In our latest gallery rotation, women are more than muse! Claire Howard, Associate Curator, Collections and Exhibitions, admires a new acquisition by artist Joey Fauerso, a self-portrait titled "The Waiting Room" that joins an expansive range of representations of women created by contemporary artists, many of whom are women themselves. In this painting, Fauerso situates herself in a doctor's waiting room: "I've spent a lot of time in medical waiting rooms, which have really depressing stand-ins for art; supposedly inspirational things that are actually not inspirational at all. So I wanted to make a waiting room that would really speak to that sense of dreaming and visioning—things that I love and feel empowered by." This work is in stark contrast to the Western tradition of male artists depicting a seductive female nude on a couch. Fauerso's reclining nude remains an active dreamer and universe builder. On view now in "More Than a Muse: Representing Women in Contemporary Art." #BlantonMuseum #WomenInTheArts #ArtInAustin #ATXMuseums #TexasMuseums #JoeyFauerso