A full service art station in Marfa, TX

SANDY’S 7 TO 11 is a group exhibition of painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, video and film created by artists primarily based in the small west Texas town of Marfa, and curated by Taylor Livingston. The exhibition opens September 21st and runs through October. Sandy’s is a former gas pump station and country store situated off one of the two main highways that intersect Marfa. There is a nostalgia in the community for Sandy’s heyday of hot dogs, twenty-five cent tea, Frito pies and the coldest beer in town. In its current unused state, it also represents the evolution and transformation that occurs in small towns with the passing of time. By converging on a vacant and inaccessible space, the show emphasizes the spontaneous and often temporary nature of art installations.

This exhibition embodies the diverse and raw creative energies that exist within the city of Marfa’s 1.6 square miles. The show aims to draw focus to a community of artists who are either beginning to explore their practice or may be deeper into their artistic narrative but are not broadly represented in the commercial world of contemporary art.

The exhibition creates an immersive reinterpretation of space and its purpose while leaving its unique functional aesthetic relatively unaltered. There are two main approaches within this structure: one in which the artists integrates their work into the environment (for example, showcasing artworks in display refrigerators), and one in which the artists intervene actively with the site in order to distort and question intention — there will be scheduled sound, video, and performance artist happenings throughout its month long duration. 

Participating artists include: Gabriela Carballo, Starr Child, Erika Diehl, Anthony DeSimone, Marie Ely, Ariele Gentiles, Jerik Gilly, Nalu Gruschkus, Jennie Lyn Hamilton, Darby Rose Hillman, Moritz Landgrebe, Cory W. Lovell, Wayne Peacock, Ryan Penland, Neck Press, Emma Rogers, Jerram Rojo, Sam Schonzeit, Katie Smither, Tyler Spurgin, Unincorporated, Lesley Brown Villarreal, Lizzy Wetzel, Emma Whelan and others.

TAYLOR LIVINGSTON is a Texas native and the former Director of the Dennis Hopper Art Trust who has collaborated with internationally renowned artists, galleries, institutions and brands to bring multi-faceted art endeavors to fruition since 2008. Livingston currently lives and works in Marfa, Texas, where she participates in community centered public programs.

SANDY’S 7 to 11 exhibition has been made possible through support of the Marfa community, Tim Crowley and the City of Marfa Tourist Information and Convention Center.