Finding Art in East Austin

Words by Abby L. Johnson & Jessi Devenyns Photos by Eric Morales

For the art connoisseur, East Austin is ripe with budding and established talent. It’s hard not to stumble upon a piece of public art or a gallery or studio when wandering the streets on this side of town. There is a vibrant vitality that permeates the creative scene in the neighborhood. While viewers often have the opportunity to see artwork prominently displayed, it’s not as often that they have a chance to peer beyond a body of work and dive into the mind of its creator. Whether capturing the ephemeral on canvas, exploring the shapes and movement of animals, or playing with texture and space, these four Austin-based artists have found a way to connect with their audience and express both universal and personal truths through their respective mediums.

Editing Chaos

Angela Navarro creates pathways of emotion.

Paintings should craft a conversation with a viewer; meaning is not derived from an artist dictating what someone should experience. For an abstract expressionist like Angela Navarro, this dialogue begins with titles. 

Each of Angela’s works is identified by a meandering sentence that serves as an insight into the moment that inspired a tableau. However, it is through a combination of titles, painted canvases, and the viewers themselves that Angela’s art reaches its apex to convey the “experience of life and going through changes,” she explains. The titles are also simply fun. Continue reading here…

Natural Daydreams

Emily Galusha finds artistic balance in the natural world.

As a new mom who had just weathered the pandemic as a creative, artist Emily Galusha found that she was suddenly and forcibly surrounded by stillness. However, that moment of calm unfurled a backdrop against which she reconsidered what her art means to the world. 

“For a long time, up until maybe five or six years ago, I was really trying hard to be impactful and profound with my artwork.” She adds, “And now, I’ve been really trying to just be quiet and pay attention to where the patterns are and in my artwork instead.” One of the patterns she discovered was a tendency towards movement in her work. Continue reading here…

The Threads That Connect

Fiber artist Jade Walker redefines textile work.

When one thinks of textile work, often it’s of knitted blankets and crocheted shawls handmade by family members whose physical presence has long since passed. Images of painstaking needlepoint created in the living room or the mechanical thumping of a sewing machine in a spare bedroom arise.

While fiber artist Jade Walker also thinks of home and the crafts that primarily women have mastered and passed down through generations when pondering the use of fiber, she takes her musings a step further.  Continue reading here…

Infusing Abstraction with Gratitude

Umbreen Ahmad finds strength at the canvas.

Before choosing her colors, her medium, type of brush, or tone, abstract painter Umbreen Ahmad steps up to the canvas to begin her work with a different form of expression. She begins with gratitude.

Umbreen moved to Austin in 2002 with her husband, but in her early years, she called many different settings home. After immigrating from Pakistan, her family initially landed in Las Vegas before settling in Houston. At the time, Umbreen was only 10 years old. Reflecting on this series of moves, she notes, “When you migrate and you see your parents struggle, you’re also struggling, regardless of your [age], it’s just a different kind of struggle. So, from a young age, my go to is to fall back on the blessings that are right in front of us.”  Continue reading here…