In Conversation
Jonathan hanahan
&
Holly Veselka
October 26 @ 4 pm cst
On October 26 at 4 PM CST, Texas State Galleries will host a conversation between artists Jonathan Hanahan and Holly Veselka, moderated by Texas State University faculty members MiHyun Kim and Barry Stone. No registration required.
Jonathan Hanahan’s Edgelands, organized by Dimitry Tetin, is currently on view in the Texas State Galleries’ FLEX space. The exhibition investigates the increasing tension between the natural world and the infiltration of electronic waste, the fastest growing waste stream on the planet. Using a range of machine learning algorithms to ‘breed’ images of midwestern landscapes interleaved with assorted images of illegal e-waste dumpsites in Africa, Asia, and India, the artist and designer creates digital renditions of our possible futures should we continue on our current trajectory. The exhibition is activated by an augmented reality application that reveals discarded digital products in each landscape. Pivoting between the digital and physical is a key component of Hanahan’s work, encouraging audiences to rethink their relationships to technology, devices, and the lifespan of products.
Holly Veselka’s exhibition Lovely Stream, currently on view in at the Sabinal Gallery, is an iteration of work from her Buffalo Bayou Collection, previously on view at Lawndale Art Center in Houston (February 6–April 25, 2021). Veselka used 3-D scanning technology to study objects from the Buffalo Bayou, the only remaining, semi-natural, flowing waterway in the city of Houston. A vast container of geologic time, the Bayou’s sediment holds organic and inorganic remains that span thousands of years. Collecting markers of anthropogenic change along its banks, Veselka developed a deep sense of loss. The night herons, pileated woodpeckers, longleaf pines, and magnolias—survivors there, of a once vast, beautiful, and intricate wilderness—become distorted ghosts of the past, reminders of what we risk losing.
Jonathan Hanahan
Jonathan Hanahan lives and works in St Louis, Missouri. He uses technology to critique technology. His speculative practice explores the physical, cultural, and social ramifications of digital experiences and the role technology plays in shaping our everyday realities. Hanahan earned a BArch from Virginia Tech and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. In addition to his studio practice, he is an associate professor in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
Holly Veselka
Holly Veselka lives and works in San Marcos, Texas, where she is an Assistant Professor in the School of Art and Design at Texas State University. Her conceptual art focuses on project-based, research-oriented sculptures, archives, and installations. She has exhibited her work internationally and was recently selected by the McNay Art Museum and Shetland Arts to create an online artwork about extraction economies. Veselka earned her BFA in Studio Art from The University of Texas, Austin and an MFA in Painting from Boston University.
Texas Talks Art
Las Imaginistas
September 28 @ 12 pm cst
Las Imaginistas, from Borders Like Water (BLW), 2020–ongoing.
On September 28 at noon CST, Texas State Galleries will host Las Imaginistas (ChristinaMaria Patiño Xochitlzihuatl Houle, Rubén Garza, and Michelle Serrano) as part of Texas Talks Art. Las Imaginistas is a socially engaged art collective working along the Rio Grande Delta (also known as the U.S./Mexico Border). The group is comprised of queer, latinx and mixed indigenous collaborators working to create a culture of liberation for all beings. They work by time traveling, shape shifting, community organizing, spell casting and amplifying the ancestral wisdom of plant, rock, four-legged, winged and scaled family members.
Texas Talks Art is an unprecedented multi-institutional initiative intended to introduce the work of artists across the state of Texas to a wider audience. Taking the form of virtual 30-minute lunchtime talks, the series features 50 Texas artists and artist collectives in conversation with 50 Texas curators beginning in January 2021. Talks are free and take place every Tuesday at noon CST.