Current
Carl Cheng, Alternative TV #3, 1974-2016. Plastic chassis, acrylic water tank, air pump, LED lighting and controller, electrical cord, aquarium hardware, conglomerated rocks, and plastic plants. Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles.
Exhibition
Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses
September 6 – December 8, 2024
Nature Never Loses surveys six decades of the prescient, genre-defying work of artist Carl Cheng (b. 1942, San Francisco; lives and works in Santa Monica). Having studied both fine art and industrial design, Cheng first developed his art practice in Southern California in the 1960s, amid political unrest, an interdisciplinary art scene, a booming post-war aerospace industry, and rapid development of the landscape. His ever-evolving body of work, incorporating a variety of materials and media, engages with environmental change, the relevance of art institutions to their publics, and the role of technology in society—topics with urgent contemporary relevance.
Katarina Janečková Walshe, Adaptation, 2024. Acrylic, ink, pigments, and oil stick on canvas. 112 x 196 inches. Artwork and image courtesy the artist.
Exhibition
HOST: Katarina Janečková Walshe
September 6 – December 8, 2024
Ten years ago, when Katarina Janečková Walshe moved from her hometown of Bratislava, Slovakia to Corpus Christi, Texas, she was prompted to examine how those aspects of experience manifest in American and Texan culture. In this installation, titled Mother Land, the artist extends her inquiry to contemplate the transformative potential that applying a mother’s love and care universally might unleash.
Guadalupe Maravilla, Mariposa Relámpago, 2023. Bus, volcanic rock, steel, and objects collection from a ritual of retracing the artist's original migration route. 110 x 108 x 420 inches. Commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Installation view, Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago, The Contemporary Austin – Laguna Gloria, 2024. Courtesy the artist and P·P·O·W, New York. Image courtesy The Contemporary Austin. Photo by Alex Boeschenstein.
Exhibition
Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago
April 4, 2024 – November 3, 2024
Mariposa Relámpago is the artist’s largest sculpture to date and is part of the artist’s Disease Throwers series—sculptures that incorporate natural materials, handmade objects, and items collected by the artist while retracing his migratory route to become shrines and healing instruments.
Exhibition
Mural by Manik Raj Nakra: Man Who Fell to Earth
December 8, 2023 – Present
The Contemporary Austin will showcase a mural by artist Manik Raj Nakra on the Jones Center’s downtown building on 7th and Congress.
Jim Hodges, With Liberty and Justice for All (A Work in Progress), 2014–2016. Stainless steel, Dichrolam, acrylic, enamel paint, and LED lights. Installed, 84 x 1,737 x 10 inches. Installation view, The Contemporary Austin – The Moody Rooftop at the Jones Center, Austin, Texas, 2017. Artwork © Jim Hodges. Courtesy the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels. Image © The Contemporary Austin. Photograph by Brian Fitzsimmons.
Exhibition
Jim Hodges: With Liberty and Justice for All (A Work in Progress)
December 17, 2016 – Ongoing
The Contemporary Austin unveils a new outdoor installation by artist Jim Hodges for The Moody Rooftop at the Jones Center.
Installation view, Perry Art Park, Austin, Texas, 2017, with (from left) Peter Reginato, Blue Float, 1978; Jim Huntington, Dayton, 1977; and Betty Gold, Alas #IV, 1994. Artwork and image courtesy The Contemporary Austin – Museum Without Walls Program. Photograph by Brian Fitzsimmons.
Museum Without Walls
Museum Without Walls at Perry Park
May 6, 2017 – Ongoing
The Contemporary Austin’s Museum Without Walls program brings art beyond the walls of the museum and out into the community in new ways and in diverse venues.
David Deming, Mystic Raven, 1983. Painted steel. 264 x 192 x 72 inches. Collection of The Contemporary Austin. Gift of TRST Congress, Inc., 1992.10. Installation view, Pease Park at Shoal Creek Greenbelt, Austin, Texas, 2017. Artwork and image courtesy The Contemporary Austin – Museum Without Walls Program. Photograph by Brian Fitzsimmons.
Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria
Wangechi Mutu, Water Woman, 2017. Bronze. 36 x 65 x 70 inches. Edition 2 of 3, with 2 AP. Collection of The Contemporary Austin. Purchased with funds provided by the Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation, 2017.5. Installation view, The Contemporary Austin – Laguna Gloria, Austin, Texas, 2017. Artwork © Wangechi Mutu. Image courtesy The Contemporary Austin. Photograph by Brian Fitzsimmons.
Exhibition
Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria
The Contemporary Austin’s Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria is named in honor of a founding grant by the Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation. This contemporary art destination presents exhibitions and permanent outdoor art installations on a site of great natural beauty on Lake Austin.
Past
Lubaina Himid, Pointless Heroism, 2023. Acrylic and charcoal on canvas. 72 x 72 inches (183 x 183 centimeters). Artwork © Lubaina Himid. Courtesy the artist and Hollybush Gardens, London. Image courtesy the artist and Hollybush Gardens, London. Photograph by Andy Keate.
Exhibition
Lubaina Himid: Make Do and Mend
March 1 – July 21, 2024
Lubaina Himid (b. 1954, Zanzibar; lives and works in Preston, UK) is the recipient of the 2024 Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize, which is envisioned as a transformative award for the artist and the community in Austin. Over a four decades-long career, Himid has explored and expanded the possibilities of painting and storytelling to depict contemporary everyday life and to fill in gaps within art history through the depiction and centering of Black figures and experience.
Installation view, HOST: Fusebox. The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center on Congress Avenue, 2024. Image courtesy The Contemporary Austin. Photograph by Farshid Farrokhnia with Ben Porter Photography.
Exhibition
HOST: Fusebox
April 11 – July 21, 2024
This exhibition celebrates the 20th anniversary of Fusebox. The brainchild of a group of young artist-friends living in Austin in 2005, Fusebox has evolved to become not only a cornerstone for the arts in Austin but also a major presenter of live and interdisciplinary art worldwide. HOST: Fusebox presents a sampling of works by current and former Fusebox artists as an immersive gallery display.
Installation view This Land, The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center on Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, 2023. Artwork © Danielle Dean. Courtesy the artist and 47 Canal, New York. Image courtesy The Contemporary Austin. Photograph by Alex Boeschenstein.
Exhibition
This Land
This Land is a group exhibition about landscape: how it records the social and environmental effects of colonialism and capitalism.