ATX Art Beat • Oct / Nov 2021
After the fall equinox, the sun always seems to set so much earlier — and I miss her so. I find myself rushing out to catch the last lemon drops on my tongue, to savor the last bit of honey on my skin. Long after the sun melts into the horizon, I cling to the afterimage, a hovering orb with a ghostly halo.
Stepping out into the night cloaked in solemn blues, my senses are vivified — the oak leaves rustling above, crickets singing in the seagrass, the cool breeze earthy and grounding. In this season of shadows, we become reacquainted with darkness, the hidden side of our inner and outer worlds.
My picks for this month will lead you down of path of quiet introspection, maybe even revelation. As the sky darkens and details fade from view — what stories do shadows tell?
will you meet me by the river’s edge | Yeni Mao
Co-Lab Projects | 5419 Glissman Road, Austin, TX 78702
Oct 2nd — Dec 11th, 2021 | Gallery hours: Sat 12–6pm, or by appointment
Yeni Mao delivers elegance with an industrial edge through his mixed media sculptural practice. An ancient presence is alive and well in his work, mysteries made manifest. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to experience Mao’s work in person, as he has quite the global reach — originally from Canada, he’s held exhibitions in London, Amsterdam, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Managua, Miami, New York, Istanbul, and Beijing.
In his new installation at Co-Lab, Mao presents an intriguing body of work exploring “concepts of animism and ancestral knowledge.” His sculptural forms — wrought of ceramic, steel, and leather — feel right at home in the stark concrete setting, but at the same time, feel out of place, as if they once belonged to another time. Walking into the culvert gallery, you’ll come upon a steel spine arcing upwards, adorned with leather vertebrate; and then a disembodied steel leg with contoured leather straps forming a kind of cradle, as if to hold a bended knee.
With such rugged materials, you might expect these objects to serve a discrete function, but they deny being limited in that way. They are delicate somehow, like artifacts or totems.
Mao’s work brings to mind the philosophy of art proposed by cognitive scientist Alva Noë in Strange Tools — Art and Human Nature (2015). Noë writes on the history and purpose of art — a practice of using technology and cultural knowledge to make objects that don’t serve a rote function, but rather, serve as tools to more deeply investigate ourselves. Think, art as a device and kind of research, helping us organize our thoughts to better understand the human experience.
In “will you meet me by the river’s edge” — Mao invites us to explore the intersection of the universal and the personal. Though the river may flow for many decades and centuries, it greets us uniquely with each encounter, a stream of moments across time and space.
Pattern Language | Rehab El Sadek
Women & Their Work Gallery | 1311 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78702
Oct 23rd — Dec 16th | Gallery Hours: Tues — Fri 10–6pm; Sat 12–6 pm
Egyptian-born Sudanese artist Rehab El Sadek is a maestra of materials on an international stage — having shown her work in such locales as Vienna, Amsterdam, Rome, Frankfurt, Cairo, Nairobi, Beirut, & the UAE.
El Sadek lives between Alexandria, Egypt and Austin and is very active here locally, conjuring up immersive installations and sculptures that explore the power dynamics of the built environment. Her architectural visions bring the viewer right into the fore, doing careful pirouettes around fragile paper structures, laden with myth and memory. Her installations are layered with detail, and only reveal their secrets to a truly curious eye. You’ll find yourself just as compelled by the shadows as the artworks themselves.
Her upcoming exhibition at Women & Their Work — titled “Pattern Language” — centers on the urban environment and buildings that hold some inherent power or authority — government, corporate, and religious structures. When presented at human scale, however, diminished from their usual stature, we’re given the rare opportunity to reconsider the influence these structures have on us. We might begin to realize the active role we play in granting these institutions such authority over our lives and communities — through our culture, values, and social hierarchies. El Sadek shows us that power is just a matter of perspective.
2021 Austin Studio Tour
Citywide Tour presented by Big Medium
3 weekends, Nov 6th — 21st | Sat/Sun, Visiting hours vary by venue
Seeking refuge from the rain, you rush up the concrete steps of a small bungalow and duck into the side door. Taking a moment to catch your breath, you follow the paper sign with an arrow that points to the basement door. As you walk down the winding staircase, each wooden step groans beneath your feet. There’s a greenish-yellow light coming from below, the bulb making a slight whine that grows louder as you descend into the space. Glad to be off the precarious staircase, you enter into the low-ceilinged basement. The room is in a state of organized chaos — bits of paper and fabric strewn about, razor blades and rotary cutters, and a faint smell of formaldehyde.
If you dare, this fall you’ll have the opportunity to venture into the hidden lairs of local artists during the citywide Austin Studio Tour. Though lots of established galleries and art spaces will be participating in the tour, artist studios are a special treat, giving you a rare glimpse into the creative process. Some of the best studios feel like a smoldering cauldron, revealing the unique set of ingredients an artist adds in while brewing their latest concoction.
The character of each studio space, as well as the conversations with artists themselves, make Austin Studio tour one of my favorite events of the year. This year’s event features more than 530 artists, so go forth and create your own adventure.
