BUSINESS FEATURE Austin Art Garage Gallery spotlights aordable, local works W hen Austin Art Garage co-founder Jake Bryer moved into an apartment
BY GLORIE MARTINEZ
can show their work and sell it for a reasonable price, and people that don’t have a million dollars can sup- port local artists and buy something more aordable?” As the pair talked, the idea for Austin Art Garage came into focus. Bryer, a former advertising executive who said he left the eld due to its drain on his creativity, imagined a down-to-earth space that would contain a colorful, thriving art hub. When he and Ganucheau found an old lumberyard down a dirt drive o South Lamar Boulevard, Bryer thought it was perfect. “I love the unassuming experi- ence,” Bryer said. “The idea of walk- ing down a dirt road, and nding an art gallery.” Since 2007, Austin Art Garage has brought emerging artists into the spotlight. The gallery features over 200 original artworks made by a rota- tion of about 100 local artists. Prints and original paintings are available in store and online, and they can be shipped all over the country. Bryer and Ganucheau each have a wall inside Austin Art Garage show- casing their artwork. Ganucheau still paints, while Bryer makes mostly composite photography and digital mixed media pieces. While some artists have turned to selling art on social media, Bryer said the studio still has value. “It’s not going to be the one thing that does it all for an artist, but it can be a signicant catalyst for them,” Bryer said. “It gives them a lot of exposure.”
with his girlfriend Michelle 16 years ago, they were in desperate need of living room art: the pair only owned one painting—a gift from Michelle’s former boyfriend. Bryer told Michelle he did not want to keep looking at the painting. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if we saved up some money and bought a painting for our new place?’,” Bryer said. “I got excited. I was like, ‘We’re going to go to all the galleries; we’re going to look at everything.’” Bryer and his now-wife saved up $600, but found nothing the couple could aord at local galleries. “A lot of the galleries didn’t have prices on the art,” Bryer said. “This could be $10, it could be $1,000 … If you have to ask, then you can’t aord it.” As they searched, Bryer thought about his longtime friend and artist Joel Ganucheau. When the two attended Texas State University together, Ganucheau worked out of a humble garage studio, but Bryer found his work better than many paintings in the galleries. Bryer called his friend and asked if he had ever shown his work in a gallery. Ganucheau had not. Bryer realized that few of the talented art- ists he’d known over the years ever displayed their work in galleries. “I thought, ‘Why isn’t there a place for emerging artists in Austin?’” Bryer recalled. “A place where artists
Austin Art Garage is located down an “unassuming” dirt road o South Lamar Boulevard.
PHOTOS BY GLORIE MARTINEZCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
AUSTIN ART GARAGE FEATURES
Over 200 original artworks 80% of inventory under $500
Three showrooms
100 local artists on rotation
Jake Bryer is the co-founder of Austin Art Garage.
Austin Art Garage features local, emerging artists with most pieces selling for less than $500.
Austin Art Garage 2200 S. Lamar Blvd., Unit J, Austin 512-351-5934 www.austinartgarage.com Hours: Tue. appointment only,
Wed.-Fri. noon-6 p.m., Sat.-Sun. noon-5 p.m. Mon. closed
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SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION • JUNE 2022
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