Top Five: March 3, 2022

by Glasstire March 3, 2022

Glasstire counts down the top five art events in Texas.

For last week’s picks, please go here.

A photograph of a white-walled gallery with a variety of artworks displayed. Artworks include a video on a large flatscreen monitor, clothing items, a large scale painting, and small sculptures on a white shelf.

Installation image of the “Threads Bare” exhibition at Blue Star Contemporary.

1. Contemporary Art Month
Various Venues
March 2 – 31, 2022

For the full calendar of events for this month-long program, go here.

From Contemporary Art Month’s Mission Statement:

“March is Contemporary Art Month. During the month of March in San Antonio, Contemporary Art Month (CAM) provides a platform for the artists communities of San Antonio to share the best it has to offer throughout the entire city. CAM gathers the best of galleries, museums, performing arts spaces, schools, artist studios and various unconventional locations in a single calendar to support and promote events contemporary art events and exhibitions all over the city of San Antonio.”

A large, nearly square painting by Cruz Ortiz. In the center of the painting is a female figure. She has short blonde hair and wears large flower earrings. Her angular face is turned to her right and she looks off into the distance. She wears a short sleeve, short blue dress with blue high heels. She stands on a field of yellow and the sky behind her is painted a light teal color.

Cruz Ortiz, “Olivia Mujer In A Blue Dress,” oil and wax on canvas, 80 x 90 inches.

2. Cruz Ortiz: Los Jardines
Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art (Houston)
January 27 – March 12, 2022

A statement from Cruz Ortiz, via Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art:

“I am tired ————-over the years painting has taught me so much — it has shown me how to go beyond what an image really represents or how an image functions – I can ask questions like ‘is this a story?’ – ‘is this a poem?’ —-what happens next is a desperate hunger to formalize on unlocking the knowledge of the image —-this is where I have to step back— to actually see what is happening through my practice. Where is painting taking me?

now there has to be a gradual understanding of me and my work – and where i stand in this moment in human history — on these ancestral lands —-this tierra under our feet —- my experiences as a human within the ever changing inter-intra social cultural political storms that weather my skin — i have been positioned for survival – to always be on – to constantly hopscotch my social posture before entities that are responsible for my exhaustion – so as not to give them a chance to chew out more from me ——- i know —- it’s pretty dark —- but this is why i dig in – i have no choice but to creatively reposition myself into having hope for something better – like dancing or walking through a garden —- i find myself.”

A photograph of a sculpture by Abby Bagby. The sculpture consists of a nude female mannequin torso whose head is covered in a variety of hair pieces.

Abby Bagby, “Evening Headwear.” Photo courtesy of the artist.

3. Abby Bagby: Let Them Eat My Cake!
H. Paxton Moore Art Gallery, El Centro College (Dallas)
February 14 – April 8, 2022

From the organizers:

“This solo exhibition of new works by Dallas based artist, Abby Bagby features sculptures exploring the underlying power dynamics of ornamentation through silicone and human hair.

The exhibition taps into many different eras, from medieval hair shirts, baroque filigree, Versailles inspired mirrors to Victorian hair art. Symbols from these different time periods are examined, exposing the latent hierarchies found within.”

The photograph depicts installed work by Jessie Burciaga. In the foreground is a large-scale fabric work that hangs from the ceiling. The bottom of the fabric lays on the floor and is held in place by a rectangular mass of soil. In the background a second large-scale fabric work and a small series is visible.

Installation image of “Jessie Burciaga: Aquí Descansaba (Here, They Rested)” at The San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum.

4. Jessie Burciaga: Aquí Descansaba (Here, They Rested)
The San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum
February 17 – April 15, 2022

From the organizers:

“Brownsville artist Jessie Burciaga tackles the topic of grief, specifically the disappearance of a loved one.

The solo exhibition includes a variety of media that expand upon Burciaga’s master thesis work. Aquí Descansaba is an immersive experience in which the viewers are gently asked to confront their own familiarities with loss and the grieving process. ‘Having a loved one missing or disappear is an unspoken topic in the Rio Grande Valley. My work gives lost voices an identity; by embellishing the clothes, I give (the missing people) a voice, and I give their family a voice’ explains Jessie Burciaga. ‘My work is about closure, and it is about reflection.'”

An image of three paintings displayed on the white walls of a gallery. On the left are two paintings each with a geometric design centered on a blue field. On the right is a large scale painting of pieces of wood.

An installation image of “Fragments and Memories” at ICOSA Collective.

5. Fragments and Memories: Shawn Camp and Michael Villarreal
ICOSA Collective (Austin)
March 4 – April 2, 2022

From ICOSA Collective:

“An exhibition of recent paintings that reveal the connection between perception, materiality and the recollection and re-interpretation of past experience.

Shawn Camp’s newest paintings present contradicting geometric planes and paradoxical spatial relationships. Through unpredictable angles and ever-changing surfaces formed by numerous layers of translucent paint, he examines the mysteries of materiality, shape and color.

Michael Villarreal’s current paintings show the bare bones of the house he grew up in. The paintings only display a glimpse of the building process, enabling an opportunity to connect and envision its completion. Each painting was created within a week, allowing for alla prima and impasto techniques to produce abstract moments that, at times, never really feel finished. Through the excessive building and layering of paint, the house can transcend its original purpose and foster a new narrative while maintaining the basic visual familiarity.”

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