Springbox had the privilege to work with the Visual Arts Center (VAC) at the University of Texas at Austin, developing a new brand identity for the institution. I was on the Springbox team that created the brand identity and recently attended the VAC's grand opening on Friday, October 24th.
The new VAC gallery is located on the southeast corner of the Arts Department. Approaching the gallery, a series of steps takes you up to the entrance. This was the first chance to catch a striking glimpse of the work we created. The front side of every step is painted such that while you look at it from the base, it creates the VAC logo, which we designed.
As you walk in, the gallery opens into a large area where the artist in residence displays their work. The current piece titled ZZZ’s, by the Los Angeles-based artist Ry Rocklen, is a collection of found objects placed around a sequence of tiled carpets, which expands up toward the ceiling. It’s the kind of piece you can immerse yourself in and get a feel from all angles. Ry goes into more detail with VAC Director Jade Walker in explaining the concepts behind the sculpture.
Walking further back on the first floor is an exhibition titled Unveiled, which includes pieces by University of Texas students and alumni. This exhibition's theme centers around transparency, clearly noted by Self-Portrait, a column of neatly folded and stacked t-shirts belonging to the artist Arturo Agüero, reaching around 20 feet high and ordered in a sequence that flows through an entire color spectrum. Upstairs another group exhibition titled Deconstruct and Reconstruction included several visiting artists’ pieces, including sculpture, video installations and paintings.
The gallery as a whole is a large space with many large areas designed to give the pieces the breadth and attention they deserve, allow visitors to immerse themselves in the work, and, most exciting for me, our branding work is presented throughout the space on all types of media. I won’t lie when I say it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside to know that we were a part of this new and exciting space for intersecting ideas in art.