Austin Art Scene: 5 Austin Sculptures Worth Seeing

Austin, Texas, is known as the live music capital of the world, but the Austin art scene is very impressive, too. Between a collection of murals, museums, and sculptures, you’re never far away from seeing something cool. It’s that last piece — Austin sculptures — that we’re looking at today.

Here are 5 Austin sculptures worth seeing and a little bit of the history behind them. Let’s go!

Looking Up

The Contemporary Austin itself is worth checking out, but I’ve always been drawn to the outside area even more. Laguna Gloria is a peaceful stroll around gardens and water, and you’ll come across plenty of interesting stuff along the way.

Something you cannot miss (literally) is “Looking Up,” a sculpture by Tom Friedman. This might be perhaps the tallest of the Austin sculptures, standing at nearly 33 feet high.

Friedman’s original creation was just about 33 inches and lived in London, so this is quite the growth spurt.

Looking Up combines baking tins and steel to create a gentle giant gazing upwards at the sky. Unlike us humans, this fella doesn’t seem to mind staring directly into the sunlight. Such strong eyes!

There are lots of things to do both inside and outside of The Contemporary Austin. In fact, if you take the entire tour around the grounds, you’ll likely spot enough sculptures to fill this whole article. But what’s the fun in that? We’ve got other places to check out.

Where to find: Laguna Gloria, 3809 W 35th St, Austin, TX 78703

GuitarTown Vibrancy

If you wander up and down Congress for long enough, you’ll come across a collection of vibrant guitars. They’re part of an art installation from GuitarTown.

This one, “Vibrancy” by Craig Hein, is my favorite one of the set.

Just look at it! The color scheme is phenomenal, and the backdrop of buildings looks super cool, especially when you’ve got a clear blue sky behind it.

While you sadly can’t shred a killer solo on any of these guitars, they’re absolutely worth checking out to admire.

Where to find: On 4th and Congress, in front of the Frost Bank Tower (401 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701)

Kempelen’s Owls

I stumbled upon these owls by accident. My parents were in town, and we were grabbing lunch at Hestia (which is pretty darn tasty Mediterranean fare, but that’s another story). After we finished, we planned to walk over to the gorgeous central library branch. That route included a stop in front of a pair of peckish owls.

Okay, they’re not really peckish, but their heads and eyes can move. The pair of owls, a design from the New American Public Art Program, is inspired by Wolfgang Von Kempelen’s 18th-century robotics and is super intriguing. A batch of dodecahedrons (12-sided shapes) come together to form these impressive specimens.

Here’s a more detailed look at the inner workings, and below is a pretty cool video. Fun fact: The owls are technically part of the Creative Commons, so if you wanted to recreate one of these behemoths to keep in your home, you can totally do it.

Where to find: 2nd and Nueces, just next to Hestia (607 W 3rd St #105, Austin, TX 78701)

Nessy the Lakeness Dragon

Thinkery is a nonprofit and children’s museum designed to bring joy to the art of learning. That adventure starts before you even enter the building (which is also quite enjoyable).

Dixie Friend Gay made Nessy the Lakeness Dragon from handmade tiles that represent the different colors of the sea. You know, the perfect spot for a lakeness dragon to reside.

This picture is a rarity in that it’s NOT covered with at least one child hopping on or around it. Nessy is very welcoming to all guests, though. And while I wouldn’t particularly recommend trying to climb up her 16-foot head, her 30-foot body is another story. What a majestic creature.

Where to find: 1830 Simond Ave, Austin, TX 78723

Merlin the Magical Sage

This sculpture holds a special place in my heart because one of my dogs is named Merlin, and he is also very wise. For example, he knows exactly when it’s time to go to bed and will attempt to lead me into the bedroom.

This Merlin is a bit more stiff than my boy, but he’s still a wonderful time. David Kestenbaum carved this face as a guardian over Eastwood Park back in 1991. Merlin also serves as a bench, since Kestenbaum wanted to encourage children to read.

And much like my Merlin is the pathway to new adventure (aka dreamland), this Merlin is also a marker for more — if you step off the main path, you’ll find a bridge leading to a few additional nature surprises!

Where to find: 3001 Harris Park Ave, Austin, TX 78705