2213 E. Cesar Chavez, 512/826-5334
This standalone Eastside gallery shows work by a diversity of locally progressive and nationally acclaimed artists who tend toward the more academic end of the spectrum but usually provide as much candy for the eyes as food for thought. Jill Schroeder's the affable jefe grande of this wonderfully wood-bedecked space that boasts 17-foot-high ceilings and 1,500 square feet of exhibition space and which also frequently hosts readings, live music, and other community presentations.
This show, says the multidisciplinary artist
Renee Lai, "exhibits traces left behind by my body — silhouettes, records of movements made while swimming, a doubling of myself in a painting. These drawings and paintings render my body legible: the exact contours of my frame have been traced onto the material. In the video work, my physical body is more fully present as I swim back and forth, dragging and sinking paintings of my own body."
Through Feb. 19.