Plan a road trip around the Lone Star State’s eclectic, exciting, and strange collection of art.
8 Out-There Art Destinations in Texas

You’ve likely heard the phrase, “Keep Austin Weird”—a rallying cry and motto for a town whose culture has been shaped by artists and musicians for decades. The Cathedral of Junk, an installation made from 60 tons of discarded riff raff and flim-flam, seems to be a response to this assignment. You’ll find it in Vince Hannemann’s South Austin backyard, an unassuming location for such a striking piece of art. Hannemann began the project in 1989 by collecting junk for a number of years until his plan was so well-known by other locals that junk gifts began appearing in his yard. The result of Hanneman’s 30-plus years of work is a living sculpture, built from unrelated but somehow cohesive objects, that continues to grow and evolve with each year. 

Depending on your perspectives on outsider art, garbage, and religion, visiting this backyard gem might feel like worshiping at the church of stuff, or simply checking out an amazing example of what someone has done in their spare time. The structure is indeed shaped like a cathedral of sorts: when you enter, be sure to look through the spires of one man’s trash to see the treasures above you in the sky. 

Who says that a shopping mall can’t be an art gallery? In San Antonio, the North Star Mall is now home to a record-setting pair of boots that reach to 40 feet tall. These boots were made by Bob “Daddy-O” Wade, who began their construction in 1979 after a commission from an arts nonprofit in Washington, DC. After hanging out in the capitol for a mere six months, the boots took a ride on a pair of flatbed trucks down to San Antonio, where they have rested ever since. They’re made from fiberglass and concrete, which from far away makes them seem to be hewn from snakeskin. 

If you see these VW bugs nose-down in the desert ground, at such perfectly calibrated angles, you might think them to be attempting some strange automotive version of synchronized swimming—as if five graffiti-covered, rusted-out cars were attempting one last shot at glory. This installation is a little less logical than that, though no less mysterious. A few miles away from the Cadillac Ranch, which features a row of Cadillacs in the same position, this lesser-known art piece also has lesser-known origins. But it’s an amazing sight to behold. And if you’re feeling a creative urge, you may want to bring a can of spray paint with you: while adding to the collage on the cars isn’t explicitly encouraged, it seems to be part of the idea. Don’t be afraid to add to the mystery.

Marfa, with its treasure map of art galleries and infamous faux Prada store, is one of the state’s best off-the-beaten-path art destinations: after minimalist artist Donald Judd set up shop here in the ‘70s, it became a haven for out-there art and artists. One of the town’s quirkiest shops is The Wrong Store. Part store and part gallery, the Wrong Store was opened by Camp Bosworth and Buck Johnson, an artist couple in town, and originally inhabited an old church; they have since moved into a former newspaper office, where they offer rotating shows of local artists’ work and objects d’art like Bosworth’s wooden ketchup packets, jewelry, and trippy wall hangings. 

Coincidentally, Bosworth has also sold his work out of the Webb Gallery in Waxahachie, where Bruce and Julie Webb have been collecting folk and outsider art for decades. They host a handful of exhibits a year, and also offer a selection of art for sale acquired from the couple’s extensive relationships with folk and outsider artists of the American South and beyond. You’ll find everything from zines to vintage circus advertisements here. Be sure to plan your visit in advance, because the gallery is often open by appointment only.

Just east of Houston lies Baytown, a city on the Galveston Bay. And hidden inside its downtown Arts District is an alley where it seems that gravity has paused—or, perhaps, a hundred visible hands are holding up a hundred umbrellas of different colors. Walking beneath them is a magical experience, augmented by the richly colored murals that line the alley’s interior walls. The murals were painted by the art department of nearby Lee College, and depict landscapes, wildlife, and even a map of Texas—just in case you forgot where you are.

Watching an artist blow glass can feel like experiencing alchemy: what begins as a hot molten glob becomes a beautiful lamp, or vase, or sculpture, with wavy colors and wild shapes. Such is the captivating experience at Wimberley Glassworks, one of the state’s premiere glass-blowing destinations. Founded by glassblower Tim De Jong, Wimberley offers classes and demonstrations as well as a shop where you can find vases, drinkware, lighting, jewelry, and more.

Artist James Turrell is known for his otherworldly light installations that glow with beautiful neon colors that shift as the visitor walks through them. Mounted atop a small, sculpted hill on the Rice University campus is his Twilight Epiphany Skyspace, a square panel glowing with light that looks like a spaceship whose walls have come tumbling down. Designed to host musical performances, it is open to the public; every day of the week aside from Tuesdays, a light sequence is projected onto the ceiling at dawn and dusk, framing the changing sky.