What’s great about being an art enthusiast in Austin is that multiple exhibition openings tend to occur on the same night. It’s entirely possible to do an art crawl across town in one evening, sipping chardonnay at West End fine art galleries before heading to Lone Star-flowing East Austin spaces. You’ll likely run into others following the same route. Here are three opening receptions occurring today, in west to east order. more ›

Pump Project's exhibition, From Specifics, From Concrete Evidence, From Things, features new work by Austin photographers, Adam Boley, Megan Carney and Rebecca Marino. more ›

Artist seem to coming out of their summer hibernation, stretching their creative muscles, and blinking their well trained eyes in the relatively cool breeze. As a result, there are a few great art events taking place around town this weekend. Here's a rundown of some of our picks: Tonight the evil-printmaking-geniuses behind PRINT+addiction are at it again with an all new printing party featuring Kevin Munoz and Ryan Rhodes. Munoz, who designs with his wife and three year old daughter for their company Forward Collective, illustrates playful characters with a retro sensibility. Rhodes is a designer, artist, and photographer whose work can be seen adorning the windows of the Starr Building downtown. He also works at Johnson's Backyard Garden, the organic farm in South East Austin; in addition to getting his hands dirty, Rhodes recently designed JBG's logo and merchandise. Tonight's PRINT+addiction will kick off at 6pm at Industry Printshop (2503 B E. 6th St.) with 8 screens full of designs contributed by Munoz and Rhodes that participants can print on shirts available for purchase at Industry. The artists will be selling original artwork and prints and have also installed a show in Industry's gallery space that they have titled Nice Try. DJ Gibb will be playing sweet funk and soul tunes, and, oh yeah - there will be beer. more ›

This Saturday, on the anniversary of his birth, we should all take a moment to thank Nikola Tesla. After all, he revolutionized human understanding of electricity, pioneered wireless technology, and even inspired generations of decent rock musicians. This weekend, Pump Project Art Complex is throwing a party for those who want to celebrate Tesla's life and contributions in style. The Tesla Project will consist of an art exhibit featuring work by nearly two dozen local artists whose exhibited work was inspired by Tesla. The show was co-curated by printmaker and collage artist Cathy Savage and Cody Scrogum who designs for Twin Villain clothing. Both Savage and Scrogum have created Tesla inspired work of their own. The exhibit will also include a Tesla focused poetry reading and the screening of Michael Krause's documentary All About Tesla. more ›

Austin has been kind to Mark Johnson. Having lived in the city for less than two years, Johnson has been a memorable part of two East Austin Studio Tours, shown in a variety of group shows, and shared an exhibit with the prolific Debra Broz. Johnson paints, draws, and creates multimedia work out of an upstairs studio in the east side art megaplex, Pump Project. Much of his work involves text and letters - sometimes with direct messages, others that are a little harder to decipher. Johnson's typewriter sits prominently in his studio, and was featured in a live video projection piece performed at E.A.S.T. last year. Johnson is among hundreds of artists who submitted work for Arthouse's 5x7 - the exhibit continues through the weekend with the Art Social taking place tonight. We got to talk to Mark about his work and his experience in Austin thus far. more ›

There are many great art events taking place around town this weekend. Here are some of the highlights: Celebrate the East Side in the heart of the 'hood on Saturday at Domy Books from 7-9pm. Photographer Rama Tiru will be giving an artist talk and signing copies of her book, Austin East of I-35. Through interviews and vivid photographs, Tiru captures the unique culture and history of the East Side of our fair city. more ›

For fifteen years, the members of the Women Printmakers of Austin have dedicated themselves to exploring artistic expression and expanding the audience of fine art printmaking. Deeply rooted in historical printing traditions, these artists are now able to blend classic techniques with modern technology to create contemporary works of art. The WPA recently acquired studio space in Pump Project's newly rennovated Satellite Studio and Flex Space. The new shared space grants 24 hour access to studio subscribers who can avail themselves of etching and intaglio supplies, a large press, and other tools of the trade. The Women Printmakers of Austin are participating in this weekend's East Austin Studio Tour and can be visited at 1109 Shady Lane, just up the road from the Pump Project complex. Artist and WPA Chair Angela Hayes answered some questions for us about the future of printmaking and what it's like to work with a team of talented women. more ›

Attention Rio Rita patrons: When was the last time you enjoyed your foamy cappuccino (or alternatively, your jalapeno-infused vodka) inside Rio Rita's impossibly adorable environs? In between Scrabble games or knitting or recounting NPR, did you take note of your counter server? There is a good chance you were serviced by Nick Henning, pop art-inflected painter and resident artist at the Pump Project Art Complex. more ›

Taking her cues from the "anything goes" rules of children's literature, illustrator Audrey Lopata carefully pens colorful worlds inhabited with scarf-wearing-lizards, zombie pirates, and mermaids. Her black and white comic panels express slightly more grown-up emotions but still convey the sense of whimsy that is so evident through out Lopata's work. Stop by the Pump Project Art Complex this weekend during East Austin Studio Tour to see Lopata's studio space and that of many other talented artists. Audrey sat down with us to talk about what inspires her and how she goes about creating alternative worlds where elves and fairies roam. more ›

Times of turmoil are always expressed in the cultural output of troubled societies, and our current economic crisis is no exception. For better or worse, these uncertain times do provide inspiration for artists (many of whom have additional time to create thanks to layoffs and company cutbacks); as a result Austin's contemporary art magazine, Cantanker, has picked "Anxiety" as the conceptual theme for its most recent issue. On Saturday, Cantanker will celebrate the release of the latest issue as well as the opening of the accompanying group exhibit at Pump Project. The reception will also mark the release of the first Cantanker Artist Series T-shirt, designed by Austin designer and animator Eric Power. more ›

A few notable art exhibitions are opening this weekend, here's a rundown of the highlights. New American Talent returns to the Arthouse with its twenty-fourth annual juired exhibit. NAT:24 has been juried by Hamza Walker, the Curator and Director of Education for the Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago; he will be at the museum on Saturday at 3pm for a discussion about the latest exhibit. Past New American Talent exhibitions have featured emerging contemporary artists with work in a variety of mediums. Out of the twenty six artists selected to be in this year's show, twelve live and work in Texas. Admission to the talk and the Arthouse is free. New American Talent: 24 runs through August 23. more ›

In these tough economic times, wouldn't we all just relish the opportunity to pretend to be wealthy? Well, luckily Pump Project Art Complex is providing one such chance with their Pretend You Are Rich Art Auction taking place on Saturday. The faux-riche event centers around the art auction where bidding starts at $3,000; winning bidders are then granted a $3,000 instant rebate. There will be a silent auction, running from 7-10pm, and a live auction hosted by Coldtowne Theater's Arthur Simone that will begin at 8pm. Both auctions will raise money for Pump Project Art Complex, a non-profit art studio and gallery space that is no doubt feeling the recession pinch. more ›

Enmascarados: An Homage to Lucha Libre opens Thursday at Pump Project and features paintings, drawings and photographs depicting the mystique, strength and showmanship of Mexican wrestling performers, known as "luchadores". more ›

Artists need plenty of space to think, build, paint and flex their creative muscles. One such place is the new Pump Project Art Complex in East Austin, where 39 local artists fit under one roof to work, play, and create. “Being in this environment, there is always a great support system for your creativity,” said Pump Project artist Debra Broz. “Being around other artists, you can really feed off that.” Formerly Shady Tree Studios, the... more ›