'New Art in Austin' 2011

The Austin Museum of Art has figured out who to watch next spring. Every three years since 2002, AMOA has assembled an exhibition showcasing work by some of the most creative and energetic young artists in Central Texas, i.e., talents we should be watching, and 2011 means it's time for another round of this "New Art in Austin" series. Some 350 artists who live within 50 miles of the Capitol applied this time – a 30% increase over the number in 2008, which goes to show how much prestige this program has acquired in just a decade. The team curating the fourth edition – Kate Bonansinga (Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, University of Texas at El Paso), Toby Kamps (Menil Collection, Houston), and AMOA assistant curator Andrea Mellard – has been hard at work reviewing submissions and visiting studios, and last week the group announced the 15 finalists. It's a class as heavy on photography as the previous one was heavy on mixed media and installation work. The "15 to Watch" are Miguel Aragon, printmaking; Jesus Benavente/Jennifer Remenchik, performance; Ben Brandt, sculpture; Debra Broz, sculpture; Elizabeth Chiles, photography; Santiago Forero, photography; Nathan Green, installation; Ian Ingram, drawing; Anna Krachey, photography; Robert Melton, video; Leslie Mutchler, mixed media; Ben Ruggiero, photography; Adam Schreiber, photography; Barry Stone, photography; and J. Parker Valentine, mixed media.

"New Art in Austin: 15 to Watch" will be on view Feb. 26-May 22, 2011, at the Austin Museum of Art – Downtown, 823 Congress. For more information, visit www.amoa.org.