Raul De Lara reconnects with his Austin roots in new exhibition
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Raul De Lara's first solo museum exhibition in Texas features seven large-scale sculptures carved from wood native to Texas and Mexico. Photo: Courtesy of The Contemporary Austin
The Contemporary Austin's latest exhibition from sculptor Raul De Lara uses woodwork to explore identity, belonging and stories carried across borders.
Why it matters: It's De Lara's first solo museum exhibition in Texas, and his work draws heavily from his experience as a Mexican immigrant growing up in Austin.
State of play: The exhibition — on display until Jan. 11 — features seven new, large-scale sculptures carved from wood native to Texas and Mexico.
- The pieces, roughly four feet wide and eight feet tall, reference wildflowers found across the border region, like Sleepy Daisy, Indian Blanket and Damianita.
- "Why can plants be native to two places, but never people?" De Lara asks as part of the exhibition.
What they're saying: "Raul De Lara's work is tender, pointed, and deeply personal, reframing the American Dream through the lens of immigrants who continue to create, care, and endure," Julie Le, The Contemporary Austin's assistant curator, said in a statement.
- "His sculptures reveal the quiet, daily negotiations of identity and belonging — especially here in Texas, where histories and experiences of cultural hybridity shape everyday life."
Zoom in: De Lara, who earned his bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Texas and master of fine arts from Virginia Commonwealth University, immigrated to the U.S. when he was 12 and has been a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program since 2012.
- Now based in New York, De Lara works with materials like wood, stone, sand, steel and leather to explore themes of nationality, queer identity and the immigrant experience.
- He recently won the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Award in Craft — a prestigious $100,000 prize administered by United States Artists.
The bottom line: De Lara describes the Austin show as a full-circle moment, bringing his work back to the city where he immigrated with his family.
- "This is where my creative foundation was formed," De Lara told Print Mag in August.
- "Learning English with a worldly cast of students, my days riding in the incredible local BMX community, working construction with my parents, working as a cake sculptor, serving tables at various Mexican restaurants, learning to drive tractors at my uncle's hardware store..." among other things.
What's next: De Lara will join Le for a conversation about his work and life at 7pm Wednesday at The Contemporary Austin.
- General admission is $10; members get in free.