Bolm Arts Collective is excited to celebrate the decades-long career of Jon Eric Narum, a true Austin icon, with “Pareidolia: A One Man Group Show.” In this quietly expansive show, lifelong artist and Austinite Jon Eric Narum presents work from his three creative identities: The Sky Guy, Juan Diego Nerumski, and Hercules da Vinci, each with their own distinct way of seeing and making. What began as a practical way to separate his work has grown into something more personal: a way of embodying different creative impulses through invented personas. These characters now have their own imagined stories, beliefs, and gestures, shaped by Narum’s background in theater and his ongoing interest in how we define ourselves.
First came The Sky Guy, the artist’s persona whom Narum embodies; he employs realism to paint expansive skies full of hidden faces and forms. Juan Diego appeared next, a more reserved and private persona, who explores abstraction through a meditative lens expressed in a vibrant, saturated palette and smooth gradients. The final character, Hercules da Vinci, is perhaps the most eccentric of the bunch. Despite his hulking frame, he hides beneath the floorboards of Narum’s studio. When Narum isn’t looking, Hercules steals his discarded studio rags, turning them into textured, surprising compositions. Despite their differences, each of Narum’s characters is connected by pareidolia, as faces and figures rise from abstraction in a masterful use of color and form.
Narum’s practice reflects on how art can become a kind of performance, not in the sense of pretending, but of stepping fully into different corners of oneself. By giving each style its own voice, history, and even body, Narum doesn’t just allow himself to paint differently; he gives those differences room to breathe, to evolve, to matter. These aren’t just stylistic experiments; they’re lived perspectives, shaped by distinct emotional and creative logics.
“Pareidolia” invites us to consider what becomes possible when we stop asking our work, or ourselves, to be just one thing. Maybe identity in art isn’t something to pin down, but something we expand into when we are open to all aspects of who we are and can be.
About the artist:
Jon Eric Narum was born in 1950 in Austin to artist parents. It was his parents’ love of art that had a profound effect on Narum’s desire for visual self-expression and his eventual pursuit of an art career. Narum acquired his BFA from UT Austin and his MFA from the University of Oklahoma.
From 1988 to 1999 Narum lived in Lawrence, Kansas, where he taught various art classes at the Lawrence Arts Center and performed in local theater troupes. Narum relocated to his birthplace of Austin in the spring of 1999, where he was able to rediscover a direction for his love of painting, the marvelously varied Texas skies.
Over his decades-long career, Narum has shown all over and won numerous prizes, but he doesn’t keep a record of his accolades. For him, the value of his art is not found in institutional recognition or in sales, but in community and personal expression. Narum is a Hopeless Romantic, Child of the 60’s, Certified Perfectionist, Vegetarian, Economic Efficiency Expert, and a true icon in the Austin art scene.
Opening Reception: 09.18.2025 Closing Reception: 10.04.2025 Gallery Hours: Open by appointment – contact bolmartsmarketing@gmail.com
AUGUST 29TH, 6-10pm
Bolm Arts Presents Asian Season ATX! We are very excited to announce our next event collaborating with @bolm_arts to put on Look Mama We Made It!! Curated by our very own @dbunns! He created this show to say thank you to the people he met along the way.
This is a show dedicated to the support systems within our own lives and communities, the ones who listen to use spout crazy ideas, to the haters, the ones we turn to and say "WE DID IT!" Every single person in this show has been a focal point in my growth and I want to show the community the people who really pushed me behind the scenes.
Thank you to our sponsors @bolm_arts and @beerburgevents for supplying the tasty beverages!! Cant wait to see yall there!!
Opening: June 27th, 7-10pm
On view: June 27th - July 25th
Gallery Hours: Saturday & Sundays 12-4 pm, or by appointment
For over two decades, Bolm Art Studios has been more than just an artist haven, it’s been a cradle of creativity and growth where some of Austin’s most beloved artists and organizations first took root. From groundbreaking initiatives to solo artists who now shape the cultural fabric of our city and beyond, Bolm has nurtured generations of bold, boundary-breaking communities. Now, we’re honoring that legacy with a special exhibition showcasing the work of resident artists, both past and present, that have made Bolm an artistic landmark on the Eastside.
'Bolm Grown' An Exhibition Spanning 22 Years!, opens on June 27th in the Bolm Arts Gallery and is on view throughout the month of July. Sat/Sun; 12-4pm, or by appointment.
During the opening, visitors will get early access to register for our month-long series of events and workshops, each one fueling a crucial fundraising campaign to keep Bolm Studios one of the most affordable and accessible places for artists to thrive in our rapidly changing city. Following the opening, registration can be found on our website or through the linktree on our instagram @bolm_arts.
“The Everyman” is a group show curated by Lisa Alley inspired by revelations of the grandiose and the exceptional that permeate life’s subtler moments, with works spanning artistic mediums in celebration of the often overlooked rhythms of the commonplace. The showcase pays homage to the archetypal Everyman, who since the ages of Medieval theater has served to usher in a contemporary and populist vision of the human spirit, forging narratives from the materials of everyday existence as a gateway to something more profound. Grappling with themes of memory, mortality, and legacy, “The Everyman” takes a deeply humanistic view of its cast of working class heroes, unearthing the moments of transcendence undergirding their daily toils and triumphs.
Running May 15th - June 7th, the show will feature work by nine artists across mediums with paintings by a. Savage (of Parquet Courts, a. Savage band), Lisa Alley (of The Well, Mugger, TV’s Daniel), Jenny Lane, Brock Caron, and Sydney Guzman (also on view solo at Ivester Contemporary through May 24th), photography by Pooneh Ghana and Darrin Commerford / Showpony Photography, and ceramics by Hope Hummingbird and Emily No Good (of the band Never).
Opening reception: 05-15-2025
Closing reception: 06-07-2025
Gallery hours (Saturdays 4-8pm or by appointment) contact hellobolmarts@gmail.com or lisadianealley@gmail.com
5305 Bolm Rd Bay 9, Austin, TX 78721
In our rapidly evolving world, fiber artists contend with the contemporary environment through the exploration of material and identity. In the exhibition “Brave New Textiles” Bolm Arts Gallery presents a survey of current fiber art by central Texas artists, inviting the viewer to reflect on themes of naturalism, commercialism, and both, personal and national identity.
Exhibiting Artists:
Izziria “Zee” Ber
Bitter Hag
Valérie Chaussonnet
Jonas Criscoe
Amanda Fay
Devin Gibbons
Steph Granillo
Corinne Loperfido
Autumn Mae
Mary Rochford
Curated by Amanda Fay and Stephanie Mervine
From Afar with Love celebrates the profound contributions of immigrants to America’s cultural landscape, highlighting not only their resilience but the deep love they carry for their home countries.
The exhibition invites viewers to explore the beauty that immigrants bring to this country, both as creators and as individuals, whose stories of migration are rooted in hope, connection, and the dream of a brighter future—for both themselves and the people they leave behind.
Rather than focusing solely on the struggles of immigration, From Afar, with Love shifts the lens to the creativity, innovation, and cultural wealth immigrants contribute to American society.
The exhibition showcases a diverse range of artistic expressions that reflect the journeys of those who have crossed borders—not simply for personal gain,
but often to create opportunities that will support families, communities, and the places they call home. Through their art, these immigrant artists reveal a richness of heritage and a dedication to both preserving and enriching their cultural roots, all while weaving new threads into the vibrant fabric of American culture.
The works on display reflect the beauty, complexity, and strength of these lived experiences, celebrating the intersection of past and present, home and abroad.
This exhibit is sponsored in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department, Texas Beer Co., El Dorado Cafe, The Lost Explorer, Basta, Consulado
General de Mexico en Austin, and other community organizations.
Featured Artists:
Tsz Kam
Valerie Chaussonnet
Ender Martos
Veeny Revilla
Luis Gutierrez
Curated by Bolm Arts in collaboration with Steef Crombach and Julissa Gonzalez.
Music by: El Combo Oscuro and Alex Cosmico