Link & Pin presents

Ruth Lauer | Get Wet!

April 23 – May 17

Opening Reception: Saturday, February 21, 5-7

Artist Talk: Sunday, March 8, 2pm

Get Wet! is a celebration of Austin’s community swimming pools featuring paintings, sketches and photographs by Ruth Lauer.

Lauer’s vibrant paintings capture the playfulness and shared rituals of summers spent at Austin’s community swimming pools. Her work evokes shimmering, sunlit moments that feel suspended in time. With a keen eye for color and composition, she depicts the shifting hues of water and the joyful chaos of public spaces.

After spending time sketching at local pools, Lauer became drawn to the dynamics of different people enjoying themselves in a public place. She began to consider the role of swimming pools in bringing together different members of the community. How do they create common ground? Are we friendlier or happier near water or in our swimsuits? Why are we generally happy to start conversations with strangers, or make room in the lap lane for kids doing “the swim test” or another lap swimmer? Does the water inspire civility and joy? Somehow, we manage to get along and follow the rules in a cooperative way.

Whatever the answers to these questions, this exhibition asserts that there is no better way to survive Austin’s summers than by visiting a local pool. Cool off, get exercise, enjoy your friends and family, and be part of the community. Jump in! Get wet!

Ruth Lauer is an Austin-based painter. She studied at the Minneapolis School of Art and Design and lived for 10 years in Europe before moving to Austin, Texas in 1991.

Picture Credit: Ruth Lauer, Father's Day