TJ Lemanski
Sculptor
TJ Lemanski is a sculptor who has lived in North Loop since the summer of 2011, and the work of his I keep thinking about stands on the hike-and-bike trail at Holly Fishing Pier. Cenotaphs is five concrete columns. Each one was cast around a dead limb gathered from the trail and the Lower Colorado River watershed, then the wood was burned out, so what stays is the shape of the branch and the char where it was. It is part of TEMPO on the Trail, which The Trail Conservancy runs with the city’s Art in Public Places program, installed this spring with work by eight other artists and up for a year. The series goes back to the fall of 2020: Cenotaph 3 is a permanent piece at Co-Lab Projects, and Cenotaph 5 showed last fall at ICOSA Collective in YEAR ZERO, a two-person show with Seth Relentless. He trained as a printmaker, with a BFA from Northern Illinois University, and his other ongoing series collects pieces of Austin buildings as they come down.
TJ answered in writing in August, and revised his last answer in September. The answers are his, copy-edited for punctuation and nothing else, and every other change in them is one he asked for himself. The captions under the photographs are his description of the work.
What do you make or do, in plain words?
I work primarily in sculpture, making artwork out of found and discarded things, like bricks from demolished buildings (fairly common in our fair city) or fallen tree branches. I suppose my art practice is a little like a type of archiving.
How did you land in Austin, and why did you stay?
I have been in Texas, and Austin specifically, since that historically hot summer of 2011. I had just gone through a significant break-up and was living in the Midwest where I was born and raised. Some new friends, who helped me out significantly at that time, were from Austin, and they recommended that I check it out for a reset. And I’ve been here ever since.
What is the thing you have made or done here that you are proudest of?
I have had a lot of great art experiences here in Austin and the community is tight-knit and supportive, but I think I’m most proud of my TEMPO Art on the Trail installation, Cenotaphs. It was a big step forward for me in my art practice to be able to work at that scale.
What is one opinion you hold about Austin that most people here would argue with?
The Texas Capitol and grounds are actually very pretty, if you can separate them from all the malicious intent occurring inside its hallowed halls. Hard to do, I know.
Where do you actually eat, drink, or hang out? Name real places.
I have lived in North Loop my whole time in Austin so I am partial to that neighborhood. The North Loop strip feels like it is holding on to an old spirit of the city. Workhorse is a real neighborhood bar with no-frills good food and a mainstay for me. Epoch Coffee on North Loop is open 24 hrs and a daily stop; I get the quarter Mojo. I am also always at We Luv Video where I have volunteered since it opened. Austin still has a video rental store, yall! And don’t sleep on the Gin n Jam classic cocktail at Tigress. Outside of North Loop though, I would say: Ego’s for karaoke and a wild time every time, night swim at Barton Springs because it is revitalizing and life-affirming, and lunch at Casa de Luz for the same reasons as Barton Springs.
What would you tell someone who moved here last week?
You moved here last week? Well, welcome to the second half of Austin’s six months of summer. Find a neighborhood pool or body of water immediately.
What are you working on next?
I am part of the ICOSA art collective on the eastside, and our gallery hosts an open call group show every Austin Studio Tour. This year our guest curator is Dennis Nance, Curator at the Galveston Art Center, who is very beloved by all who have met him. It’s always a good show and I’m excited to see what Dennis cooks. The application is open now until October 1st! ICOSA also has a show this December in Dallas at an old ice cream factory, which I’m still wrapping my head around. Personally, I am working on a few more Cenotaphs right now and learning a little bit more each time, from the process and from the trees.
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