New Exhibitions: Member & Friends Preview Reception

Eamon Ore-Giron: Competing with Lightning / Rivalizando con el relámpago and the premier of HOST, featuring Celeste

Members and friends of The Contemporary Austin are invited to celebrate the opening night of two extraordinary exhibitions on view at the Jones Center with a free preview of Eamon Ore-Giron: Competing with Lightning / Rivalizando con el relámpago and HOST: Celeste. Be among the first to view both exhibitions and enjoy a lively evening under the stars, with music provided by DJ collective Chulita Vinyl Club and complimentary refreshments served up on the rooftop of the Jones Center. This event is intended for invited guests and Members of The Contemporary Austin. The public is invited to celebrate the opening of these exhibitions by registering for our Public Reception from 7-9 PM.

Exploring the complex layering of identities, histories, and artistic legacies that have influenced Eamon Ore-Giron‘s (b. 1973; lives and works in Los Angeles) approach to painting, Competing with Lightning / Rivalizando con el relámpago marks the first presentation to examine the artist’s trajectory over more than twenty years of creative practice. The exhibition follows the progression of Ore-Giron’s paintings since 1998, culminating in a presentation of six new paintings from the artist’s Infinite Regress series created specifically for the show. As an artist, musician, and DJ, Ore-Giron examines the personal and historical ramifications of cultural hybridity. Raised in Tucson, Arizona, he is inspired by his roots in the American Southwest, his visits to his father’s hometown of Huancayo, Peru, and his time spent as a practicing artist in California and Mexico. A series of public programs will accompany the exhibition.

Simultaneously on display at the Jones Center, and kicking off our newest exhibition space, HOST, are works by Celeste, an artist duo based in Mexico City formed by María Fernanda Camarena (b. Guadalajara, 1988) and Gabriel Rosas Alemán (b. Mexico City, 1983). For their exhibition at The Contemporary, Celeste will debut a new textile painting specifically created for the brand-new gallery space, alongside new wall-mounted copper sculptures. The exhibition is conceived as an environment that visitors may enter and activate. A series of public programs will accompany the exhibition.

HOST is an exhibition space that amplifies The Contemporary Austin’s commitment to centering artists and welcoming publics. With each exhibition cycle, an artist will create a newly commissioned environment in the HOST gallery space at The Jones Center. Programming will accompany each work. Throughout the run of each exhibition, the artists will invite visitors into their worlds.

Eamon Ore-Giron: Competing with Lightning / Rivalizando con el relámpago is curated by Miranda Lash, Ellen Bruss Senior Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. The presentation at The Contemporary Austin is organized by Julie Le, Assistant Curator.

HOST: Celeste is curated by Robin K. Williams, Curator, The Contemporary Austin.

Chulita Vinyl Club is a DJ collective made up of women, gender-non-conforming, non-binary, LGBTQ+ and self-identifying people of color. CVC launched in 2014, with the context of providing a safe space for empowerment, togetherness and to utilize music and vinyl as a form of resistance against the erasure of culture.