From minimalist glass cubes and cinematic dreamscapes to immersive installations and deep dives into Latinx folklore, San Antonio’s fall arts calendar is as diverse and fascinating as the scene that makes it tick.
In this roundup, we highlight key exhibitions Alamo City art fans need to experience this fall.
Artist Larry Bell’s work on display at SAMA. Credit: Airi Katsuta
‘Larry Bell: Improvisations’ at SAMA (Aug. 29-Jan. 4)
When the San Antonio Museum of Art opened in 1981 in the former Lone Star Brewery, one of the first works on view was Larry Bell’s The Dilemma of Griffin’s Cat — a precarious-looking glass booth whose title nods to the vanishing feline in the H.G. Wells novel The Invisible Man. Commissioned by SAMA and now part of its permanent collection, that large-scale sculpture exemplifies the Chicago-born, Los Angeles-based artist’s meditative work, which begs viewers to contemplate the light and space around them. Four decades later, SAMA comes full circle with “Improvisations,” a solo show organized by the Phoenix Art Museum. In addition to Bell’s minimalist glass cubes, the exhibition includes collages and monumental installations the 85-year-old artist created between 1969 and 2024. $12-$22 (free for Bexar County residents 4-7 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m.-noon Sunday), 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tue, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones St., (210) 978-8100, samuseum.org.
Sandy Skoglund’s Revenge of the Goldfish is on display at the McNay. Credit: Courtesy Photo / McNay Art Museum
‘Sandy Skoglund: Enchanting Nature’ at the McNay (Sept. 11-Feb. 1)
An emblematic figure who helped define the 1980s-era New York art scene, Sandy Skoglund rose to prominence by creating fantastical tableaux that bent the “realities” of the photographic medium long before the arrival of digital editing tools. Although perhaps best known for two-dimensional photographs such as 1980’s Radioactive Cats and 1981’s Revenge of the Goldfish — the latter of which graced the cover of Inspiral Carpets’ 1992 album of the same name — Skoglund mixes sculpture, painting and set design into dreamlike installations before she photographs them. A winning example, Skoglund’s Cheez Doodle-covered 1992 installation The Cocktail Party has long been in the permanent collection of the McNay, which is now presenting “Enchanting Nature,” an exhibition comprising three installations alongside large-scale photographs that zoom in on some of her most recognized works. Writing about her 2001 exhibition “Raining Popcorn,” curator Marvin Heiferman encapsulated the amusing sensation Skoglund brings to the art world: “It’s hard to be blasé when confronted with Skoglund’s signature, over-the-top psychodramas. And hard not to shake your head in disbelief or crack a smile when you find yourself, literally or figuratively, in a corner of the world where everything is covered in uncooked chopped meat, raisins, or jelly beans.” $10-$23 (free 4-9 p.m. Thursdays and noon-5 p.m. first Sundays), 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave., (210) 824-5368, mcnayart.org.
Artist Elana Herzog and her studio assistant Madelynn Mesa installing Global Floral at Artpace. Credit: Elena Hernandez-Peña
International Artists-in-Residence Exhibitions at Artpace (Sept. 11-Jan. 19)
Hand-picked by Madrid-based guest curator Regine Basha to participate in Artpace’s renowned International Artists-in-Residence program, Goldie Poblador, Elana Herzog and Ian Gerson arrived in July to live and work in San Antonio. Based in Manila and inspired by Filipino mythology, Poblador specializes in glass flameworking but curiously incorporates scent into her installations. In her Artpace exhibition “The Rise of Medusa,” Poblador conjures a subaquatic seascape inhabited by dangling glass jellyfish-like creatures and two tellingly titled scents: Oil Slick and Dead Coral. Born in Toronto and based in New York City, Herzog explores migration and technology through the lens of textiles. For “Global Floral,” Herzog constructed a dramatic, diagonal wall in the gallery space and covered it with a patchwork of wallpaper and handmade textiles — offering up an eclectic backdrop that’s sure to inspire more than a few selfies this fall. Houston-based Gerson is a trans interdisciplinary artist who works between sculpture and installation to address topics spanning from climate injustice to queer longing. With “Glimpses of Transtopia,” Gerson evokes a fitting room with a structure built from found materials and garments crafted from emergency blankets, salvaged ropes and repurposed clothing. Free, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Artpace San Antonio, 445 N. Main Ave., (210) 212-4900, artpace.org.
Lisette Chavez’s La Bruja Laura is on display at Centro de Artes. Credit: Courtesy / Centro de Artes
‘Madre_Land: South Texas Memory & the Art of Making Home’ and ‘Cuentos y Arte: Mexican American Folk Tales of the Southwest’ at Centro de Artes (Oct. 2 – Feb. 22)
Carrying the torch for its predecessor — the bygone, Smithsonian offshoot Museo Alameda — the city-run Centro de Artes does a commendable job showcasing San Antonio’s robust Latinx art scene. Case in point: the sprawling art space’s fall programming unites more than 30 wide-ranging creators for two exhibitions rooted in Latinx culture and identity. Curated by multitasking artist Bonnie Cisneros — whom many know as artsy party-starter DJ Despeinada — the first-floor exhibition “Madre_Land: South Texas Memory & the Art of Making Home” draws inspiration from the work of Chicana artists and scholars Amalia Mesa-Bains and Tomás Ybarra-Fausto, the latter of whom coined the term rasquachismo and is represented in the exhibition. Organized in a format that evokes domestic spaces and recalls the welcoming refrain “mi casa es su casa,” the group show brings altar installations, folk art, photography, collage and portraits into a homey context complete with kitchen, dining room and front porch areas along with thoughtful tributes to San Antonio’s storied Sunshine Bakery and La Guadalupanita Café. With a tighter focus upstairs, the Rebecca Gomez-curated “Cuentos y Arte: Mexican American Folk Tales of the Southwest” explores pervasive cultural legends — from El Cucuy to La Lechuza — through the eyes of five women artists: Lisette Chavez, Audrya Flores, April A. Garcia, Angelica Raquel and Hailey Marmolejo. Free, opening reception 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, on view 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Centro de Artes, 101 S. Santa Rosa Ave., sa.gov.
Visitors to the 2024 Red Dot Sale peruse works of art. Credit: Jo E. Norris
35th Annual Red Dot Art Sale & Exhibition (Nov. 12-Jan. 4)
With a name that references those hotly anticipated red stickers that get placed next to sold works of art, Red Dot is a critical fundraiser that provides Contemporary at Blue Star a big chunk of its annual operating budget. Routinely attended by hundreds of local art fans, the opening night party comes with a $125 ticket price but doubles as a meet-and-greet with the established and emerging creators reinforcing San Antonio’s status as a destination for contemporary art. After opening night, Red Dot continues to function as an exhibition and fundraiser that’s free to attend, offering a diverse survey of affordably priced artwork being made in San Antonio. For its 35th iteration, Red Dot is highlighting the work of Meredith Dean — a beloved printmaker and painter who fostered the talents of countless rising local artists for 23 years as an instructor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Opening night: $125, 7-10 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12; exhibition: free, noon-5 p.m. Wednesday, noon-8 pm. Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 pm. Saturday-Sunday, Contemporary at Blue Star, 116 Blue Star, (210) 227-6960, contemporarysa.org.
This article appears in Sep 18-Oct 1.