Landmarks, UT Austin's Public Art Program, Unveils Four-Story Glass Piece by Pioneering Black Artist

By CODAzine

1 min read

Apr 28, 2026

Landmarks UT Austin’s public art program, is celebrated the unveiling of a new work by pioneering Black artist Howardena Pindell last week.

Autobiography: Circles is a multistory composition on the glass facade of the College of Education’s George I. Sánchez Building. It depicts a constellation of colorful dots, some of which have arrows or numbers on them. Each contributes to themes of social justice and forward movement — ideas that have been constant in the 83-year-old artist’s career.

The genesis of the circle comes from a trip Pindell took through the Deep South with her father as a child. The pair stopped at a root beer stand where she noticed the bottom of her mug had a red dot.

“She asked her father, ‘What is this?’” Landmarks Deputy Director Kathleen Stimpert said. “He explained to her that that is how dishes were marked for Black customers in the South during that time. It made such an impact on her that she decided when she became an artist to take ownership of the circle and to turn this really negative experience into something beautiful and powerful.”

The dots can be found scattered throughout Pindell’s collages, paintings, prints and now on the glass installation. The numbers on the piece serve a twofold purpose, representing her father — who taught math — and the badges that enslaved people were forced to wear. The arrows symbolize forward motion.

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“This is what she is calling a legacy project, because she's quite older,” Stimpert said. “This is such a monumental work for her because it includes elements of symbols and motifs from across her career all combined into this one project.”