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for Fri., May 26
  • 14th Annual Hill Country Film Festival

    Escape to Fredericksburg, Texas for the 2023 Hill Country Film Festival! This celebration of independent film takes place in downtown Fredericksburg, with film screenings at the Great Hall at Hoffman Haus and the Nimitz Ballroom. HCFF will screen short and feature-length independent films, as well as host filmmaker Q&A, panel discussions, parties and more.
    June 1-4  
    Fredericksburg
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    Visual Arts

    Art & Parks Tour

    This sweet opportunity comes to us from the Downtown Austin Alliance, the Pease Park Conservancy, and Ride Bikes Austin – so we know it's a damned good thing indeed. Take the self-guided Art & Parks Tour to explore the best of what Downtown Austin art and parks have to offer through this selection of curated murals, artworks, and green spaces. You can sign up anytime, so click that URL and get ready to learn the most vibrantly visual parts of your city soon – live and in person.
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    Visual Arts

    Art for the People: Springing Into Colour

    The movers and shakers of AFTP have transformed this lively gallery with at least 90 new pieces created by more than 33 Austin artists – including 13 who are showing their work here for the first time – to bring a bright flood of spring into our city.
    Through June 2
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    Visual Arts

    Atelier Dojo: Remote Studios

    The local powerhouse of figurative painting, the art school that's the smart school for artists of all kinds, they've got a painting-along-at-home series going to help you keep your skills honed in these socially restrictive times, featuring live costumed models posing on camera and a thriving community of creatives rendering that lovely human biotecture from their separate studios. "Join us for a three-hour costumed-model drawing session. Use any supplies you wish, listen to music, share your work, chat with others. It’s a great way to stay connected with your art community!"
    Tuesdays, 1:30-4:30pm; Fridays, 6:30-9:30pm; Saturdays, 9:30-12:30pm. $5.  
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    Visual Arts

    Austin Pastel Fest

    The Austin Pastel Society's 2023 festival of works is presented by Artworks Gallery.
    Through June 17
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    Dance

    Ballet Austin: Classes

    Learn your way to physical grace with a dance class at Ballet Austin. There are so many varieties to choose among – ballet, barre, contemporary dance, hip-hop, tap, cardio dance fitness, Pilates, and more – and all taught by professional instructors. See website for details.
    $3-7 per class.
  • Qmmunity

    Arts & Culture

    Bedside

    Written by WhatsintheMirror's Tarik Daniels and directed by Jeremy Rashad Brown, this play tells the story of a Black queer couple and their journey through the present-day HIV epidemic in the Southern U.S.
    Through May 26. Thu.-Fri., 8-9:30pm. $20.  
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    Comedy

    Cap City Comedy Club

    That's right: Cap City Comedy Club, the cornerstone of Austin's comedy scene for nearly four decades is at a new venue in the Domain. And here's Valerie Lopez with a closer look at what's in store for the scene via the venue. Coming up: Hans Kim and David Lucas.
    $27 and up.  
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    Theatre

    Chronicles of an Indigenous Offspring

    Inspired by James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son and Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, Zell Miller III uses hip-hop culture, jazz aesthetics movement, and spoken word to weave an authentic tapestry offering a picture of what it means to be a person of color in this southern city. This new show is "a therapeutic exhale that documents growing up Black in Austin, Texas," and "a love letter to cultural landmarks that have been erased from the city's consciousness, Chronicles also exposes the city's dark past. Famed photographer Ivan Millers's black-and-white images create a striking visual environment, and Miller's longtime musical collaborator Thomas "Hitman" Wheeler on percussion creates a funky sonic landscape.
    Through June 3. Thu.-Sat., 8pm. $21-23.  
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    Visual Arts

    Cloud Tree: Fired Up

    "Fired Up," is it? Well, of course that means an exhibition of the work of 12 celebrated artists, both local and national, in Cloud Tree's first group showcase of ceramic art. Behold an array of clay-based wonders thrown and shaped and glazed by Ryan McKerley, Mimi Bardagjy, Scott Proctor, Rebeca Milton, Alejandra Almuelle, Claudia Reese, Mary F. Fischer, Sarah German, Stone Anderson, Noelle Mercado, Eliana Bernard, and Hillary Cumberworth.
    Through May 27
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    Comedy

    ColdTowne Theater

    ColdTowne's new brick-and-mortar place is totally open, and who knows what they'll shake this city with next? But one truth remains: ColdTowne is a designated den of gold, baby, sweet comedy gold.
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    Visual Arts

    Davis Gallery: The Poetry of Spring

    This is a new exhibition of works by Cookie Ashton, who uses wet pigments, inks, charcoals, and pastels in exploring dreamlike territories of abstraction.
    Through June 10
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    Comedy

    East Austin Comedy Club

    Founded by comedians Raza Jafri and Andre Ricks, this club that operates out of Tiger Den on the Eastside is the city's only BIPOC-owned comedy venue.
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    Visual Arts

    Elisabet Ney Museum: De Tierra

    Explore the Ney's latest exhibit, a one-woman show by the acclaimed sculptor Alejandra Almuelle, whose ceramic figurative sculptures exemplify the biological archive of experience through the human form.
    Through July 30  
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    Comedy

    Esther's Follies

    Esther's Follies – Austin's not-so-secret weapon in the fight against ennui – the comedy gem that still dazzles this growing urban hub – returns to the weekly live and in-person stage of their club on Dirty Sixth, the whole troupe bringing back old favorites and debuting a new program of hilarity with topical, ripped-from-the-headlines sketches and musical numbers. And you do need a laugh or two, right about this time, don't you, citizen? (And how about a margarita to go with that?) We'd add that the mind-boggling illusions of magician Ray Anderson are a bonus in the night's clever spectacle … but, the way that arch maestro conjures mystery and delight, "bonus" would be an insult.
    Thu., 7pm; Fri.-Sat., 7 & 9pm. $30-40.  
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    Comedy

    Fallout Comedy

    This hotbed of local performance is carrying on even more than usual, with an eclectic mix of live, mind-rocking comedy from some of Austin's best, all week long. Hey! The place is our cover story, as reported by Valerie Lopez! And, srsly, who would ever disagree with the sentiment of Monday night's Fuck This Week show? Check the website for details.
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    Visual Arts

    Flatbed Press: Flatbed Flatheads

    Flatbed's current artist-in-residence Enrique Figueredo is featured in this new exhibition that includes work by Alfonso Huerta, Alyssa Ebinger, Aparna Rupakula, Belinda Casey, Emery Spina, Enrique Figueredo, Hannah Spector, Jess Nordquist, Katherine Brimberry, Matthew Magruder, Mike Hart, Nina Tichava, and Samantha Melvin – displaying a wide array of printmaking methods, including intaglio, relief, monotype, and lithography.
    Through June 3
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    Visual Arts

    Goodluckhavefun: Hard/Gentle

    This Westside gallery presents a collection of new works that use paint, ceramic, and comic illustrations to build a world of gentle strength.
    Through June 3
    1207-A Enfield
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    Visual Arts

    grayDUCK Gallery: The Chase

    This new exhibition from artists Brittany Ham and Justin Korver builds on their earlier co-authored works, the newest pieces in the show placing the characters of women, dogs, men, and stags in collaboratively drawn landscape settings. Eleven new woven tapestries and a new relief sculpture join the original narrative depicted in "The Hunt."
    Through May 28  
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    Visual Arts

    Harry Ransom Center: Drawing the Motion Picture

    Explore the beauty and complexity of moviemaking through sketches, storyboards, and designs that illuminate the creation of motion pictures from the silent era to the present day in this new exhibition, featuring production art from iconic movies like Rebel Without a Cause, Raging Bull, Apollo 13, and Lawrence of Arabia, many connected with innovative directors Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Mike Nichols, Michael Powell, Nicholas Ray, Martin Scorsese, Stephen Spielberg, King Vidor, and more.
    Through July 16
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    Visual Arts

    ICOSA: Invasive Species

    This new show, curated by Alexis Hunter and Jacqueline Overby, features 14 women-identifying artists examining womanhood in a multigenerational habitat of male-ordained moral, sexual, and spiritual repression and exploitation. With art by Courtney Cone, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Sarah Fox, Jessica Gritton, Katy Horan, Alexis Hunter, Intel Lastierre, Kim Le, Chantal Lesley, Hayley Labrum Morrison, Jacqueline Overby, Sara Vanderbeek, Desireé Vaniecia, and Tanya Zal.
    Through June 24
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    Visual Arts

    Ivester Contemporary: read somewhere and Bloom

    In the main gallery: New paintings and prints by Rachel Livedalen. Also: Anya Molyviatis' first solo exhibition with the gallery is an ongoing series of three-dimensional textiles that are handwoven on AVL dobby looms, using dramatic color gradients, physical depth, and structure to create a multisensory experience.
    Through May 27
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    Visual Arts

    Laguna Gloria

    This local treasure of a venue, run by those Contemporary Austin folks who also bring us the Jones Center shows Downtown, is all about the outdoors – which is perfect for these trickily navigated times of ours, n'est-ce pas? Recommended: Stop by and breathe in the air, enjoy the lawns and gardens and the many examples of world-class sculpture arrayed across the property, and (as Frankie used to say) r-e-l-a-x.
    Thu.-Fri., 9am-noon; Sat.-Sun., 9am-3pm
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    Visual Arts

    Lance Letscher: Sail to the Moon

    Stephen L. Clark Gallery presents this new exhibition of works by Lance Letscher, the locally based artist internationally known for his vibrant, colorful collages of wood, metal, paper, and old books.
    Through May 27
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    Visual Arts

    Landmarks: Self-Guided Walking Tour

    Use your smartphone to access self-guided tours of the outdoor public art sited by UT's award-winning Landmarks program any time you feel like it. BONUS: There's also a free, docent-led tour starting at Marc Quinn's "Spiral of the Galaxy" (1501 Red River) on Sun., Jan. 8, 11am.
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    Visual Arts

    Link & Pin: Size Is Everything

    What if art was all one size? Not too big and not too small. With modern art, abstract pieces, traditional works, and whimsical art all in the same room? We hope you will come and see! Featured member artists for "Size Is Everything" include: Kay Hughes, Sherry Fields, Janet Sopp-Sims, Eddie Sutherland, Rhea Pettit, Supriya Kharod, Kathleen Stafford, Martha Paisley Ruth, Betty Jameson, Eileen Pestorius, Beryl Kerwick, Sonja Besondy, Genevieve Holland, and Sonja Kever.
    Closing reception: Sat., May 27, 3-5pm
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    Visual Arts

    Lora Reynolds Gallery: Snails In Comparison

    The Lora Reynolds gallery inaugurates its brand new space(!) with this whimsical and wonderful show by those irrepressible Haas Brothers. Observe as fraternal twins Niki and Simon Haas unveil a group of sculptures of big, bizarre snails: their first endeavors in combining a material new to their practice (blown glass, which constitutes the gastropod's soft bodies) with another medium they've known longer than any other: the snails' shells are hand-carved marble.
    Through May 27
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    Visual Arts

    Lydia Street Gallery: From Dodge City to Shiprock

    Lawrence McFarland's photographs function as a metaphoric poem, defining not only his photographic journey but in a larger sense his life.
    Through June 18
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    Visual Arts

    Martha's Contemporary: Hokey Pokey + What You See Is What You Get

    Here's a two-person exhibition that features painting, installation, videography, and sculpture by Moll Brau and Wes Thompson. It's a deep dive into a pool of loneliness, triumph, and rebirth. It's a forest of mazes where fireflies provide the light. It's a show of creations from a pair of terrific, hardworking local artists and you don't want to miss it.
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    Visual Arts

    MASS Gallery: Crush

    This exhibition presents art that explores crushing — materially, metaphorically, emotionally, or accidentally – with works by Kerry Maguire, Alexandre Pépin, Lauren Moya Ford, Mai Snow, Alex Diamond, Logan Larsen, and Virginia L. Montgomery.
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    Visual Arts

    Mexic-Arte Museum: Expresiones de México, Arte de la Gente / Art of the People

    This new show features an impressive collection of artworks created via techniques and skills passed down through generations, especially highlighting work by master printmaker Sergio Sánchez Santamaría.
    Through Aug. 20
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    Visual Arts

    Museum of Illusions

    Enter the fascinating world of illusions in this new venue that boasts a stunning array of intriguing visual, sensory, and educational experiences among new, unexplored optical wonderments.
    11010 Domain #100
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    Visual Arts

    Prizer Arts & Letters: The Garden, the Body

    Featuring ink portraits and new large-scale works on canvas, this show by Austin-born artist Caroline Wright traces her experience postpartum – twice! – during the pandemic.
    Through May 27
  • Arts

    Comedy

    Snail Haven's Comedy Pregame

    This is a weekly stand-up comedy showcase to help you pregame your Friday night on the town. (Snail Haven also features music shows, film screenings, and general hangs. Best bet: Follow @SnailHavenShows on Instagram and DM them for event details.)
    Fridays, 8pm. Free.  
  • Arts

    Comedy

    South Austin Comedy Club

    South Austin’s first dedicated comedy venue is spearheaded by local comics Martin Henn, Andre Ricks, and Raza Jafri, and will bring top-notch acts to South Austin every Wednesday through Saturday. Note: The upcoming comics – including nationally touring acts, local sweethearts, and everyone in between – will be listed on Instagram each night.
    Wed.-Sat., 7:30pm
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    Visual Arts

    Stephen Clark Gallery

    The gallery specializes in fine art photographs with an emphasis on contemporary work, also presenting an array of national and international vintage work. Best bet: The lensed and enhanced brilliances of Kate Breakey.
    Thu.-Sat., 11am-4pm
  • Arts

    Theatre

    The Baker's Wife

    Directed by Michael Cooper for the Alchemy Theatre. See Bob Abelman's full review right here!
    Through June 11. Fri.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 2pm. $30-55.  
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    Visual Arts

    The Blanton: Day Jobs

    This first major exhibition to examine the overlooked impact of day jobs on the visual arts is dedicated to demystifying artistic production and upending the stubborn myth of the artist sequestered in their studio, waiting for inspiration to strike.
    Through July 23
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    The Blanton: Las Hermanas Iglesias

    Sisters Lisa and Janelle Iglesias present related textiles, collages, and sculpture that explore caregiving as part of a complex network of social issues, melding melds cultural references to the Dominican Republic and Norway (their parents’: home countries) with personal experiences – most recently their navigations of fertility, pregnancy, loss, and birth.
    Through July 9. Free on Thursdays.  
  • Arts

    Comedy

    The Comedy Mothership

    Joe Rogan's new venue is open and packing in the comedy-craving crowds at what used to be the Alamo Ritz, bringing in some of the biggest names (Rogan himself among them) and rising stars in the business, all presented with the kind of provocative pizzazz that makes Dirty Sixth (and especially this Mothership) a destination seven days a week.
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    Visual Arts

    The Contemporary Austin: Competing with Lightning / Rivalizando con el Relámpago

    The Contemporary Austin presents an exhibition tracing the evolution of Eamon Ore-Giron's dynamic paintings over more than twenty years of creative practice, revealing how the artist mines the complex nature of Latinx identity, the history of the Americas, and the many legacies of abstraction in art. ALSO: The newest exhibition space here is called HOST and features work by María Fernanda Camarena and Gabriel Rosas Alemán (aka the Mexico City-based artist duo known as Celeste).
    Through Aug. 20. $10 (for the reception).  
  • Arts

    Comedy

    The Creek and the Cave

    This snazzy spot for local and national stand-up acts has shows almost every night of the week. Case in point is this weekend's hilarious headliner: Josh Johnson.
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    Visual Arts

    The Eureka Room

    It's the homegrown height of hallucinatory happenings! It's the Eureka Room, a fun and absurd participatory experience where visitors engage with curious and playful programming within a unique 100-quare-foot room filled with light and sound. Mind? Blown.
    See website for reservations. $25.  
  • Arts

    Comedy

    The Hideout

    The diverse lineup of sometimes hilarious, always surprising yes-and shows has returned, with Pgraph and Maestro and the Big Bash and more, for the most unexpected delights of in-person entertainment. For instance: the marvelous musicality of The Selena Sing-a-Long Show. See the website for details.
    $10 and up.  
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    Visual Arts

    The Mighty Uncanny Incredible Amazing Art Show

    Behold, fearless front-facer, as Guzu Gallery presents all-new pop culture art featuring characters ripped from the pages of your favorite comics! Each artist will pay tribute to their favorite comic book heroes, antiheroes, villains, and everything in between. Artists represented include Kyle Armstrong, Breazy, Mia Burwitz, Kevin T. Chin, Daddy Otis, Forces of Dorkness, Matt Frank, Half-Human, Stacey Miller, Tessa Morrison, Vo Nguyen, Chet Phillips, and more.
    Through June 5
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    Theatre

    Trouble Puppet Workshop

    Trouble Puppet Theater Company presents an exciting new workshop exploring the art of puppetry through building puppets and performance. Participants in this workshop intensive will learn construction of tabletop puppets, covering materials, tools, engineering, and design. Using your newly made puppets, you'll explore storytelling and performance techniques at the VORTEX, culminating with a public performance of scenes from an original Trouble Puppet show-in-progress. Note: Attendance is required for all five rehearsals and the public performance. And: Spots are limited, reserve yours today!
    May 28-June 14  
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    Visual Arts

    Umlauf Sculpture Garden

    The Umlauf's famed Garden features expertly wrought sculptures, the bronze or stone cynosures from Charles Umlauf and others anchoring sight among the bright foliage and tree-towered paths. The current highlight is an exhibition of works by David Deming.
    Tue.-Fri., 10am-4pm; Sat.-Sun., 11am-4pm
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    Visual Arts

    Unchained Art: Nature's Whispers

    This new gallery presents "Nature’s Whispers: In Dialogue with Poetic Abstraction," a solo exhibition showcasing the intuitive, deeply layered abstract paintings of Swiss artist Erica Wittenwiler.
    Through June 17
    1601 E. Cesar Chavez #101
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    Comedy

    Velveeta Room

    The legend of Ronnie Velveeta lives on at this storied 'stablishment of a stand-up stage, where some of the country's hottest comics come to make the floorboards quake with laughter every weekend on Dirty Sixth. Brandie Posey: Sat., May 20, 8 & 10pm. Jake Flores: Sat., May 27, 8 & 10pm.
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    Theatre

    Vortex Summer Youth Theatre: Auditions for 'The Memo'

    The Vortex seeks students ages 13-17 to participate in Summer Youth Theatre 2023. Now in its thirty-first year, this award-winning, tuition-free program rehearses and performs evenings and weekends in June and July. Rehearsals culminate in a full production of The Memo (also known as The Memorandum) by Václav Havel, to be staged for the public July 21-29. Note: Students of any ethnicity, gender, ability/disability, economic background, and experience level are welcome to audition to be a part of an ensemble of diverse youth training together to present this stylish satire, as directed by Jelena Stojiljkovic Rhynes. Auditions and interviews: May 24 and 31, by appointment only. See website for details.
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    Visual Arts

    Wally Workman Gallery: Seeking Solace

    Mary Case’s paintings interpret organic forms with subtlety and spontaneity, rendering her vision of the natural world as ultimate architect – from the chaotic lines of brambles in the forest to the undulating forms of rivers and wetlands, encouraging micro- and macro- observations that awe and heal.
    Through May 28
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    Visual Arts

    WCC: From the Vault

    This exhibition includes established names, emerging talents, and pieces that have long been held in private collections.
    Wednesdays-Sundays. Through June 11
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    Visual Arts

    Women & Their Work: Paradise Bloom

    This new group show at one of Austin's premier galleries features the work of Anahita Bradberry, Jessica Carolina González, Naomi Lemus, and Alexis Pye, organized by guest curator Ashley DeHoyos Sauder. Through use of paintings, installations, neon lighting, and photography, "Paradise Bloom" explores the interconnected relationships between identity development and self preservation, using expressions of nature, domestic interiors, diasporic aesthetics and traditions as resources for world-building and re-imaging.
    Through July 6
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    Visual Arts

    Wyld Gallery

    This is Ray Donley's gallery of art by Native Americans, located in that company of artistic glory called Canopy and resplendent with creations from the original people of our struggling country.
    Call for appointment
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    Visual Arts

    Yard Dog: Harry Underwood

    Harry Underwood is a self-taught painter living in Nashville, Tennessee. His oddball narrative paintings incorporate stenciled images and handwritten text, using latex house paint and no. 2 pencils. He has a soft, muted palette that's nostalgic & retro, while his writing ranges from philosophical musings to sharp political and social commentary.
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Yard Dog: New Baseball Paintings

    Austin artist Will Johnson explores the history of baseball in a series of portraits of players. An avid baseball fan since childhood, he began creating these paintings in 2007 or 2008, wanting to pay tribute to some of his favorite players and stories — especially unheralded players — through folk art paintings.

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