Fresh from the Studio

Thu Sep 7, 2023

12PM

Fresh from the Studio invites W&TW artist members to share what they are working on now. In this virtual format, artists share work in progress, newly finished artworks, and recent or upcoming projects. Each presentation is about 10 minutes with time for your questions and comments afterwards. Fresh from the Studio is your chance to see what is new and hear from contemporary artists. This program is free and open to the public.

This segment of Fresh from the Studio will feature Darcie Book, Chantal Lesley and Jennifer Villanueva.

About the Artists

Darcie Book is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores paint as object and architecture through innovative processes using acrylic paint and metal leaf. She is interested in how the heightened physicality of the paint may generate corporeal resonance, and elicit desire or longing. Book received her BFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2004 and her extensive exhibition history includes the Baltimore Museum of Art, Fort Works Art, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, DiverseWorks, and The Contemporary Museum (Baltimore). She was published in Sculpture Magazine and the Manifest International Painting Annual. Residencies include Vermont Studio Center, Mauser Foundation (Costa Rica), Future Front Texas, and Facebook AIR. Book is a member of ICOSA, an artist-run nonprofit gallery in Austin, TX. She cofounded Crit Nites, an inclusive critique series for a diverse cross-section of artists to build community and exchange feedback (nominated for Best of Austin Award in first programming year).

Chantal Lesley is a conceptual photographer living and working in Austin, TX. Lesley is a multicultural, first-generation American born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, located along the U.S./Mexico border. Being the daughter of immigrants from both Germany and Peru has brought upon a feeling of being stretched between four cultures and has led her to confront ideas that focus on identity and contemporary social and political issues in her work. Lesley acquired her BFA in Fine Art Photography from Texas State University in 2021, and her work has been exhibited throughout Texas and the U.S. Selected shows include Houston Center for Photography, (Houston, TX); Craighead Green Gallery, (Dallas, TX); Touchstone Gallery, (Washington D.C); and Humble Arts Foundation, (New York City, NY).

Jennifer Villanueva is a Mexican-American photographer based between Austin, TX and Chicago, IL. Her work explores the intersection of race, ethnicity, geography, citizenship, gender, and class in American society. She has exhibited at EXPO Chicago (2022), Visual Arts Center (2022), James Kerney Campus Gallery (2021), and Sullivan Galleries (2020). She is a recipient of the SPARK Grant, Rauschenberg Artist Fund, Office of Engagement: Race, Equity, and Inclusion Fellowship, Fred Endsley Memorial Fellowship, Bank of America Scholarship, and John W. Kurtich Foundation Travel Grant. Villanueva graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2020) and is an MFA Candidate at the University of Texas at Austin (2023).

Interested in participating in Fresh from the Studio? Click here to learn more about artist membership benefits and opportunities!