Christopher Blay and William Sarradet on experimentation in art-making, the Texas Sculpture Group, and an artist who tackles the idea of the white picket fence.
“She says they’re not tall enough to obstruct any show of force. Even a dog could jump over them.”
To watch last week’s Top Five Spring Preview in which Brandon Zech, Christopher Blay and Christina Rees bring you Glasstire’s top picks for the first big shows of 2021, please go here.
1. Savannah Kumar: the margins come to center
January 16 – 31
Prizer Arts & Letters (Austin)
From the gallery:
“In the exhibition, the margins come to center, community artist and civil rights lawyer Savannah Kumar displays the abstract blueprints of carceral control. Kumar’s mixed-media and participatory pieces serve as reminders that systems built on confinement, separation, and surveillance reinvent themselves, often using the guise of reform to ensnare entire communities. What are the dimensions of a cage that reproduces itself again and again, expanding from detention centers and prisons to streets and homes? Who does the state bring into its tight physical control, and how much violence will we ignore? A collective framework for imagining a freer world is infused throughout the margins come to center exhibition.
“Visit the gallery by appointment: We welcome you to schedule a time to see the margins come to center by going here. The exhibition is also visible through the gallery window at night time between 6pm to 10pm.”
2. Renee Lai: A Study of Fences
January 8 – February 7
Grayduck Gallery (Austin)
From the gallery and artist:
“My work and research focuses on the idea of barriers, both as an explicit subject and also more broadly as the psychological and physical manifestation of what it means to be separated. I am interested in the physical structures that determine where bodies are or are not permitted to go, as well as the more socially constructed ones that authorize these spaces into being.”
3. (Un)Controlled
January 16 – February 15
Erin Cluley Gallery (Dallas)
From the gallery:
“The history of using dye has been one of endless discovery; through exploration, invention, and experimentation. In (Un)Controlled, Erin Cluley Gallery will feature works by Chivas Clem, Catherine MacMahon, and Delaney Smith. With dye being the common thread running throughout the work, these three artists are using processes of intention, control, and resistance but at the end of the day, the final result comes at the mercy of the medium.”
4. On The Bayou: Texas Sculpture Group Exhibition
January 16 – February 23
Redbud Gallery (Houston)
“Redbud Gallery is pleased to present the diverse works of 80 artists from the Texas Sculpture Group (TSG). The group of regional Texas sculptors represents a vast repertoire of styles, mediums, and form for the viewer to contemplate, experience, or simply enjoy. There will be indoor pieces at our east gallery and west gallery and outdoor pieces at our newly created sculpture garden. We also included an honorary as well as a memorial display of deceased Texas artists who are important to the scene. Curated by Tanja Peterson, Redbud Gallery Director”
5. Here’s to Hello
January 15 – February 6
Clamplight Studio (San Antonio)
From Clamp Light Studio:
“Here’s to Hello is a group exhibition by current Clamp Light resident Artists. Each member is including a piece that represents themselves and their work to serve as an introduction of sorts to the community. Our current artists are: Jose Villalobos, Sarah Fox, Raul Rene Gonzalez, Alethia Jones, Randy Guthmiller, Ursula Zavala, Taylor Galvan, Xavier Gilmore, Sara Corley Martinez and Cassie Gnehm.”