5 Highlights of the Blanton Museum of Art

A grand museum with towering pillars and intricate archways, filled with ancient artifacts and colorful exhibits

The Blanton Museum of Art is one of the largest and best equipped museums in the state, featuring as many as 18,000 different pieces ranging from ancient to modern works. It’s an experience you absolutely won’t want to miss when visiting the city of Austin.

The Avant-Garde Networks of Amauta: Argentina, Mexico, and Peru in the 1920s

The 1920s were a time of modern innovation the world over, known as the time of avant-garde. This exhibit explores the magazines and publications of the era from areas such as Argentina, Mexico and Peru.

Ed Ruscha: Drum Skins

Ed Rucha is a pioneer American artist mostly known for his avant-garde-inspired use of language and form. This exhibit centers around a phase of his work in which Rucha experimented with the form of round paintings, made from 2017 to 2019. The presentation also includes a number of painted drumheads Ruscha has collected over the past forty years.

Ruscha’s work is very much inspired by the slang of his native state of Oklahoma. It features a frequent use of double negatives such as: “I Ain’t Telling You No Lie” and “I Never Done Nobody No Harm.”

Artist at Work

A fascinating thematic exhibit showcases the personal lives of its artists, featuring self portraits, views of studios and workspaces, art academies, and depictions of outdoor sketching expeditions.

The exhibit spans a timeframe of more than 500 years, with no limitation in terms of style. This unique curation is organized by Mairead Carney Horton, Prints and Drawings Assistant.

Wael Shawky: Cabaret Crusades III: The Secrets of Karbala

Blanton’s wing of film and video is one of its greatest treasures and Austin Texas highlights. It will soon screen the third and final installment of Egyptian artist Wael Shawky’s widely acclaimed series “Cabaret Crusades”, an epic exploration of the religious wars fought throughout the Medieval period.

R. Eric McMaster

An upcoming exhibit not yet open to the public, located in the video and film section of the museum and showcasing the work of McMaster. His unique subject matter explores the protocols set in place by various sports institutions–often manipulating, isolating or restricting the rules that determine athletes’ performance.

Which of these Blanton Museum of art artworks are you most excited to explore during your next trip?