Desert Door Residency Exhibition

In August of this year, artists Brock Caron, DJ FAIRY ARIES, Sarah Fagan, and L. Renee Nunez traveled to the Desert Door Sotol Ranch in Dryden, Texas for a one-week residency. There, they trekked through the West Texas desert to attain inspiration for their creative practices.

Join us Sunday, November 21 from 4-6 pm at Big Medium for a reception celebrating this exhibition on the last night of the Austin Studio Tour and get a chance to speak with the artists as well as taste the Sotol that inspired it all.

This exhibition runs until December 4th.

Programs

Desert Door Residency

Artist Announcement

In partnership, Big Medium and Desert Door announce the selected artists for this year's Desert Door Residency: Brock Caron, DJ FAIRY ARIES, Sarah Fagan, and L. Renee Nunez.

“Located five hours west of Austin and two hours from anything remotely resembling a town, the Desert Door ranch is 8,000 acres of wild, untamed space… This space has a powerful way of bringing people together and opening them up for discovery. Breaking away from the distractions of the 21st century, your mind is open to explore and your body reacts by feeling each passionate moment. It’s always been important for us to share the story of this land and its offerings with others.” - Desert Door

Varying in disciplines, these four local artists have been selected to take part in the first edition of this program. Each artist traveled to the Desert Door Texas Sotol ranch in Dryden, Texas this summer for a one-week residency, where they drew inspiration from the raw West Texas landscape and began creating work. This program has culminated in a group exhibition held during this year’s Austin Studio Tour.

Exhibition runs November 13 through December 4th.

2021 Artists

Brock Caron

Brock Caron is a contemporary artist from Austin, TX, who primarily creates painting and ink illustrations on paper, wood, and found objects. He is also active in printmaking, installation, and sculpture. Brock received his BFA from Texas State University and is currently a member of Contracommon, a nonprofit arts organization in Bee Cave, TX. When he’s not making art, he's spending time with his wife and their old dog, fishing for a new fishing spot, or at a dive bar, spending 10 bucks on beer and 20 bucks on the jukebox.

brockcaronart.com | @brockcaronart

DJ FAIRY ARIES

Sharing a birthday with the late Van Gogh; The last Austin Native aka DJ FAIRY ARIES knew she had an artistic duty to express through the allure of whimsical fae folklore to utilize the combined magic of music and nature.
@djfairyaries

Sarah Fagan

Sarah Fagan received a BA in English, Art History, and Studio Art from Stonehill College in North Easton, MA and a post-baccalaureate certificate in bookmaking from the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, OR. While living in Portland, Sarah was a member/owner of the cooperative Blackfish Gallery from 2013-2016. Sarah has attended several artist residencies in the U.S. and Canada, and her work has been shown nationally. She received her MFA in Drawing and Painting from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019. She continues to live, work, and teach in Austin. Primarily a painter, Sarah strives to reveal the beauty and humor in everyday objects through a number of media including assemblage, drawing, and stop-motion animation.
sarahfagan.com | @sarahfaganart

renee nunez.jpeg — L. Renee Nunez

Indigenous artist L. Renee Nunez holds a BA in Studio Art from The University of Texas at Austin where she also double majored in Theatre & Dance. Renee’s background as a professional modern dancer (formerly of Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Co.) greatly influences her as a visual artist and contributes a love of motion to her work. Some of her first artistic collaborative experiences stemmed from her work in the Austin dance community. From sculptural costumes, she branched out into interactive dance installation and public interactive installation. Those collaborations cemented a curiosity and lasting inquiry into installation art. She has exhibited her installation, Habitat or components of Habitat at VALISE Gallery in Washington, GrayDUCK Gallery, Southwestern College Art Gallery in CA, Nashville International Airport, EAST as a guest artist of Fisterra Studio, Austin City Hall, and most recently at Austin Convention Center.
reneenunez.com | @crocorenee

About

This summer, the team behind Desert Door Texas Sotol opens their Dryden, Texas ranch to Austin artists for a residency experience unlike any other. The Desert Door Residency is a new artist in residence program produced by Big Medium in partnership with Desert Door.

The Desert Door Residency will provide four Austin artists with a one-week stay on the ranch in August 2021 that includes an artist stipend of $1,000 for each artist. During their residency, artists are encouraged to draw inspiration from the raw West Texas landscape and begin creating work. This program will culminate in a group exhibition to be held during this year’s Austin Studio Tour in November.

The purpose of this residency is to promote, highlight, and support the creation of new work by three emerging Austin artists. Field Marketing Director at Desert Door, Bobbi Hitchon, writes:

"Desert Door wouldn't exist if not for inspiration from the West Texas desert. Within our team, we are incredibly fortunate to have such an incredible expanse, our ranch, to spend time. The land continues to inspire us and spur our passion for this product and wild open spaces. Breaking away from the distractions of the 21st century, your mind is open to exploring and your body to feel each passing moment. It's always been important to us to share the story of this land and its offerings with others. We are so honored to open it up to the Texas creative community who will be some of our first guests."

For more information or questions, please contact Coka Treviño at trevino@bigmedium.org.