Image: Blanton Museum of Art, Austin
The Blanton Museum of Art in Austin is in the closing week for two major exhibitions that have been on view since March 8, with both scheduled to end on Sunday, August 2. The museum is urging visitors not to miss the last opportunity to see 'American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection: From Edward Hopper to Alma Thomas' and 'Run the Code: Data-Driven Art Decoded by Thoma Foundation X Blanton Museum of Art' before they close.
'American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection: From Edward Hopper to Alma Thomas' is the first exhibition dedicated to the collection of businessman, philanthropist and Texas native Charles Butt, according to the museum. The show presents more than 80 rarely seen paintings and works on paper by major figures in American modern art, including Edward Hopper, Ellsworth Kelly, Jacob Lawrence, Joan Mitchell, Georgia O’Keeffe and Alma Thomas. The works span from the late 19th century through the 1970s and are arranged in four thematic sections: Intimate Perspective, The Language of the Sea, Land Progressions and Geometric Utopias/Dystopias.
The Blanton notes that it is one of four exclusive venues in Texas to host the exhibition. The presentation is organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, with the Blanton’s showing managed by Carter E. Foster, chief curator and deputy director of collections at the Blanton. Museum material describes the collection as being shared with the public for the first time and connects it to Butt’s vision of American creativity, civic dedication and commitment to education.
'Run the Code: Data-Driven Art Decoded by Thoma Foundation X Blanton Museum of Art' is the Blanton’s first-ever digital art exhibition. It brings together 20 immersive and groundbreaking works drawn from the Thoma Foundation’s Digital and Media Art Collection, with artists including Refik Anadol, Daniel Canogar, Madeline Hollander, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, teamLab, Siebren Versteeg, Leo Villareal and Marina Zurkow. The museum describes the exhibition as one that transforms digital information into sensory works of art, using algorithms, generative software, live data, interactive systems and other technologies to create works that respond to movement, touch or presence.
The exhibition page says the show is grounded in advanced technology while raising questions about art-making in a world shaped by data. It also highlights the role of custom software, live information feeds and machine processes in works that rework historical paintings, cultural archives and digital landscapes. Among the examples listed are Siebren Versteeg’s 'Daily Times (Performer)', which turns the day’s New York Times into an abstract painting, and Daniel Canogar’s 'Billow I', which uses live Google search data to generate LED animations.
Both exhibitions are installed in Butler Gallery and are included with admission, with free entry for members. Related programs are also scheduled during the final weekend: a public tour of 'Run the Code' on Saturday, August 1, at 5:30 pm, and public tours of 'American Modernism' on Sunday, August 2, at 3:00 pm. The museum’s exhibition page for 'Run the Code' says the Blanton is the only current venue for the show and that it is not scheduled to travel.
The two exhibitions are organized by different partners: 'Run the Code' is organized by the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation in collaboration with the Blanton Museum of Art, with support in part from J. P. Morgan Private Bank; 'American Modernism' is organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Both close Sunday, August 2.
