ART BLOCK PARTY
Fri Nov 10, 2023
6PM-9PM
Join Women & Their Work and Big Red Sun for an art block party to kick off their East Austin Studio Tour participation! On Friday, November 10 from 6-9pm guests can enjoy exhibitions, music, drinks, and light snacks between the neighboring spaces, located 1311 and 1312 E. Cesar Chavez St. At Women & Their Work view new work in the gallery by VLM in her solo exhibition, Eye Moon Cocoon. At Big Red Sun, enjoy new works by Austin artists Codie O’Connor and Soledad Fernandez-Whitechurch, photography by Likeness Studio, jewelry by Haley Lebeuf and Christine Fail, and work and demonstrations by marbling artist Mercedez Rex. Drinks, light snacks, and live music will set the scene for guests to relax and enjoy the festivities and leisurely peruse both spaces. Women & Their Work and Big Red Sun are across the street from each other, located at 1311 and 1312 E Cesar Chavez St. respectively. Both spaces will be participating in the EAST Austin Studio Tour on November 11-12 and 18-19, and are among the most popular spots on the tour. This event gives art collectors a chance to
access the works before the general public. For more information and to RSVP, contact Soledad Fernandez-Whitechurch at [email protected].
About the Artists
Women & Their Work Gallery
Virginia L. Montgomery (VLM) | Eye Moon Cocoon
In Eye Moon Cocoon, multidisciplinary artist Virginia L. Montgomery (VLM) presents a new metaphysical and multimedia exhibition designed to facilitate hope, healing, and connection. Her solo exhibition interweaves ideas from psychoanalysis, mythology, and science through a dream-like dialogue between video, sound, photographs, and sculptural objects. Eye Moon Cocoon features VLM’s on-going examination of native Texas Luna moths and our multifaceted associations of the moon. VLM and her moth-familiars co-create a curious dreamworld of symbols (like circles, holes, spheres); sounds (like Texas thunderstorms, temple bells, power drills); and gestures of gentleness to conjure an environment for hope.
Big Red Sun
Soledad was born in Paraguay and grew up between there, Argentina, and the United States. Facing language and cultural barriers during childhood as a result of being an immigrant, she started experimenting with art as a way to communicate her sense of optimism and sunny outlook. Her work is an exploration of past, present, and possibility through the lens of Latin identity, and it is collected in the United States, Kuwait, Paraguay, Argentina, and Canada. She has worked with Big Red Sun, HSU Office of Architecture, Macy’s, and other retail and private clients. When she is not painting, she enjoys gardening, learning about Ancient Rome, and fostering kittens.
Codie O’Connor is a painter with a studio based in Austin, Texas. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the College of Charleston in 2016. Codie’s current work explores the interplay of daydream in relation to and as a response to everyday life.
Founded by twin sisters Chloe and Meghin Gilstrap, Likeness Studio is a photography practice dedicated to capturing people, spaces, and the stories they tell. Shooting in both digital and film, they document travel, wedding, editorial, architecture and interiors projects with an artful eye. After stints in Charleston and Seattle, the two have reunited in Austin, Texas to pursue their lifelong dream of working together in the creative field. Their authentic, down to earth approach to capturing people, spaces, and objects shares a common visual thread of warmth and love of light. Based out of Austin, available for assignments worldwide.
Christine Fail is the designer behind Fail Jewelry. With a BFA in studio art, Christine’s background is firmly rooted in art and design. A minimalist at heart, Christine is focused on having pieces that beautifully marry form and function in opposition to excess blind consumerism. Her collections are created harnessing the spirit of Austin with pieces that transition effortlessly from a t-shirt and jeans to the little black dress. Every item is made to be lived in, like your favorite pair of jeans. Fail jewelry may not always be your statement piece, but it will be your favorite piece.
Established in 2011, Haley Lebeuf Jewelry focuses on crafting handmade sterling silver and 14k gold-fill jewelry in the Austin studio. The aesthetic is modern, feminine and concept driven. Marrying fashion, art and craft, we are able to offer outstanding American made jewelry that seamlessly blends into your life. Balanced use of metals come together in many designs to create elevated everyday jewelry. Thoughtfully crafted pieces are versatile with a focus on clean lines and comfort while joyfully celebrating the connection we have with our jewelry.
Mercedez Rex is an artist and creativity enthusiast who favors processes that allow for chance, unpredictability and play. Her sensitivity to discovering the “decisive moment” from formal training in film photography is reimagined in the mono-printing process of water marbling, where one captures a singular ephemeral expression of color in motion.
Sponsorship
