Considered a maverick among the 50 states and immortalized in TV Westerns and films, Texas has always forged its own path. The birthplace of Selena, Willie Nelson, Beyoncé, and Janis Joplin—and the state where Davy Crockett met his maker—brings to mind images of roaming cattle, rugged sharpshooters, fierce battles for independence, and partisan squabbles. But beneath its cinematic veneer and seductive mystique lies a veritable oil well of creativity and inspiration, as evidenced by the 21 contemporary artists featured in Lone Star, our inaugural exhibition for 2026.
Celebrating the state’s pioneering spirit and multifaceted creative community while uncertainty reigns along the borders and ICE wreaks havoc in workplaces, shopping centers, churches, and schools, NOT REAL ART presents a vibrant mix of Texas-related artwork that touches on timely themes. Featuring portraits of local artists and activists, a life-sized automotive piñata, a searing critique of the meat industry, and childhood reflections from Dallas, Brownsville, and Tehran, our January exhibition offers a life-affirming glimpse of the resilience, innovation, and commitment spurting from the vast Texas terrain.
View Lone Star, then scroll down for details about the artists and their work.
Family and Heritage
Julia Emily Fisher examines her layered identity as the child of immigrants in suburban Texas in the montage “É um pouco chato né.” In “Empty-Handed,” Antonio Briones mourns an absent father while pondering the complexity of modern families. In her haunting video, “It’s Hard to Kill,” Fatemeh Baigmoradi equates the memory of her parents burning photos after the Islamic Revolution with the cultural displacement she experienced moving to the U.S. Kameron Walker considers his urban roots and credits his childhood neighborhood for strengthening his resolve to become an artist in the painting “Where I Come From.” Exploring fragility, memory, and loss, Maria Rasheed pays homage to her grandfather in Iran in “Carpet Fragments 1 and 2.”
Social Commentary
In the video installation “Re-Release,” Chris Wicker examines television as an extension of family in our media-saturated world. Shawna M. Rasmussen illustrates the physical and emotional expressiveness of American Sign Language in her photograph “Working Out of This.” Using textiles to address the impact of urban development and the systems governing everyday life, Olaniyi R. Akindiya focuses on the unifying element of sports in his installation “Stadium.” In “Be Here Now,” Steven Ecker combines found images and text to encourage viewers to live in the moment. In “Cheneka” and other portraits from a larger series, Tawanda Chabikwa reimagines black, queer, and Indigenous bodies to probe the interiority of human experience.
Personal Narratives
Marcelina Gonzales contemplates growing up near the Mexican border in her slice-of-life resin collage “Blue Casita on Monroe.” Kell Kellum reflects on mortality and loss during a family caregiving venture in “Motel Room, Weatherford, Texas.” Creating a surreal diary to unveil her inner feelings, Jordyn Ruiz investigates the exchange and release of energy in “Untethered.” Gisèle Giraud immerses herself in a weightless cloud to quiet distracting thoughts in “Me Time.” In “Journey,” Jay Lee enhanced a temporal installation of textiles and coffee grounds with a dance performance to illustrate the paths we take in life. Drawing inspiration from diverse cultural histories, Malti B. Lee combines an image of the Austin courthouse with Proustian flora in the painting “In Your Hands.”
Political Activism
“Partridge Plymouth Rock,” a towering ceramic bust by Misty Gamble, sports a headpiece of animal parts to spotlight the environmental consequences of meat consumption. Vicente Ortiz Cortez calls out the sell-off of American democracy in “Texas/Lot 02” and images of other states on the auction block. Suzy González’s “Diana” belongs to a series of portraits of activists and cultural figures in the Yanaguana/San Antonio area. Alicia Garza’s evocative installation, “Rio de Muertos, River of Remembrance,” seems acutely prescient in an era of climate-related disasters and nonstop immigration raids. In his wry piñata of a car, “Grit/Grind,” Giovanni Valderas hopes to engage the Latinx community with contemporary art while challenging existing power structures through a playful medium.
All images published with permission of the artist(s); featured graphic for Lone Star: Elise Wilson.