exhibitions showcase both established and emerging artists. Their works invite viewers to experience familiar subjects through fresh perspectives, creating opportunities for both curiosity and education.

Dimmitt Contemporary

Michael Dines: Echoes of Tonalism — through December 13
Dines creates haunting works that transcend traditional landscape painting, using the natural world as a foundation for exploring deeper artistic elements. The artist creates a compelling tension between surface and depth, inviting viewers into mysterious, otherworldly scenes while simultaneously emphasizing their separation from these spaces. The resulting works feel like portals into an alternate reality, where familiar natural forms merge with abstract elements to create something entirely new.

Wally Workman Gallery

Will Klemm:Elevations — December 7-29
Klemm presents a collection of ethereal landscapes that capture nature's most evocative moments, from emerging sunsets to dusky forest scenes. A nationally recognized artist with more than 40 solo exhibitions across major U.S. cities, Klemm demonstrates his mastery of both pastel and oil in large-scale works that poetically interpret Southwestern landscapes from Texas to California.

Lora Reynolds Gallery

Tony Marsh: On the Clouds of Magellan — through January 1
Created over the past year, Marsh’s new sculptural works explore human torso forms and, for the first time in his career, wall-mounted pieces. The exhibition demonstrates his evolving approach to surface treatment, alternating between smooth and heavily textured surfaces, with experimental glazing techniques that include building with large chunks of glaze. Named after his father's poem about Magellan's explorations, the show marks a shift toward more personal and emotional expression in Marsh's work.

Blanton Museum of Art

Group Exhibition:Native America: In Translation — through January 5
This exhibition brings together nine Indigenous artists who explore contemporary Native identity through photography and multimedia works. The exhibition challenges historical photographic representations of Native Americans while presenting new narratives about Indigenous life today. Featured artists including Rebecca Belmore, Martine Gutierrez, and Kimowan Metchewais use various mediums — from Polaroids to video installations — to examine themes of memory, language, landscape, and beauty.

Group Exhibition: Long Live Surrealism! 1924-Today— through January 12
This multi-artist exhibition marks 100 years since Surrealism emerged as an artistic movement, changing modern perspectives by delving into dreams and the subconscious mind. The show includes pieces by key Surrealist figures such as Bellmer, Carrington, Ernst, Lam, and Ray, plus works by later artists like Kusama and Hood who were shaped by the movement's ideas.

Austin Public Library

Suzy González: Plantcestors — through January 12
González creates distinctive portraits that blend conventional oil painting with actual organic materials like pecans and seeds. Each work depicts members of local creative and social justice communities, with natural elements chosen to reflect each subject's background. The artist combines photography, gardening, gathering of materials, and preservation methods to produce layered compositions sealed in resin. These earth-toned works explore themes of cultural roots and heritage while physically incorporating elements from nature.

Davis Gallery

Group Exhibition: Breathe — through January 18
Davis Gallery’s 26th annual holiday show displays diverse works from 12 artists working across multiple mediums. The show features B Shawn Cox's vibrant acrylic paintings on fabric, which blend portraits with western themes, mixing feminine and masculine elements through unexpected color combinations and patterns. John Sager contributes mixed media assemblages crafted from found objects like printer's blocks, steel, and piano parts, while Lisa Beaman presents serene animal portraits depicting birds, rabbits, and cows in their natural settings.

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Courtesy of Davis Gallery

B Shawn Cox blends western imagery with floral motifs and bold graphics at the Davis Gallery Holiday Show.

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