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.
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
