Longtime Austin resident and interdisciplinary artist Heyd Fontenot returns to Texas after a lengthy artist’s residency on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada, bringing with him a collection of freshly minted drawings and large scale paintings never before exhibited in Austin. In fact, Fontenot’s last solo exhibition in the city was in 2009.
Fontenot’s stylized nude portraits are prized for their beautiful draftsmanship and unexpected humor and his artwork focusing on the human figure has been widely exhibited for more than 20 years.
Within the sex-saturated psyche of American culture, the artist combats both religious dogma and conservative hypocrisy to celebrate humanity in all of its lovely imperfection.These paintings and drawings present a political argument in favor of bodily autonomy as the artist lays claim to territory for queerness.
With “I C U”, Fontenot continues to explore the human form in addition to experimenting with immersive installation. While the artist was based in Austin from 1989-2011 he contributed to the local arts scene as a muralist, a designer for theater and film, an experimental filmmaker and music video director and of course as a visual artist.
“I C U” runs from February 10-26 with an opening from 7-10 on February 10 at Cloud Tree Gallery 3411 E. 5th St.
Heyd Fontenot is a Texas-based multidisciplinary artist and curator whose career has included roles in advertising, theater, television, film and digital media, as a graphic artist, set designer, art director and producer. He has held positions as Director of CentralTrak (2011-2016), UTDallas' international artists' residency program and exhibition space, and was recently appointed as Director of the San Antonio non-profit art space Sala Diaz where he was previously a Casa Chuck resident artist (2019). Widely known for his figurative paintings and drawings, Fontenot recruits his friends and artistic peers as models and has in this process created a comprehensive portrait of his community over the last two decades. Fontenot has been awarded the Dozier Travel Grant through the Dallas Museum of Art, the Mastermind Award from the Dallas Observer, been named as one of 100 Dallas Creatives, and while directing the gallery at CentralTrak it was named “best art space” by both DMagazine and the Dallas Observer and top ten galleries by Glasstire and Culturemap. Fontenot has exhibited his experimental films at festivals nationally and internationally. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions in Texas and the United States, including exhibitions at Galveston Art Center (2021), Mountain View College, Dallas, TX (2014); Beige, Memphis, TN (2013); Allegheny College, Meadville, PA (2012); Inman Gallery, Houston, TX (2011); Rollins College, Winter Park, FL (2011) and the University of Maryland, College Park, FL (2010). Fontenot co-hosts a regular podcast with Erin Stafford called “Artists Talk Movies” available on Apple Podcasts. As a working artist, Fontenot has participated in multiple residencies and is an active exhibiting artist represented by Conduit Gallery in Dallas. This is Fontenot’s first solo exhibition with CloudTree.