The Austin Museum of Art has identified which local artists are the “20 to watch” in the next edition of its triennial “New Art in Austin” exhibition. AMOA launched the series in 2002 to strengthen its ties to the area’s emerging artists and give them the boost of a museum show early in their careers, and the initial exhibit and its 2005 follow-up were both critical favorites. Now, the third show is upon us, and the artists really wanted a piece of the action: A record 254 submissions were made by artists living within a 50-mile radius of the Capitol. The curatorial team – Diane Barber (DiverseWorks, Houston), Bill FitzGibbons (Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, San Antonio), Dennis Kois (the Grace Museum, Abilene), and AMOA’s Eva Buttacavoli, director of exhibitions and education – winnowed the list to 32, then met with and visited the studio of each of the finalists. Then they picked their 20:
Yoon Cho, photography; Meggie Chou, mixed-media installation; Ali Fitzgerald, painting, installation; Alyson Fox, painting on mixed media; Buster Graybill, mixed-media installation; Jen Hirt & Scott Webel, mixed-media installation; Jules Jones, drawing, installation; Baseera Khan, painting; Andrew Long, painting; Kurt Mueller, video installation; Jill Pangallo, video installation; Scott Proctor, site-specific installation; Matthew Rodriguez, mixed-media installation; Shawn Smith, sculpture; Xochi Solis, painting; Sarah Sudhoff, photography; Raymond Uhlir, painting; Stephanie Wagner, ceramic; Rebecca Ward, site-specific installation; and Eric Zimmerman, mixed media.
After the Austin run (Feb. 16-May 11, 2008), the exhibition will travel to Abilene, Houston, and San Antonio. For more information, visit www.amoa.org.
This article appears in October 19 • 2007.