Austė

, 1998
Oil and acrylic on canvas
28 x 25 inches

, 1983
Acrylic on canvas
40 x 66 1/2 inches

, 1979
Tempera and graphite on paper
51 x 71 inches

, 1985
Oil and acrylic on canvas
27 x 23 inches

Under a Moorish Arch she stands,
Holding a Saphyre in her hand,
In the Shadow
Her hand casts,
Squirrels
Shuffle Leaves like Cards.

The ferret, the Weasel,
Spit lizards and fieldmice on Thorns
through still beating Hearts
Her beige dress is torn from a Run!
With Hooligans,
In purlieus.

excerpt from 

, Austė, 1984


Lomex is pleased to present a survey of works by the artist Austė (b. 1950), many of which are shown for the very first time.



is an overview of the artist’s cross-disciplinary practice spanning nearly forty years. It traces Austė’s unique aesthetic that fuses elements of Lithuanian folkloric art, Punk, No Wave, and European Surrealism, while charting her history as a stalwart presence in the East Village and Downtown art scenes.

Born in Detroit, the child of Lithuanian refugees, Austė’s memories of her childhood fairy tales informed her work as a performer (under the header Cococello Club), her variegated literary productions, and her wildly expressive paintings and works on paper.

Upon moving to New York from Chicago in 1979, Austė’s images cascaded across the landscape of the city. Initially exhibiting with the Hamilton Gallery, she performed in spaces as varied as 8 BC, Palladium, and Pyramid Club. She went on to show in numerous venues, including Ronald Feldman Gallery, PS1, Artists Space, 56 Bleecker, and more recently with Mitchell Algus Gallery (2009), and Greenspon (2016). Her work expanded outside the confines of these spaces: in 1986 she was invited by Simon Doonan to create a suite of massive tableaux occupying the windows at Barneys New York; and in 1988 designed sets for the theatrical production 

 directed by Taylor Mead.

Austė’s visual output speaks to the overlooked roots of Punk and New Wave aesthetics in divergent strains of European modernism, in Expressionist painting, and in Surrealist landscape. Representing decades of artistic production, the works today appear fiercely new.



with special thanks to Amy Greenspon and Fayette Hickox.