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Visual Arts for Sat., Dec. 7
Events
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    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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    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.
CLOSING
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    Ashley Swarts: “Waiting for a Sign”

    Ashley Swarts’ “Waiting for a Sign” debuted at Do Right Hall during Chinati Weekend in Marfa and will now have a more permanent showing at McLennon Pen Co.’s space next to Nixta Taqueria. It’s a fitting journey, seeing as Swarts lived in Marfa for seven years before moving to Austin to open Slowpoke, a hand-poke tattoo studio that she owns and works out of in East Austin. Swarts grew up in Las Vegas, and all three locales figure heavily in her show, which focuses on commercial signage in each city. Southwestern street art found in vintage light box and neon signs to painstakingly hand-painted typography is an aesthetic that fascinates Swarts, whose process involved collecting magazines and fitting cutouts into sign stencils layered into clear resin and suspended “like rare bugs under glass,” she writes. The opening reception is Thursday, November 21, from 6-9pm. – Lina Fisher
    Through Dec. 7
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    Nicole Awai’s “In the thick of it”

    Trinidad-born artist Nicole Awai’s work centers around “the ooze.” What is the ooze, you ask? Both material and metaphorical, it encompasses the viscous media Awai uses, like synthetic polymers, and evokes the blurred boundaries of cultural, historical, and personal identity that she references in her work. “Awai’s practice ‘overflows’ traditional boundaries as it often interweaves elements from her Caribbean heritage with broader themes of globalization and diaspora,” writes Phillip A. Townsend, curator of UT’s Art Galleries at Black Studies. Awai’s work has referenced history ranging from Civil War monuments at UT-Austin and Grand Army Plaza in New York to Trinidadian folklore about the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles, all while “foregrounding the transformative potential of the ooze,” writes Townsend. – Lina Fisher
    Through Dec. 7
    Art Galleries at Black Studies, 201 East 21st St., Jester A232
ONGOING
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    "Native America: In Translation"

    One thing I’ve loved about newer theatre or museums is the space given for land acknowledgement – statements about the ancestral roots of the space being used. Space that was not always ours, but taken. The Blanton’s latest exhibit tackles that question, but pushes the boundaries. It’s not just about what Native America was, but what it can be. Curator and lauded artist Wendy Red Star has assembled nine other Native artists to create a rich exploration of what life in America is today. Shown through a variety of mediums, something is guaranteed to resonate with the audience. Whether it’s the photos, paintings, videos, or multimedia works is up to you. – Cat McCarrey
    Aug. 4-Jan.5
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    Angel Hubris: “Shepherd Bells in Ballaban”

    Catching a work mid-progress always excites me. New elements have been added to Albanian American artist Angel Hubris’ sonic art show since its premiere on Montez Press Radio, but still future manifestations tease: a photobook, a horror story, etc. What comes to us on Monday, Nov. 25, and sticks around through the new year is a multidisciplinary presentation where Hubris has collected audio samples from rural Albanian shepherds. Their bells ring out with myriad interpretations, according to Hubris, from divine to dangerous. “I tell my friends in New York that I’m going to Church when I travel to rural Albania,” the artist writes. “My intention for this sonic piece is to generate a gentle moment where the listener can daydream and ponder other possibilities.” – James Scott
    Through Jan. 3
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    Blue Moon Glassworks

    Handmade glass art and jewelry.
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    Creekside Studio

    Creekside Studio is a women-owned printmaking studio and gallery, located in Canopy on the Eastside, specializing in fine art prints pulled by hand using archival materials and matrices: engravings, photogravure etchings, monotypes, woodcuts, copperplate etchings, and linocut.
    Saturdays, noon-1pm
    916 Springdale, Bldg 2 #103B
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    First Saturdays at Canopy

    The first Saturday of every month from 1-4pm, the 72 artists housed at the Canopy complex on Springdale Road open their studios to the public, allowing an intimate look into Austin’s visual art scene. Ivester Contemporary and ICOSA Gallery are also open, giving people a chance to see work in progress and fully realized gallery shows, as well as buy or commission new artwork. Sa-Ten, which recently expanded its hours from 7am-9pm every day, provides tasty Japanese libations worth their own trip, so grab a yuzu lemonade to sip and wander. – Lina Fisher
    First Saturdays, 1-4pm
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    Jon Langford: “The Cuckoo Is a Pretty Bird”

    It makes sense that a multihyphenate like Jon Langford – a musician-storyteller-radio star-artist – would create work that blends pop culture, symbology, and the roots of musical history in rich living color. Yard Dog Gallery, after decades working with Langford, now has a completely new batch of originals to share. His work depicts musicians like Hank Williams and John Prine combined with punk-rock detailing surrounding them: a high-class zine aesthetic. When not featuring saintlike musical icons, the paintings and prints focus on nature or skeletal figures. It’s a reminder of the world around us and the world to come. – Cat McCarrey
    Through Dec. 31
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    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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    Long Live Surrealism! 1924-Today

    Ceci n’est pas une exposition d’art: 100 years since its inception, and Surrealism is still getting under our skin with its dream illogic and witty non sequiturs. Featured artists include Hans Bellmer, Leonora Carrington, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Wifredo Lam, Man Ray, and Dorothea Tanning.
    Sept. 7-Jan. 12
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    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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    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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    Old Bakery Gallery: Fantastical Flora

    This multimedia exhibition is a comprehensive exploration of the beauty of botanical forms, expressed realistically and in the abstract, featuring the work of local artist Francine Funke.
    Opening reception: Sat., Jan. 20, 1-4pm. Free.  
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    Rachel Wolfson Smith: “Love & Gravity”

    The Canopy compound art space brings the large-scale works of Rachel Wolfson Smith to its walls. Her creations often feature a minimalist palette and maximal subject matter. Graphite on paper depicts leaves, fronds, hands, and the occasional human figure, with the finished image offering an overwhelming sensation from a distance and revealing scratches and markings to those who immerse themselves in the lush environment. Try not to get too lost in the details. – James Renovitch
    Nov. 30 - Jan. 11
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    Stephen L. Clark Gallery: Kate Breakey

    This exhibition of new work by Kate Breakey showcases hand-colored photography of the natural world, particularly of Texan and Australian landscapes, animals, and insects.
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    The Museum of Natural & Artificial Ephemerata

    This place, ah, it's one of our favorite places in the entire city; and of course they're properly corona-closed. But check 'em out online right now – it's a rich, wonder-filled website – to whet your appetite for when things get back to … uh … are we still calling it "normal," these days?
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    Virginia L. Montgomery: “Vestal Virgin Vengeance”

    For her first show at Ivester, filmmaker, visual artist, and moth keeper Virginia L. Montgomery makes her thoughts on Texas regressive reproductive politics known – loudly and with a DeWalt power drill. Inspired by “a pagan sect of protective high priestesses from ancient Rome” whose name makes up two-thirds of the show’s title, this capsule collection utilizes both video work as well as photography referencing modernity and antiquity. Its contents are dedicated to Josseli Barnica and Nevaeh Crain, two Texan women lost this year due to miscarriage complications that might’ve been prevented with better health care legislation. – James Scott
    Nov. 30 - Jan. 11
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    Visualizing the Environment: Ansel Adams and His Legacy

    Time to upgrade from your Ansel Adams wall calendar and instead appreciate the legendary landscape photographer’s black & white pictures of the American West where they belong – on a gallery wall.
    Aug. 31-Feb. 2
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    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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    Yard Dog: Paul Rodriguez

    Yard Dog presents the vibrant works of Paul Rodriguez, a printmaker from San Miguel de Allende. "And some very cool new paintings by Harry Underwood."
    Opening reception: Fri., Jan. 19, 7-9pm
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    “Collective Tales in a Concrete Garden”

    Presented in collaboration with Mexican contemporary art project guadalajara90210, Co-Lab presents a conglomeration of artists playing with ideas of urban nature. Walk amongst the organically industrial forms at the opening reception this Saturday. Expect unique uses of form and texture, metals and fibers used with a distinct viewpoint. As part of the “sculptural garden,” art rises from bases of industrial gravel, an ultimate symbol of growth from unexpected sources. Expand your ideas of structure. Expand your ideas of nature. Expand your ideas of what urban art can entail. – Cat McCarrey
    Through Dec. 14
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    “Ethica Naturalis”

    A more thematically dedicated writer might have written this whole listing in wingdings or emojis as a way of conveying the connection between illustration-forward storytelling via this show’s subject – emblem books, aka a collection of allegorical images – but alas. Y’all got me instead. Local garage-based gallery GLHF hosts a collective art show featuring artists Eli Decker, Ario Elami, Christopher Miller, and Teppla taking inspiration from one particular emblem book: Ethica Naturalis, whose illustrations personify natural elements. Attend opening night this Friday, Nov. 8, and see these artists express the eternal power dynamic between man and nature. – James Scott
    Through Dec. 14
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    “First Impressions”

    Flatbed Press has championed local printmakers for 35 years. Not to be outdone, Women & Their Work has been putting the work of Texas women on their walls for 45 years. For the next couple of months the two organizations will collaborate by gathering 30 artists (who not-coincidentally are women and printmakers) and showcasing the variety of the medium and the skills of the creators. Who doesn’t love a creative collab? – James Renovitch
    Fridays-Sundays. Through Jan. 9
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    “Soft Opening”

    Out of the garage and into much fancier digs, community-minded art gallery DORF celebrates its new home at South Lamar’s Zilker Point with the cheekily named group show “Soft Opening.” Amble in before January 11 to see what insights participating artists Eepi Chaad, Michael Anthony Garciá, Nitashia Johnson, Bárbara Miñarro, Natalia Nakazawa, Rebeca Proctor, Libby Rosen, James Viscardi bring to the concept of softness, or get in on the ground floor at Friday’s opening reception, featuring a performance by Garciá and music by DJ Apanda. – Kimberley Jones
    Through Jan. 11
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