IVESTER CONTEMPORARY

The Story I Tell at Parties
Candace Hicks

January 18 – February 22, 2025

Ivester Contemporary is proud to present The Story I Tell at Parties, a solo exhibition by artist Candace Hicks. This newest body of work probes the reliability of memory and storytelling, as she recalls her first job under the unlikely supervision of a 15-year-old boss with gigantism who vanished without explanation. Inspired by the cultural shift from VHS to DVD in the late 1990s and the anxiety surrounding Y2K, Hicks weaves a narrative both intimate and fantastical. The exhibition centers on three large, hand-embroidered quilts that vividly recount this story. As her memory gives way to fictionalizing, the artist indulges in her obsession with genre fiction and coincidence. The rest of the show features Hicks’ ongoing series of 8.5 x 11-inch embroidered canvases, which cleverly warp the appearance of composition notebook pages. Other pieces playfully incorporate disclaimers and visualize linguistic trends through Google Ngrams. Finally, crop circle patterns, a UFO poster, and letters of complaint, produced by an automated writing machine, underscore the interplay between human memory and mechanized storytelling.

With a background in book art, Candace Hicks’ work is based on reading fiction. She is the Coordinator of Foundations at Stephen F. Austin State University. She earned a Master of Fine Art degree in Printmaking from Texas Christian University. Her artist’s books are in collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art New York, Bainbridge Museum, Spencer Museum of Art, and many university special collections including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. She has been the recipient of the Kimbrough Grant from the Dallas Museum of Art and the Ise New York Cultural Foundation Grant.

Wayfinding: A Fabricators Guide to Empathy
Brian Daly

January 18 – February 22, 2025

Ivester Contemporary is excited to announce Wayfinding: A Fabricator’s Guide to Empathy, a solo exhibition of new works by Brian Daly. This presentation of twelve drawings marks Daly’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. The artist’s practice transforms the utilitarian language of drafting and schematics into a guidebook for the human condition and understanding others.

Brian writes, “Applying the lens of drafting, as a universal, visual language, and utilizing the time and space therein to meditate on the human condition as it relates to the properties of man-made objects, has shown me that, at the very least I have the capacity to relate to fellow humans when I consider that each, like any tool or machine has a history, a function and limitations that give it character, purpose, and a beauty all it’s own. Some of them even come with warning signs.
Viewed through this lens, the bent nail and the seized bolt are transformed from scrap to storyteller; even that imperfect radius may confidently be viewed no longer as a reminder of one’s shortcomings, but rather as evidence of humanity.
With this perspective in my kit, I am obliged to consider the attributes of others prior to flipping their switches, just as I do with any complex machine. I can scan myself and others for signs of wear or damage and schedule repairs. I can make upgrades as well as perform preventative maintenance. I can even consider the path of any moving part and elect to get out of the way. It’s important to recognize that we all have individual running speeds, maximum sustainable loads, and various attachments. We all have purpose, we all need space, and we all have a story to tell.”

Brian Daly is a Texas-based artist known for his meticulous ink drawings that explore the intersection of drafting, design, and the human experience.

Ivester Contemporary
916 Springdale Rd.
Building 2 #107
Austin, TX 78702
737.209.0379

10am – 5pm, Tuesday – Saturday

ivestercontemporary.com