Local Artists Tackle 19th-Century San Antonio for the Third Installment of ‘Common Currents’

Posted on the San Antonio Current by Bryan Rindfuss

Gary Sweeney, Coming Soon! (1867)

A creative exploration of 300 years of San Antonio history, “Common Currents” sees Artpace, Blue Star Contemporary, the Southwest School of Art, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Carver Community Cultural Center and the Mexican Cultural Institute coming together for an exhibition series spanning six months. Assembled in a “chain letter-inspired” format, the sprawling project invited each participating institution to enlist two artists; that initial group of 12 followed suit, with each artist inviting two peers — and so on until a total of 300 were on board. With two wide-ranging exhibitions already onview — Artpace’s installment covers San Antonio’s first 50 years (1718-1767) and Blue Star Contemporary’s tackles the second 50 (1768-1817) — the Southwest School of Art is set to unveil the third phase of the project.

Laura Stevens, Aurelie

Focusing on a period perhaps slightly more within the realm of our cultural and historical consciousness, the third chapter of “Common Currents” tasked each of its participating artists with digging into an assigned year between 1818 and 1867. Included among the works by nearly 50 local artists are Gary Sweeney’s Coming Soon! (which makes a playful jab at the odd dichotomy between the Alamo and one of its most infamous neighbors), Chris Castillo’s Tamalamo (a cyanotype printed on corn husks) and Susie Monday’s Fandango (a textile-based piece inspired by the year 1848).

Free, 6-8pm Thu, Feb. 15 (on view through April 22), Southwest School of Art, John L. Santikos Building, 1201 Navarro St. (free parking at 300 Augusta St.), (210) 200-8200, swschool.org.

Susie Monday, Fandango (1848)

Weekend Arts Preview: 10 Shows Not to Miss

Posted on the San Antonio Current by Bryan Rindfuss and James Courtney

Christian Fuchs

Thu 5
“Feminine/Feminist”
With its new exhibit, entitled “Feminine/Feminist,” Cinnabar seeks the middle ground within an oft-polarizing discourse that is regularly treated as black and white. Curated by Susan Oliver Heard, the exhibit, which features local, national and international artists, is comprised of pieces that address the intersection of femininity and feminism. Recognizing that “Pop culture often makes it seem as though one cannot display feminine characteristics and still be a strong, confident feminist,” the exhibit focuses on the “multi-faceted nature of womanhood and what it means to be feminine and a feminist.” “Feminine/Feminist” features a total of 11 artists, including four men. Among the local artists contributing are Sarah Fox (who brings her surreal and organic style to a stop-motion animation), Carina Hiscock (who works with natural materials to challenge unnatural norms) and Ashley Mireles (who focuses, in her piece, on the many constraints faced by women). Meanwhile, visiting artists include Lalla Essaydi (a Moroccan, New York-based artist who focuses on the identities of women in the Arab world), Christian Fuchs (a Lima-based artist whose performative work finds him dressing up as his own ancestors) and Laura Stevens (a Paris-based photographer whose work in this exhibit centers on women’s strength in the face of heartbreak). Free, 6:30-9pm Thu, Cinnabar Art Gallery, 1420 S Alamo St., Suite 147, (210) 354-3775, cinnabarart.com.

Sarah Fox

Local and International Artists Explore ‘What It Means to Be Feminine and a Feminist’

Posted on the San Antonio Current by James Courtney

Christian Fuchs, Doña Natividad Martinez de Pinillos Cacho y Lavalle

In the political climate of the moment, it’s easy to lose sight of the most important things, while fearing full scale reversion to a past marred by even worse gender, racial and economic inequality than we have now. Even as we fight tooth and nail against the latest waves of hate and oppression against society’s most vulnerable segments, it is necessary to continue celebrating who we are and how far we have come. It is equally necessary to advance dialogues centered on feminism, diversity, equality, environmental activism and a whole host of areas where we have made significant progress over the years, lest we risk throwing out the baby with the bath water, so to speak

Laura Stevens, Aurelie

With its new exhibit, entitled “Feminine/Feminist,” Cinnabar seeks the middle ground within an oft-polarizing discourse that is regularly treated as black and white. Curated by Susan Oliver Heard, the exhibit, which features local, national and international artists, is comprised of pieces that address the intersection of femininity and feminism. Recognizing that “pop culture often makes it seem as though one cannot display feminine characteristics and still be a strong, confident feminist,” the exhibit focuses on the “multifaceted nature of womanhood and what it means to be feminine and a feminist.”

Sarah Fox, Guardian

“Feminine/Feminist” features a total of 11 artists, including three men. Among the local artists contributing are Sarah Fox (who brings her surreal and organic style to a stop-motion animation), Carina Hiscock (who works with natural materials to challenge unnatural norms) and Ashley Mireles (who focuses, in her piece, on the many constraints faced by women). Meanwhile, visiting artists include Lalla Essaydi (a Moroccan, New York-based artist who focuses on the identities of women in the Arab world), Christian Fuchs (a Lima-based artist whose performative work finds him dressing up as his own ancestors) and Laura Stevens (a Paris-based photographer whose work in this exhibit centers on women’s strength in the face of heartbreak).

Free, 6:30-9pm Thu, May 4, Cinnabar Art Gallery, 1420 S. Alamo St., Suite 147, (210) 354-3775, cinnabarart.com. Open through June 17.

100 for 100: 100 Artists for $100 and under at FAM Fest

Facebook Event 

Saturday, April 23rd 
Shipping & Receiving's Tilt Room Event Space
201 S. Calhoun Street Fort Worth, TX.
Open 12:00pm - 9:00pm
Gallery Reception from 5:00pm - 9:00pm 
FREE to the public
ALL AGES WELCOME

image by Jay Wilkinson

As a part of the 1st annual FAMfest: Food, Art & Music Festival 2016, 100 for 100 will give people all over DFW the opportunity to view and purchase work from 100 different leading local artists. The rules are each artist must have at least one piece of work for $100 dollars and under!

This is a rare opportunity to start a collection or just find something amazing to hang over that nail hole in your wall...

We believe that art is for everybody...so everybody come get some art!

Info at FamFestDFW@gmail.com

Untitled, The Fort Worth Weekly’s Art Blog

Posted on the Fort Worth Weekly's Art Blog by Christopher Blay

When I’m not making art, I’m writing about art, and when I’m not doing that, I’m curating exhibitions. I’ve easily listened to over 100 artists give lectures about their works, visited hundreds of exhibitions, and have had thousands of conversations with artists, curators, and critics. My sense is that a lot of what happens around this topic takes place outside of museums and galleries. And I’d like to share those heated conversations about what’s mind-blowing and what blows, the lectures, the articles, and the shows.

Some of those conversations lately have hovered around art and politics, both the politics of government and the politics of institutions. How should artist respond to the world in which they live? Should they stick to art and leave the problems of the world to folks better equipped to talk about them? Great conversations come from these artists, who consider this a conflict. It would be interesting to share those conversations in the context of the art they’re making

Another topic of discussion lately has been the need for stronger voices in art criticism of Fort Worth artists. We seem too small a city to be covered by most Texas art critics, and the ones here are mostly sympathetic to the few galleries and artist-run spaces. The level of criticism required to educate the public and support artists who survive this process is more then any one critic, magazine, or blog can tackle. So it is with a steady pen that I press ink to paper and add another voice to the fray.

I’d hoped that Gallery night would be a great jumping off point, but it was the same predictable fare.

It’s not enough for exhibitions to be beautifully executed renderings of the physical world or otherwise abstract expressions of it. There has to be a stronger connection either in gravitation towards or in opposition to the forces that make art what it is. There also has to be critical pushback against artist to help them clarify their ideas and continue their dedication to what they’ve decided to do with their lives. There is a symbiotic relationship between artists, critics, and the public, and each has an important role to play.

It is with this in mind that I have high hopes for Fort Works Art, the newest art space in the city. It is a great space, in a great location. I hope they hire a curator/gallery manager that goes for content over volume, and pares down to fewer artists with strong content in their work.

The exhibit at the cultural district space last Saturday felt like a decision to include every artist the gallerists knows, and that makes the event more of an art fair than a curated show. But then, it also feels like more of an artist studio open house than a gallery, because the curators also have work in the show. It’s like a bookstore owner putting their own published books in the window along with the authors they’re promoting. As good as that book may be, it feels like a conflict of interest.

I want to go back and spend more time in the space, because there was way too much to see that night and too little time.

Two other shows that happened last weekend were overshadowed by gallery night –– Sebastiaan Bremer:Recording Studio A at Fort Worth Contemporary Art and Viva La Vulva at the Fairmount Public Library. The former will be the focus of my next post, and the latter was a cheeky exhibit/auction that was everything I’d hoped for on gallery night. It had a strong curatorial voice, and it unapologetically celebrated the theme of the show.