The San Antonio Art League & Museum (SAALM) offers fabulous exhibits all year round. They’ve got a terrific one on display right now, with more to come throughout the rest of the year. The one on display now will be coming down soon, so let me start by telling you about that one.

Wax and Wildflowers

SAALM has teamed up with IEA (International Encaustic Artists) to bring you ‘Wax and Wildflowers’. This unique, all-encaustic wax exhibit features over fifty pieces by forty artists from across the United States and Canada.

Lyn Belisle, former President of SAALM and Vice President IEA explains:

“In the 1920s there was a call put out from the San Antonio Art League to artists all over the world to paint Texas wildflowers. The event was called The Edgar B. Daris Wildflower Competition and was funded by a wealthy oilman who loved bluebonnets. It was a famous competition that has been written about in many art books. The first prize was $5000, which was unheard of at that time.

“I thought, what if we revived the Wildflower theme for the IEA Juried show and brought it to San Antonio? Wax and Wildflowers? Encaustic artists could interpret it any way they wanted for the juror - as a call for sustainable plantings, as a metaphor for back-to-nature, as a straightforward flower interpretation, as eco-prints with encaustic - the ideas are limitless.

“Fortunately for all of us, both the Art League Board and the IEA Board thought this was a win-win. ‘Wax and Wildflowers’ is the result, the first all-encaustic exhibit in this area. It is both a delight for the eye and an educational experience about how contemporary artists are using the fascinating medium of wax.”

The exhibit in the Members Gallery is available for viewing during regular museum hours. The current exhibit will be on display through September.

One People, Many Paths: The Sacred Art of Altars

Once again, Celebration Circle will present its annual artist-based fundraiser, ‘One People, Many Paths: Sacred Art of Altars’. Now in its 19th year, this is the second consecutive year that it is being hosted by SAALM.

Each year, local artists are invited to share their creativity by participating in the exhibition where 60+ duplicate boxes--each with identical dimensions--are created and distributed. The altars are 10” wide by 20” tall, and each artist turns it into a unique expression of his/her creativity.

Current Members Gallery exhibit

The exhibit debuted at SAALm in early June, and will be on display during regular museum hours until Friday, August 11th. You can take a look at the exhibit catalog here.

Members Gallery Exhibit

In addition to the Wax and Wildflowers exhibit, SAALM has some terrific art on display in its Members Gallery. This exhibit — which changes every 3 or 4 months — showcases the work of SAALM’s artist members. The current exhibit includes work by Elaine Bornemeier, Anita Centeno, Ilna Colemere, Zan Lee DuRoy, Violeta Garza, Sonya Gonzalez, Lisa Nigro, Patricia Ortiz, Mary C Saucedo, José A. Ramirez V., and Melissa Young.

The exhibit will be on display and available for bidding at SAALM during regular museum hours from Friday, September 1st through Saturday, September 16th (online viewing and bidding will also be available here).

There will be a Meet the Artists Opening Reception at SAALM on Friday, September 1 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. And there will be a Closing Reception at SAALM on Saturday, September 16 from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM.

Ramin Samandari: 2023 SAALM Artist of the Year

The San Antonio Art League & Museum presents a one-person exhibit and retrospective by Artist of the Year photographer Ramin Samandari.

Ramin was born in Iran and came to the United States (to Odessa, Texas) in 1978, when he was 17 years old. Although he originally planned to return to Iran a few years later, he stayed -- relocating to San Antonio in 1988 and becoming a US citizen in 1990.

In the early 1990's, Ramin began pursuing his passion -- photography. In the early years, he exhibited at mostly non-traditional venues in San Antonio and Austin. Then came solo exhibitions at the University of Incarnate Word, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Carver Cultural Art Center and the San Antonio Museum of Art. "He has been a stalwart of the San Antonio art scene ever since."

Last year, Ramin was honored by being chosen as the SAALM 2023 Artist of the Year. His work will be on display at SAALM during regular museum hours from Tuesday, September 19 through Saturday, November 4. There will be an opening reception on Sunday September 24 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

SAALM Invitational Exhibit

After the Artist of the Year Exhibit closes in early November, SAALM will showcase the work of three other nominees for 2023 Artist of the Year in its Invitational Exhibit. Those artists are Stefani Spears, Nancy Gerfers, and Richard Morgan.

This exhibit will be on display during regular museum hours from Monday, November 13 through Friday, December 22.

The San Antonio Art League & Museum is located at 130 King William Street. It is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Admission is free.

Jane Gennarelli is co-editor of LNF Weekly. She also edits the Lavaca & Friends weekly arts and entertainment newsletter.