Local Palette

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Various Artists

Ruta Maya Coffee House
through February 28

Untitled, by Cuban artist Tito

I find it interesting that the quality of art in some local coffee shops and restaurants often rivals the collections in many galleries. I won't climb on my soapbox about the serious deficiency of galleries in Austin, and I'm not necessarily complaining -- it's rather nice to be able to sit and have an au lait while I jot down notes on a collection. However, it is frustrating that few coffeehouses and restaurants match the quality of the art they show with proper exhibition elements, like sufficient light and space.

Which is precisely what troubles this collection. The paintings are excellent, some of the most engaging I've seen so far this year. Yet the works are hung in scant, dim lighting, with little space between each piece. None of the works are labeled with the medium or artist's name, leaving the viewer to decipher the artists' signature from each work.

This is not to discredit Ruta Maya, which does a marvelous job of bringing in underrated or overlooked Latino artists who deserve attention. This is especially true for these Cuban artists, who have a difficult time exhibiting in the U.S. It's quite a shame that these works aren't more accessible, because they show a talent and passion deserving recognition. René Portocar--rero's watercolor images of Cuban birds are gorgeous, with tropical colors fading into and out of each other, camouflaging the exotic birds. The works give a vivid picture of some of the island's more pleasant aspects: the flora and fauna.

If Austin's lack of galleries continues to force artists and exhibitors to explore space in dining establishments, perhaps we should implore these establishments to afford proper and fundamental exhibition tools.

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Out of Bounds: New Works by Eight Southeast Artists

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Various Artists

Huntington Art Gallery
Through March

The Deep South meets the next century in this collection, a compellingly eclectic group of works by eight vanguard artists from the southeastern U.S. The show was originally organized for the Olympics Arts Festival in Atlanta last summer and was intended to "redefine collective notions about art made in this region." Curators Julia A. Fenton and the Huntington's own Annette DiMeo Carlozzi wanted to show that not all Southern artists pursue the traditional folk art style so common to the area.

This exhibit is, without a doubt, not folk art. You can see some folkloristic influence -- as in Radcliffe Bailey's use of dazzling patchworks of colors -- but most of the works look more like visions from Blade Runner, and give a hint to the future of art. It's an amazingly complex and grand show, one that is best taken in over a couple of visits. Arguably the most outrageous piece is Edouard Kac's Rara Avis, a large bird aviary, replete with swings, birdbaths, and a couple dozen small, chirping birds. Within the aviary sits a huge fake macaw, and on a pedestal outside the aviary sits a virtual reality headset, waiting to be donned. When the viewer puts it on, his/her point of view changes to that of the macaw -- looking out from within the bird room, with birds fluttering all around its field of vision, which is controllable with the headset. You can also see a live shot of the macaw's view on Huntington's website; you can't get much more cyber-friendly than that.

Another potent piece is Dawn DeDeaux's The Face of God, In Search Of, a requiem in five suites that combines film and an original score with laser disc mastering to "offer a meditation on man's efforts to reconcile his existence and his mortality." At the center of this sectioned-off installation is something I personally feel should be at the center of every exhibit: a bed. Lay on it and reconcile your existence, or just fall into a dream state, which is what I did. -- Cari Marshall