Discover artists, exhibitions, and details on the Austin arts community.
Austin’s vibrant art scene is constantly evolving, and every year we look forward to the Austin Studio Tour as a way to discover new artists and learn about their creative processes. This citywide event, hosted by nonprofit Big Medium, spans three weekends in November and features a wide range of artists, arts programming, and group exhibitions. It’s open to the public, with studios in east, west, and central Austin.
There’s so much to see over the course of each weekend that it can be hard to decide where to go. This list is by NO MEANS comprehensive, and there are so many other artists we wanted to include, but in an effort to keep it to one full day, we’ve culled our list. Since the Tour started as a way to highlight individual artists, we’re focusing our time here. Just don’t forget to visit some important gallery shows also taking place during the month, listed at the bottom.
George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center
Start your tour at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, where small-scale artworks from participating artists provide a glimpse into their styles and techniques.
Canopy Studios
Then, visit Canopy Studios – it’s a great place to see a lot of artists in one place, including:
Jade Walker (Studio #304) is a sculptor as well as a curator at the Elisabet Ney Museum. She has some incredible woven works for textural and 3D fiber art. Much of her work is abstract, influenced by the human body.
Revi Meicler (Studio #343) is a mixed media artist that infuses energy and movement into her paintings and works on paper. Many of her works include botanical forms and vibrant colors, attempting to capture different perspectives as she goes.
Annalise Gratovich (Studio #324) creates finely crafted prints by hand from start to finish. She carves wood, etching metal, dyes paper, and uses a manual printing press to create multiple prints from her woodcuts and copper etchings.
B Shawn Cox (Studio #308) is a multimedia artist who incorporates his ranching roots within his work. Some of his art also comments on social mythology by repurposing iconographic figurative stereotypes.
Art From the Streets
Art From the Streets provides a creative space for artists experiencing homelessness and fosters skill development and artistic expression. This is a great way to support artists working hard to create change in their own lives and a good place to pick up a few meaningful holiday gifts as well.
Karen Hawkins
Karen Hawkins’ (Studio #114) work varies from sculptural wall hangings to site-specific installations as explores the structure and content of books. Hawkins transforms how a book functions and reinterprets it as something visually appealing and deeply meaningful. She takes each book and challenges its physical boundaries, turning it into a piece of art. Just a note: Karen Hawkins is only exhibiting during the west weekends only.
Big Medium’s Gallery Space
In south Austin, explore Big Medium’s new space featuring José Villalobos (Studio #208), a multimedia artist who combines performance and sculpture with traditional objects in order to break down societal expectations. His work specifically explores the impact of toxic masculinity and how it contributes to generational repression.
Another must-see is Karen Navarro, (Studio #213) a multidisciplinary artist who works with photography, collage, sculpture, and more. Argentinian-born, Navarro’s work is influenced by her experience of being an immigrant and a descendant of Indigenous Peoples from South America.
Adde Russell
Make sure to visit artist Adde Russell (Studio #134), whose work focuses on traditional painting techniques as she experiments with her processes. Russell will often leave areas of her canvases marked up with disheveled brush strokes in an attempt to convey the honesty in the process.
Other Gallery Shows
While we’ve mainly focused on individual artists, there are plenty of must-see gallery shows to check out during the month as well:
The Wally Workman Gallery is currently showcasing artist Malcolm Bucknall with his exhibit “The Other Thing Is.” His work seamlessly blends Old Master techniques with elements of cartoons and films. This exhibit runs from November 4 through November 26.
Martha’s Contemporary features the work of artists Calhan Hale and Wes Thompson in their exhibit “Echo.” The exhibition delves into themes of memory, objecthood, and the blurring of time and place, and is on view until November 25.
Ivester Contemporary currently has two exhibitions on view. The first, “To Speak Through Flowers,” features artist Bradley Kerl, whose work is often nature based, painting plants, greenhouses, florals, and more. The second, “Como Que Buscaba,” showcases the sculptural works of Diego Mireles Duran, a 1st-generation interdisciplinary artist with roots in Northern Mexico and the Rio Grande Border. Both exhibitions are on view until November 25.
The Lora Reynolds Gallery is currently showcasing Kay Rosen’s “FREE FOOD (for thought).” This exhibit features drawings and wall paintings that challenge traditional boundaries, and it’s running until November 11.
These are just a few of the incredibly talented artists and spots to explore – there are many more to discover! For more information about the Austin Studio Tour, please click here
