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Texas Biennial 2011

Presented by Texas Biennial at Multiple Locations

April 9-May 14, 2011

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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 50 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. Details on the exhibitions and other programming being presented by participating organizations will be available February 1, 2011 on the TX?11 Calendar.