Art Opening at Laguna Gloria Art Museum

BETTY AND EDWARD MARCUS SCULPTURE PARK AT LAGUNA GLORIA

BETTY AND EDWARD MARCUS SCULPTURE PARK AT LAGUNA GLORIA

The Contemporary Austin’s Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria is named in honor of a founding grant by the Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation. This contemporary art destination presents exhibitions and permanent outdoor art installations on a site of great natural beauty on Lake Austin.

A complement to the Jones Center, The Contemporary Austin’s downtown location, the Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria is committed to a vibrant, engaging program of exhibitions alongside thoughtful land stewardship. The Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation’s gift allows for the commissioning, exhibition, and acquisition of new works of art by leading international contemporary artists as well as the preservation of the works and Laguna Gloria grounds. The gift celebrates Betty Marcus's great passion and vision for the arts, especially in outdoor settings.

With diverse ecology—including woodlands, meadows, gardens, and waterfront and a rich array of flora and fauna—Austin’s historic Laguna Gloria is a precious reserve of natural beauty, and a welcoming art-in-nature site, in the heart of the city.

THE BEAUTY OF LIFE AND DEATH II

Ivester Contemporary is excited to announce The Beauty of Life and Death II, Jaylen Pigford’s second solo exhibition at the gallery. In this latest series of work, Pigford carefully places familiar symbols that he has referenced throughout his career within colorful but unknown settings. Pigford appoints two protagonists; plants and skulls, as he contemplates the balance of life and death. He argues the inevitability of death should inspire us to appreciate the beauty of life, and rejects a focus on fear.

Jaylen Pigford (b. 1996) is an Afro-Latino painter born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas and based in Houston. The son of an African-American father and a mother of Mexican descent, Pigford is a self-taught artist and has been creating artwork since childhood. He sees his work as a balance of light and dark. His paintings are autobiographical reflections on past negative experiences and adversity to tell a story of self-growth through uplifting works on canvas. “It is always good with the bad. We all struggle, our failures test us, it’s what action we take to correct them that matters most.”

S I G N A L S

Ivester Contemporary is proud to present Signals, a solo exhibition of new work by Moyo Oyelola. Signals features a collection of makeshift devices like radios, cameras, and stereos, fashioned from wooden offcuts and other scrap materials. This playful collection of sculpture exemplifies the resourcefulness of African people, as well as the sustaining pursuit of African American’s to “tune in” to a frequency in America that serves their community. Oyelola’s devices, built from the detritus of the Western world, work to reconnect the two halves of his life.

Moyo Oyelola is a photographer, multimedia artist and activist. He creates intimate, real interactions with his subjects and communities and synthesizes that into deep, universal activations expressed in multimedia, photography, environmental installations and public arts projects. Born in Nigeria, Moyo moved to Austin when he was seven. Having grown up as the “product of two worlds” has shaped his thinking and work, reflecting perspectives of pan-African and modern western worlds. Moyo’s work has been featured in brand films, advertising, editorial, music videos, environmental installations, personal projects, and an evolving number of public arts projects.