Art galleries can transport you to places you’ve never been or have never imagined. They can take you across the world and into the mind’s eye of artists and curators. They can even take you inward, to explore your own dreams and depths.
From Blanco Road to Southtown, drawings to ceramics, San Antonio galleries are distinct as the art itself. Here are a few you should know about.
Clamp Light Artist Studios & Gallery
1704 Blanco Rd., Ste. 104
Open Second Fridays and by appointment
The artist-run Clamp Light Artist Studios & Gallery started in 2013 as a working studio featuring emerging artists in residence.
“It’s a place to learn and experiment if you want to do something different,” said director Raul Gonzalez.
Artists grow in their craft and can host what is, for many, a first exhibition. Jennifer Ling Datchuk and Ryan Takaba first exhibited at Clamp Light before becoming staples of the local art scene and finding success beyond San Antonio.
Artists in residence have access to the gallery for a solo exhibition or group collaboration and can learn all that goes into planning and producing a show with support from Gonzalez.
“What I love about it for me is just being able to connect with the community who can interact with art and artists,” he said.
Creative Eye
The Upstairs Studios at the Blue Star
1414 South Alamo Street
Open First Fridays, Third Thursdays and by appointment
Karen Garanzuay’s Creative Eye features seasoned and emerging artists in solo and group exhibitions showcasing paintings, drawings, photography, music and performance art. The gallery has featured artists like Crystal aka Cry Terror, who also owns Toxic Salon, and CJ Duron, who is also a T-shirt screen printer and a musician in the band In a Darkened Room.
Multifaceted artists offer multiple, distinct talents and perspectives to the gallery. The gallery hosts a pop-up show featuring Cry Terror’s visual and 3D art in July and a solo show by Medusa Villanueva in August.
In the Eye of the Beholder
123 Heiman St., Suite 300
Open Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday, noon-5 p.m.
When you walk into In the Eye of the Beholder you are struck by energy and warmth in reverence to the art. There is a feeling of respect that permeates the gallery. As the only Black-owned art gallery in San Antonio, it is owned and curated by Maria M. Williams. “We are a Black art gallery that is very inclusive. We have artists of every race creed and color,” said Williams.
Kaldric Dow’s Pastel Expressions opens Saturday with a reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
MBS Gallery
1115 S. Alamo St.
Open First Fridays and Third Thursdays
MBS Gallery is unconventional in location as a gym, yoga and pilates studio. The initial pairing happened when owner and curator Josh Levine began collecting art to amplify the studio environment of his first gym on Broadway.
When Levine acquired his second location in King William, bringing quarterly shows to gym members and the surrounding community made sense.
“You’re seeing more spaces in the urban core that lend themselves to showing art,” Levine said.
The art collection, which rotates through his two gym locations along with other curated pieces, includes a variety of established and emerging artists, from Katie Pell to Chuck Ramirez.
Ornamental Cabbage Gallery
2505 S. Presa St.
Open by appointment
Sculptor and ceramicist Dani Becknell started Ornamental Cabbage, her working studio and gallery, to offer a space devoted to ceramics. “Bringing ceramicists together is what I love the most about what I do,” she said.
The gallery’s first show, Fruits of Our Labor, brought together artists including Anita Becerra, Matthew Centeno and Rikkianne Van Kirk, and, according to Becknell, emphasized the historical prevalence of ceramic arts as functional vessels or decorative arts.
The next exhibition opens in November with a surreal living room concept made entirely of ceramics.
Outrider Art & Objects
South Side Living and Maker Spaces
2450 Roosevelt Ave.
Open First Fridays and by appointment
Originally conceptualized as a pop-up, Outrider Art & Objects has staying power. Owner and curator Courtney Sheets describes it as “an artist-centric, female-forward space that focuses on underrepresented artists and outriders of all stripes.”
Sheets said she looks for individuality, intrigue and a bit of magic in the concept-based shows she curates. “They have a very definitive point of view, and it’s very focused,” she said.
The current exhibition, Memento Mori, is a group exhibit exploring mortality.
Space C7
South Side Living and Maker Spaces
2450 Roosevelt Ave.
Open daily 1 p.m.-6 p.m. and by appointment
An enclave home to 60 artists surrounds the Space C7, a space intended to foster community among the artists and encourage collaboration.
“Collaboration to me always leads you somewhere where you can’t go by yourself, whether it’s in my artwork or in a workshop that we’re going to develop together,” said owner and curator Jeff Wheeler.
Some featured artists at the gallery have included Cesar Martinez, Gary Sweeney and Daniel Johnson. The next show will showcase artists Olivia and Cruz Ortiz in collaboration with a community workshop. The exhibit Lavanderia, opens with a reception on July 18, 6-9 p.m.
Southtown Art Gallery
1913 S. Flores St., #9
Open by appointment
Visit Southtown Gallery, a working studio and gallery with a speakeasy feel. The space focuses on emerging artists and encourages experiential exhibits to draw the viewer into the artist’s world. “We … work hard to make it very immersive,” said co-owner Albert Gonzales.
He and his wife and gallery co-owner Caroline Gonzales foster close working relationships with the artists they feature, encouraging them to experiment and build community.
A solo exhibit of work by Coffee opens in August.
Un Grito
The Upstairs Studios at the Blue Star
1414 S. Alamo St.
Open First Fridays and Third Thursdays or by appointment
Walking into Un Grito, there’s a clear separation of space with the front gallery focused on the art and the back of the room for conversation and connection. Peer dialogue and discussion among established artists, emerging artists and visiting guests are shared here.
According to Rodriguez, being featured at the gallery requires conversation, community, chemistry, connection and a body of work that the artist can cultivate for the show.
“It has to be relevant, and it has to speak in some way whether it’s political, gender-based, personal or cultural,” said Rodriguez.
