Austin’s art world has long been the maybe-too-chill, scrappy little brother to Houston and Dallas’ more polished operations, but at Friends Fair, four local galleries are angling to change that perception. Martha’s, McLennon Pen Co.
Austin’s art world has long been the maybe-too-chill, scrappy little brother to Houston and Dallas’ more polished operations, but at, four local galleries are angling to change that perception.
Martha’s, McLennon Pen Co., Northern-Southern, and Ivester Contemporary invited showroom-owning friends – hence the name – from across the country to the Loren for a second year May 8-9 to display their artists’ work, meet local collectors and designers, and take a peek at the quickly developing fine arts world in Texas’ capital city. Squeezing into a suite’s white-tiled bathroom to look at a produce-filled diorama by Audrey Rodriguez – or leaning over a queen-size bed to admire a metallic Super Rush bottle, created by 2026 University of Texas-Austin MFA grad Nolan Zunk, tucked between the pillows – the hotel fair invites a certain intimacy.
The friendship between the gallerists, collectors, and other industry professionals is apparent – and contagious. In nearly every room, hugs and laughter between longtime collaborators were as common as bubbly small talk between strangers as “excuse me”s led to questions about pieces and pricing. For some gallerists, this trip to Friends Fair wasn’t just their first time at the budding art extravaganza, but their introduction to Austin. In the Wolfgang Gallery room, Atlanta gallerist Anna S.K.
Masten told me she was already pleasantly surprised by the city and our many Tex-Mex and barbecue offerings. The eponymous gallerist of Los Angeles’ Tyler Park Presents was similarly charmed. Through the large windows in each crowded room, a rain-saturated Riverside put Austin’s best foot forward. Within, each hometown gallery’s dressed-up adaptation of the city’s outsider spirit made for a dynamic first impression.
Representing artists from far-flung corners of the country, many with Texan roots, the six local showrooms, composed of the four organizing galleries and two sponsored project spaces, leaned into accessible eccentricities, multimedia approaches, and an adaptive approach to the room. Northern-Southern’s bathroom installation of cave photographs and handcrafted viewing lenses by Christos Pathiakis captivated viewers with intentionally lit views and playful engagement with the work.
Martha’s tucked wooden mice by Austin-based sculptor Wes Thompson into banal furnishings throughout its room, creating an informal “I Spy” game for visitors – and for Thompson’s accompanying carved owl. Owls also made an appearance on McLennon Pen Co.’s balcony, courtesy of Ben Siekierski’s interactive piece reflecting neighborhood surveillance.
Co-Lab Projects, an artist-run nonprofit featured in one of the fest’s project suites, showcased local painters Elizabeth Schwaiger and Jeremy DePrez in a styling salon-themed room facilitated by artist Sean Ripple, who dressed visitors in clothing items he’s fashioned and collected according to “conversational divination,” Sean Michael Gaulager, executive director and curator, said. Newcomers and second-year visitors alike also made use of the modern hotel’s nooks and crannies, laying out sculptural pieces on the glass tables that lined many of the chamber’s window bays and playing with the sinks, showers, and tubs as display areas in the bathroom.
“It’s got the best lighting! ” a gallerist told me conspiratorially, by way of explanation. Last year’s inaugural gathering featured five out-of-town showrooms. This year, the founders bumped that number up to 13, an immediate indication that their venture to draw art world pros to Austin is paying off.
The salon took over the entire second floor of the Loren, encouraging doorway conversations and a leisurely viewing pace. In its most awkward moments, being at Friends Fair is a little bit like being a guest at someone else’s family reunion, witnessing interstate art world relationships renew and multiply.
Yet, true to our city’s offbeat curiosity and laid-back camaraderie, by the time you’ve moseyed in and out of several galleries’ displays and gotten to know an artist and gallerist or two, you can’t help but feel that we’re all friends here. has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press.
If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands. Caroline is the Music and Culture staff writer and reporter, covering, well, music, books, and visual art for the Chronicle. She came to Austin by way of Portland, Oregon, drawn by the music scene and the warm weather.
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