Embrace the enthralling art scene in Austin this month with a diverse and eclectic creative display. Artists Brittany Ham and Justin Korver have fun subverting historical depictions of gender roles in European tapestry scenes in “The Chase,” at grayDuck Gallery. Trá Slaughter’s art offers a moment of reflection and contemplation at Ao5 Gallery, while photographer Lawrence McFarland is captivated by the West and the joys and sorrows of the open road at Lydia Street Gallery. Whatever your motivation is for May, these exhibits will enchant and inspire.
grayDuck Gallery
“Brittany Ham & Justin Korver: The Chase” — Now through May 28
Artists Brittany Ham and Justin Korver were drawn to European tapestries, specifically the metaphor of the hunt as an allegory for the relationship between men and women. Ham and Korver have fun inverting this portrayal of men as masculine predators actively pursuing the passive feminine prey, introducing setting, character, and plot through a series of sculptural works.
Flatbed Press Gallery
“Flatbed Flatheads” — Now through June 3
"Flatbed Flatheads" is a group exhibition of Flatbed Community Press members, Flatbed staff, and Jerry Manson resident artist, Enrique Figueredo. The display of prints will represent a broad range of styles, from Mexican motifs in woodcutting, linocuts, and etchings to polymer photogravure, stone lithography, and experimentation with large multi-layered panels.
Yard Dog
“Harry Underwood: Inspire Me, Please” — Now through June 17
Harry Underwood's oddball narrative paintings incorporate stenciled images and hand-written text using latex house paint and no. 2 pencils. He has a soft, muted palette that's both nostalgic and retro, while his writing ranges from philosophical musings to sharp political commentary. His paintings are like postcards depicting characters in their lives of leisure from another era.
LandSpace
“Sarah Fisher: When I Walk I See Things” — May 7 through June 7
Sarah Fisher has cultivated a daily practice that merges walking with art making. Her creative process braids her experience with anxiety into her compulsive need to create, connect, and converse. Influenced by Georgia O’Keeffe, who sought solace and inspiration in daily walks, Fisher couples her need to get up and move with her desire to lose and find herself in her surroundings.
Ao5 Gallery
“Trá Slaughter: Mood Indigo” — May 12 through 30
Trá Slaughter’s work has been described as a “visual conversation” between the artist and the viewer. His pieces invite the viewer to engage with the artwork, to question and interpret its meaning. In a world that is often chaotic and overwhelming, Slaughter’s art offers a moment of reflection and contemplation, often exploring the outward expression of our inner emotions.
Lydia Street Gallery
“Lawrence McFarland: From Dodge City to Shiprock” — May 13 through June 18
The photographs of Lawrence McFarland, Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin, function as a metaphoric poem. McFarland says they define not only his photographic journey but his life. McFarland’s images show the joy and the sorrow of the open road, the horizon line that you can never meet, and the pursuit of the spaces sought after.
Women & Their Work
“Paradise Bloom” — May 20 through July 6
The group exhibition examines the idea and definition of paradise. Paradise can be a location, feeling, sanctuary, or mythology that provides peace or safety for someone or from something. Through paintings, installations, neon lighting, and photography, "Paradise Bloom" poses the question, do we bloom in paradise or does paradise bloom in us?
Bullock Museum
Courtesy of grayDuck Gallery
"The Chase," Justin Korver at grayDuck Gallery
“The Harmon and Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art: Works on Paper ” — May 20 through October 1
Explore the history of Black art in America through the themes, styles, and subjects interpreted by 19th, 20th, and 21st century artists. Pivotal moments from the Harlem Renaissance to the Civil Rights Movement are represented through intimate drawings, turn-of-the-century watercolors, pastels, bright abstract acrylics, gouaches, and mixed media works.
