An art extravaganza along the vein of E.A.S.T., the Texas Biennial returns to Austin tomorrow, kicking off a month and a half's worth of nifty art-related events at the Dougherty Arts Center, Bolm Studios, Okay Mountain and Site 1808. This time around, they're showcasing just about every medium of visual art imaginable, including paintings, drawings, photography, mixed media, video, sculpture and site-specific installations.

Founded back in 2005 by Bolm Studios, Camp Fig, the Dougherty Arts Center, Gallery Lombardi and Eastside Coop, the Texas Biennial seeks to develop and promote artists living in this state. For this iteration, over 600 applications were considered, representing nearly 100 cities in Texas; the final 38 artists, with links to their short bios, is below:

This Thursday through Saturday, attend any (or all) of the various opening receptions behind hosted at the four participating galleries. The program runs through April 15th.

[Texas Biennial 2007 Official Site]

Gallery Lombardi, having bid farewell to its warehouse on West 3rd, will present its inaugural show at the new gallery space on West 7th in a matter of weeks, but in the meantime they're hard at work on a new project with local creative "enablers" from We Manage Stuff.

The endeavor is called Mobile Art Place, and it seeks to enhance our city's access to new art (and artforms) by taking them out of traditional gallery spaces, and exhibiting them in both real and virtual locations.

“The mission of Mobile Art Place is to bring the art of Austin to the world,” said Rose Russell, principal from We Manage Stuff. “Whether it’s through unexpected gallery spaces, podcasts, speaker series or virtual galleries, Mobile Art Place aims to make local art more accessible to the public, and to showcase the talent of people who might not otherwise be seen.”

Mobile Art Place will make its debut this weekend, after Austin Fine Arts Alliance's annual Night in the Galleries, with an afterparty behind Gallery Soco. The event will feature a live panel painting by Austin artists Nathan Nordstrom, Blake Bremel, Matthew Rodriguez, Zach McDonald, Cody Siegmund and Jason Schmidt, and a new video installation by Luke Savisky entitled "About Face 1.3." You may recall the latter from his installation at First Night Austin, "The I of Texas," which one of our readers said "inspired awe and wonder."

“The Map project is a great way to interject local art into unexpected locations. This creates memorable environments for the viewers and experiences with new audiences for the artists. This project feeds on other successful events like Stacked Studios, which was up during EAST 2006, and visiting artist "Pod" shows at the Art Palace locally. Globally, its format fits with the popularity of large scale 'festivals and biennials' with artists taking over convention centers, hotels, etc." said Gallery Lombardi director Rachel Koper.

[Mobile Art Place Homepage (Under Construction)]

Mobile Art Place Debut
Saturday, February 24th
Gallery Soco
1714-A South Congress Avenue [map]
10pm, Free

This Saturday at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, there will be badass doin’s a-transpirin'.

We have various Blanton parties. We had the whole Radical NY! at the AMOA (which the writer who posted on it completely ruined by misspelling the names of extremely popular artists, and just appearing to be a twat of an art icon ignoramus in general), and if you attend(ed) these events, you’ve likely felt the energy surrounding the concept: combine the majestic imagery of “contemporary” art with the aural majesty of “contemporary” music.

But not “adult contemporary”, because no one would care.

Yah, sure, you’re wondering “why the fuck is Austinist talking up Houston crap?” And that’s a legitimate question. One that deserves an answer. And that answer comes in the form of one compression of two words: Ceeplus.

Yes, “Cee” is now a word. Consider it declared.

Ceeplus (bka Eric Castillo to family and friends) of Reprogram Music may be a Houston mainstay, but his travels to, and efforts in our locale are practically legend at this point. Having been an early co-conspirator with Mercury Room to spearhead the ever-revered Hip Hop Hump Days of the 90s, a regular performer for SxSW & the inaugural Fun Fun Fun Fest, as well as dozens of appearances at venues around town over the years, he might as well be an Austinite with the rest of us. He’s certainly put the work in.

But yeah, this is about something he’s been doing in Houston, which is having an effect on what we do here.

The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston has been playing host to Ceeplus as he curates the music that is played amongst the exhibitions on display. The current incarnation of this invention is named Starbucks "Mixed Media" Music Series, but the previous and wildly popular series “Beats of Basquiat” is what solidified the creative relationship between Cee’s musical tastes and the MFAH’s ability to procure complimentary artwork. With the likes of Breakestra, DJ Spooky, and Grand Master Flash all headlining their own monthly events to celebrate the visiting works of Jean-Michel, shit was ELECTRIC crazy.

And the Mixed Media events such as the one this Saturday, featuring DJ sets from The Juan Maclean (DFA), Cassiano & DJ Sujinho (Brazil/NYC), Jeffery Mac and Ceeplus himself, combined with the visual work of the Brazilian (almost Dadaist?! - depends on who you ask) Helio Oiticica: The Body of Color, should be beyond badass.

If you’re in Houston this weekend, this event is HIGHLY recommended. If you plan on going to Houston for a weekend anytime soon, be sure to check the MFAH calendar to see if there’s a coinciding Mixed Media event. You will not be disappointed.

Starbucks Mixed Media Music Series
Saturday Feb 24, 2007
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
18+
$15 non-members (free for members)
$10 Students with ID
1001 Bissonet St
Houston, TX 77005

Lord knows we've been wearing a do-rag in honor of Prince's superbowl performance since early February; his technophallic guitartistry reignited our girlhood crush. And as "the artist" teetered on the brink of electrocution-by-instrument in Dolphin Stadium that torrential evening, we thought, "Will anything EVER bring us as much delight as Purple Rain?" Answer: yes, the new major exhibit at the Blanton Museum, The Geometry of Hope, which opens today.

The phrase “geometry of hope” riffs on a term coined in postwar Europe, “the geometry of fear.” It was used to describe the abstract art of a continent knocked on its knees by World War II, and that possessed all the charm of a pair of deadened eyes. Since 20th century Latin America had maintained, by contrast, a countenance of (relative) innocence, its own abstract geometry community articulated a more forceful, warm, and integrative presence. It offered the very shape of optimism, which the Blanton Museum has taken pains to preserve in this new show. To populate the multi-room gallery it occupies, Blanton curator Gabriel Perez-Barreiro hand-picked artworks from perhaps the most prized collection of Latin American art in the world, the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros. Hung side by side, they present a rare and stimulating examination of the modernism that developed in Latin America’s urban centers from the 1930s through the 1970s.

Geometry, which travels not only chronologically but also South-North, opens up in Montevideo, Uruguay in the 30s, offering up the work of artist Joaquin Torres-Garcia. Uruguayan by birth, Torres-Garcia moved back to his native country in his sixties after many a year spent in Europe. He used this “second coming” as an opportunity to educate his coutrymen, writing volumes on harmonic proportions and art philosophy, essentially attempting to nationlize art appreciation. (Not the worst idea, really).

Continued after the jump ...

The Geometry of Hope
The Blanton Museum of Art
February 20 - April 22, 2007
MLK at Congress
$5 per visitor

Top photo: Juan Mele, 1946 courtesy of The Blanton, others credited below.

Tonight at Women & Their Work: a Show & Tell, rescheduled because of that ice storm (remember?). Artists Justin Goldwater, Andrew Long, Deborah Roberts and Michael Sieben will treat us to something called a "digital slide jam," and field our questions about their stuff. We don't think there will be PB&Js and kickball afterwards, but you never know.

Show & Tell
Tuesday, February 6th
Women and their Work [map]
7-9pm

Artwork by Michael Sieben, from www.okaymountain.com