Glasstire counts down the top five art events in Texas.
For last week’s picks, please go here.
1. The Big Show 2024
Lawndale (Houston)
June 7 – August 17, 2024
Reception: June 7, 2024, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
From Lawndale:
“Lawndale is pleased to announce the artists and public opening for the 2024 iteration of The Big Show, our ambitious annual exhibition of new work by artists practicing within a 100-mile radius of Lawndale. This year, juror Dr. Laura Augusta selected 140 works by 90 artists from over 1000 entries.”
An installation shot of “Shifting Ground” at 12.26, Dallas, TX.
2. Karla García: Shifting Ground
12.26 (Dallas)
May 18 – June 15, 2024
From 12.26:
“12.26 is pleased to present Shifting Ground, a solo exhibition of immersive landscape installations by multidisciplinary artist Karla García in the gallery’s Dallas location. Drawing inspiration from her lived experiences in the Texas-Mexico borderlands and the Dallas prairie, García creates a meditative space that reflects on the resilience of nature and the human spirit in the face of constant change.
Distorted cacti sculptures, earthen colors, and clay slip drawings become a metaphor for the ever-changing world we inhabit—a reminder that even in times of unrest, there is beauty and strength to be found in the natural world. Through her work, García invites visitors to pause, to contemplate, and to find solace in the gentle, contemplative gestures that shape our environment.”
Eric Schnell, “The last map for leaving the Island of Umbellifers,” 2024, watercolor and graphite on paper, 37 x 41 inches. Courtesy of the artist.
3. Eric Schnell: The Island of The Umbellifers (Part II)
Old Jail Art Center (Albany)
June 8 – August 31, 2024
Reception: June 8, 2024, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
From the Old Jail Art Center:
“Over several decades, Galveston, Texas-based artist Eric Schnell has made intuitive drawings that often develop into extensive installations. One small drawing will suggest the next, and then another, methodically creating sequential images that eventually make up a larger work. For the artist, this linear progression of images creates a narrative as well as a map. Schnell sees the creations as exploratory and never finished, with narratives that undercut themselves and maps that are similar to the complexity of human consciousness. He recognizes an installation of works may become ‘a visual map of human consciousness or a visual poem that embraces the complexity of human experience—both beautiful and sad.’”
Alexandra Valenti, “Early Riser, Late Bloomer”
4. ALEXANDRA VALENTI: EARLY RISER, LATE BLOOMER
McLennon Pen Co. Gallery (Austin)
June 1 – 22, 2024
From McLennon Pen Co. Gallery:
“McLennon Pen Co. Gallery is thrilled to announce an exhibition of new paintings by Austin-based artist Alexandra Valenti. The exhibition comprises eight paintings on canvas, blending acrylic and oil mediums, hung across three rooms. Stepping into the main gallery, visitors encounter not only Valenti’s arresting large-scale paintings but also an enchanting installation of lush vegetation, including banana palms and fiddle-leaf fig trees. Each painting stands out individually with its vibrant portrayal of female figures against vivid landscape backdrops.”
Theresa Newsome, “One’s property, symbol, and ornament,” 2024, archival pigments print. Courtesy of the artist.
5. Theresa Newsome: Teaching Myself Manners
Sala Diaz (San Antonio)
May 6 – June 22, 2024
From Sala Diaz:
“Sala Diaz announces our current solo exhibition, Teaching Myself Manners, featuring Theresa Newsome, and curated by Barbara Felix. The exhibition is on view May 6 through June 22, 2024, by appointment.
Recently returned from Berlin, Germany where she was a Resident Artist for the Contemporary at Blue Star’s Berlin Residency Program at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Newsome has created a body of work that explores diaspora, girlhood, and femininity through photographs, installation, soft sculpture, and more.”
