Archive

Andy Goldsworthy / AMOA

Austin Museum of Art Downtown opens a three part exhibition of work by internationally acclaimed Scottish sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. Mountain and Coast Autumn into Winter (December 11 - February 20) reveals the full innovative range of this noted artist through 34 large-scale photographs which document a spectacular body of work created in the mountains and along the seacoast of Japan during the autumn and winter of 1987.

Accompanying the main exhibit is Goldsworthy's site specific series of six photographs created on the banks of Lake Austin in September. As in all of his work, Goldsworthy captures the essence of nature at a particular place and moment in time, by using the actual building blocks of nature itself: rock, wood, earth, water, and the climatic conditions that affect the form each might take - with breathtaking results.

Rounding out the exhibit exhibition will be an ongoing screening of the film Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time, 2001, an intimate film that documents Goldsworthy's improvisational process. Plan a museum visit with family or friends this holiday season; don't forget the AMOA Store is a great place to do holiday shopping.

Energy & Excitement / Austin's Thriving Art Scene

In September, Southwest Art writer Julie Osterman came to Austin to explore the city's art scene and liked what she saw. Her feature article appears in this month's issue of the Houston-based magazine. Here's a short excerpt; you'll want to get a copy of the magazine, available at most newsstands, to read the article in its entirety.

It is common knowledge that Austin, Texas, has a terrific music scene. On any given evening bands perform country, rock, blues, jazz or Tejano music in more than 100 locations around town. ... and as the gateway to the scenic Texas Hill Country, Austin's rolling hills and wide-open landscapes as well as three lakes and a network of parks make it a hot spot for tourists, too.

But the city's visual art scene has been growing lately and come to rival its other attractions. It boasts some 50 arts venues, which organize events like Austin Museum Day and the new West End Gallery Night. There's also a plethora of working artists in town, many of whom open their studios in the spring and fall for the East Austin Studio Tour.

The biggest news in the art community, though, is the construction of a state-of-the-art facility for UT's Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, set to open in February 2006. In its 155,000 square-foot building, the Blanton will be the largest university museum in the country and the third-largest museum of any sort in Texas. The space will allow the Blanton to adequately display its renowned collections of American, contemporary, and Latin American artwork, European paintings, and prints and drawings. - Julie Osterman, Southwest Art Magazine, Dec 2004

Currently, The Blanton Museum is featuring a preview of the new museum in The Blanton Builds: a Look at Your New Museum. Showcasing the new museum complex and plaza under construction on the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and Congress Avenue, this exhibition features architectural plans, architectural renderings, and a pictorial timeline of the building project. Located at 23rd and San Jacinto until the new facility is completed, The Blanton is open Tuesday through Sunday.

Around Town / December Highlights

Highlighting the month's offerings is Austin artist Will Klemm's newest collection of pastels and oil on exhibit at Wally Workman's West 6th Street Gallery.

In the Arboretum, the Russell Collection opens Journey to the Present mid-month. Owner Lisa Russell has assembled work spanning more than two centuries by distinguished artists such as Claude LeRoux, James Lynch, Gabrielle Achenbach, Florence Vasseur Orval and selected painters from the Barbizon school. For this exceptional show, the classical genres take center stage, and Russell continues to draw on her extensive resources to make work by the Masters available.