The Texas Biennial is a project of Big Medium, an Austin-based non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting contemporary visual art in Texas.
This will be the fourth edition of the Texas Biennial, which was originated in 2005. The core of each Biennial to date has been a group exhibition of art works selected from submissions gathered from throughout the state. In 2005 and 2007, the Biennial was juried by a panel composed of active members of the Texas visuals arts community. In 2009, artists were selected by noted critic and Los Angeles-based independent curator, Michael Duncan. This selection process was also followed for 2011, with New-York based art historian and art lawyer Virginia Rutledge serving as Biennial curator.
Continuing the Biennial’s aim of providing “an independent survey of contemporary Texas art”, Rutledge has selected 49 artists drawn from a pool of almost 800 applicants living and working throughout the state. The artists represented include both emerging and established talents, and the exhibition will include recent works created in a range of artistic media from painting, sculpture, drawing and print, to photography, video, installation and performance.
Previously all group exhibitions have been hosted by multiple venues throughout Austin, in keeping with the project’s collaborative spirit. In 2009 the exhibition format was expanded to include solo shows by five individual artists specially invited by 2009 Curator Duncan, and a temporary exhibition of outdoor sculptures selected by Duncan with curator Risa Puleo, produced in collaboration with Austin's Art in Public Places program.
In a further exploration of a dispersed model for exhibitions, for the first time in its history, in 2011 the Biennial will take place simultaneously in venues in three Texas cities: Austin, Houston and San Antonio. In Austin, in addition to the Biennial’s “home” gallery at Big Medium, the Biennial is proud to again be working with Women &Their Work and Pump Project Art Complex, who supported the exhibition in 2009. Also on board for 2011 is the Visual Arts Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Portions of the exhibition will also be presented in Houston, at BOX 13 ArtSpace, and in San Antonio, at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center.
And the project continues to grow, as 2011 Curator Rutledge has invited other non-profit arts venues across the state to support the Biennial with their own, independently curated exhibitions and programming, all focused on contemporary Texas art. More than 60 venues across the state, from the most established museums to the most alternative artist-run spaces, have joined the Biennial project as participating organizations. This aspect of the project is intended as a celebration not only of Texas artists, but of the creativity and dedication of Texas arts organizations.
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Staff
Director: Shea Little
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Coordinator: Hannah Roberts
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Media Contact: Rachel Koper
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Program Associate: Jon Windham
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Special Projects Coordinator: Jessica Nicewarner
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Volunteer Coordinator: Lindsey Ford
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Curator
The 2011 Texas Biennial Curator is Virginia Rutledge, a New York-based art historian and art lawyer. Virginia is formerly an exhibition associate at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and has served as a guest curator or arts consultant for numerous arts organizations. While living in Los Angeles she briefly ran an alternative space in her backyard garage, where she particularly enjoyed showing work that could also be seen in museums or commercial galleries. She speaks frequently on contemporary art and art-related legal issues, and has written on these subjects for Art in America, Bookforum and Artforum. As a lawyer, Virginia has experience across many sectors of the media and content industries, in both commercial and non-profit contexts. She began her legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, representing clients such as Time Warner Inc., Warner Music Group, and the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance. From Cravath she joined the San Francisco-based non-profit Creative Commons as Vice President and General Counsel, serving as lead legal advisor and working on strategic development. Her current private practice focuses on advising artists, cultural organizations, collectors and dealers on art and intellectual property law-related matters, transactions and new ventures. Virginia is a member of the New York State Bar, and chairs the Art Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association. She holds a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), and an M. Phil. in Art History from the City University of New York's Graduate School and University Center.
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Advisory Committee
The Texas Biennial project gratefully acknowledges the help of its 2011 Advisory Committee, a distinguished group of artists, curators, critics and arts educators and administrators from around the state, including several former Biennial jurors:
Joe Arredondo, Director of Landmark Arts, Texas Tech School of Art, Texas Tech University, Lubbock
Kate Bonansinga, Director, Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, The University of Texas at El Paso
Valerie Cassel Oliver, Senior Curator, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
Frances Colpitt, Deedie Potter Rose Chair of Art History, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth
Kimberly Davenport, Director, Rice University Art Gallery, Houston
Fairfax Dorn, Executive Director, Ballroom Marfa
Matthew Drutt, Curator
Steven Evans, Executive Director and Curator, Linda Pace Foundation, San Antonio
Bill FitzGibbons, Artist; Executive Director, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, San Antonio
Sue Graze, Executive Director, Arthouse at the Jones Center, Austin
Joseph Havel, Artist; Director, The Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Benito Huerta, Artist; Director and Curator, The Gallery at UTA (University of Texas at Arlington)
Toby Kamps, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Menil Collection, Houston
Andrea Karnes, Curator, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Constance Lowe, Artist; Professor, Department of Art & Art History, University of Texas at San Antonio
Laurence Miller, Co-Founder, Fluent~Collaborative, Austin
Dennis Nance, Director, Exhibitions & Programming, Lawndale Art Center, Houston
John Pomara, Artist; Professor, School of the Arts and Humanities, University of Texas at Dallas
Claudia Schmuckli, Director and Chief Curator, Blaffer Art Museum, University of Houston
David S. Rubin, The Brown Foundation Curator of Contemporary Art, San Antonio Museum of Art
Wendy Watriss, Artistic Director & Co-Founder, FotoFest, Houston
Clint Willour, Curator, Galveston Arts Center
Charles Wylie, The Lupe Murchison Curator of Contemporary Art, Dallas Museum of Art
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Previous Editions of the Texas Biennial
2009 | 2007 | 2005
2009
Artists
Christie Blizard (Lubbock)
Justin Boyd (San Antonio)
Leigh Brodie (Austin)
Susan Budge (San Antonio)
Marc Burckhardt (Austin)
William Cannings (Lubbock)
Jeanne Cassanova (Houston)
Susan Cheal (Denton)
Ryah Christensen (Austin)
Catherine Colangelo (Houston)
Beau Commeaux (Dallas)
Andy Coolquitt (Austin)
Paula Cox (San Antonio)
Adrienne Cullins (Volente)
Bill Davenport (Houston)
Lee Baxter Davis (Greenville)
Sasha Dela (Houston)
Celia Eberle (Ennis)
Heyd Fontenot (Austin)
Angela Fox (San Antonio)
Buster Graybill (Huntsville)
Kana Harada (Dallas)
Jeannette Hernandez (San Antonio)
Juan Hernandez (Dallas)
Simeen Ishaque (Dallas)
Jules Buck Jones (Austin)
Kathyrn Kelley (Houston)
Natalie Kleinecke (San Marcos)
Helen Kwiatkowski (Belton)
Ryan Lauderdale (Austin)
Jayne Lawrence, (San Antonio)
Peter Leighton (Austin)
Ken Little (San Antonio)
Anne Longo (Lubbock)
Ivan Lozano (Austin)
Christa Mares (Austin)
Mona Marshall (Austin)
Tom Matthews (Edinburg)
Carolyn Zacharias McAdams (Valley View)
Colin McIntyre (Austin)
Mary Morse (Austin)
John Mulvany (Austin)
Katy O’Connor (Austin)
Dawn Okoro (Austin)
Kim Cadmus Owens (Dallas)
Harmony Padgett (Arlington)
Jill Pangallo (Austin)
Jamie Panzer (Austin)
Justin Parr (San Antonio)
Katie Pell (San Antonio)
Gladys Poorte (Austin)
Olga Nicolaevna Porter (Houston)
Anila Quayyumagha (Houston)
William Rosshirt (Austin)
Winter Rusiloski (Fort Worth)
Cody Scrogum (Austin)
Charlotte Smith (Dallas)
Morgan Sorne (Austin)
Keith Allyn Spencer (El Paso)
John Spriggins (Dallas)
Mary Stengel (Austin)
Raychael Stine (Dallas)
Barry Stone (Austin)
John Swanger (Austin)
James Talbot (Austin)
Terri Thomas (Austin)
Raymond Uhlir (Austin)
Paul Valadez (Edinburg)
Kelli Vance, (Houston)
Marilyn Waligore (Richardson)
Jade Walker (Austin)
Vivian Wolfe (Austin)
Curators
Michael Duncan
Risa Puleo
Director
Xochi Solis
Venues
Big Medium
Mass Gallery
Mexican American Cultural Center
Okay Mountain
Pump Project Art Complex
Women and their Work
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2007
Artists
Andrew Anderson (Austin)
Frances Bagley (Dallas)
Jarrod Beck (Austin)
Robert Bellini (Austin)
William Betts (Houston)
Candace Briceño (Austin)
Tiffany Carbonneau (Georgetown)
David Chien (Houston)
Mark Collop (Dallas)
Erin Curtis (Austin)
Jeffrey Dell (Austin)
Peat Duggins (Austin)
Emilie Duval (Beaumont)
Corey Escoto (Amarillo)
Virginia Fleck (Austin)
Heyd Fontenot (Austin)
Buster Graybill (Hunstville)
Devon Grey (Dallas)
Michele Grinstead & Nancy O’Connor (Houston)
Lily Hanson (Dallas)
William Hundley (Austin)
Mimi Kato (San Antonio)
Baseera Khan (Austin)
Tom Matthews (Lubbock)
Charlie Morris (San Antonio)
Kurt Mueller (Austin)
Kelly O’Connor (San Antonio)
Tom Orr (Dallas)
Linda Pace (San Antonio)
Matthew Roberts (Austin)
Soody Sharifi (Houston)
Noah Simblist (Dallas)
Gary Sweeney (San Antonio)
Brad Tucker (Dripping Springs)
Michelle Gonzales Valdez (San Antonio)
Michael Velliquette (San Antonio)
Rebecca Ward (Austin)
David Ubias (Pasadena)
Jurors
Ursula Davila
Fairfax Dorn
Kate Green
Valerie Cassel Oliver
John Pomara
Venues
Bolm Studios
Dougherty Arts Center
Okay Mountain
Site 1808
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2005
Artists
William Betts (Houston)
Rosalyn Bodycomb (Dallas)
Elaine Bradford (Alice)
Candace Briceño (Cedar Creek)
Richard Budd (San Antonio)
Serena Lin Bush (Houston)
Jerry Chamkis (Austin)
Susan Cheal (Denton)
Jonas Criscoe (Austin)
Patricia Donahue (San Antonio)
Peat Duggins (Austin)
Celia Eberle (Ennis)
Chris Ferebee (Houston)
Ali Fitzgerald (Austin)
Heyd Fontenot (Austin)
Faith Gay (Austin)
Christine Gray (Austin)
Matthew Guest (McAllen)
Joe Ives (Houston)
Lance Jones (Dallas)
Young-Min Kang (Austin)
Barna Kantor (Austin)
Jimmy Kuehnle (San Antonio)
Janaki Lennie (Houston)
Jason Makepeace (Houston)
Jonathan Marshall (Austin)
Richard Martinez (San Antonio)
Seth Mittag (Houston)
Mari Omori (Spring)
Nina Rizzo (Austin)
Matthew Rodriguez (Austin)
Annie Simpson (San Marcos)
Charlotte Smith (Dallas)
Debra Sugarman (Austin)
Daniel Tackett (Paige)
Tara Welch (Denton)
Jurors
Bill Davenport
Ben Fyffe
Benito Huerta
Sara Kellner
Rachel Koper
Jon Lawrence
Shea Little
Arturo Palacios
Jimmy Peña
Joseph Phillips
Allison Sands
Michael Sieben
Hills Snyder
Jana Swec
Jeff Wheeler
Bolm Studios
Camp Fig
Dougherty Arts Center
Eastside Artist Co-op
Gallery Lombardi
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