The Artist Behind Austin FC's 100,000-Tile Mural Has a New Show in Georgetown

Quick answer: J Muzacz — the Austin mosaic muralist behind the 100,000-tile "Heartbeat of Austin" mural at McKalla Station and the community-art studio The Mosaic Workshop — has a solo show, "Texture & Time," running through September 6 at the Georgetown Art Center. According to ATX Things, the fastest way in is the free Mosaic Masterclass this Saturday, August 22, where Muzacz teaches the technique himself.

Over 100,000 glass tiles. That's the count on a single Austin mural, and if you've ridden the Red Line to a Q2 Stadium match or walked the eastern platform at McKalla Station, you've stood in front of it. The artist who built it, Austin-based muralist and mosaic maker J Muzacz, has a new solo exhibition open right now in Georgetown — and this Saturday is the one date on the calendar worth planning around.

Who Is J Muzacz, and Why Have You Already Seen His Work?

Muzacz is originally from Houston, a University of Texas sociology graduate who spent the better part of a decade living and painting murals abroad — Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan — before settling in Austin, according to his own artist bio. Since 2018 he's built more than a dozen large-scale mosaics around the city, and he co-founded The Mosaic Workshop with Carmen Rangel, an artist-run studio based in a converted East Austin bungalow that teaches mosaic classes and organizes community-built murals.

His most-seen Austin work is "The Heartbeat of Austin," an 80-foot mosaic that CapMetro unveiled April 6, 2024, on McKalla Station's eastern platform next to Q2 Stadium — a few minutes' walk from where Austin FC hosts its biggest matches. It's made from more than 100,000 glass tiles and took over 500 pounds of grout to set — and more than 200 volunteers, many from Austin FC supporter groups like La Murga de Austin, helped lay the tiles themselves at community workdays. The mural also carries portraits of CapMetro's own frontline staff.

He's got other work scattered across the east side, too: mosaic portraits at Holly Commons (2320 E Cesar Chavez St) honoring blues pianist Roosevelt "Grey Ghost" Williams and Austin Free-Net founder Ana Sisnett, a cyclist diptych at the Travis County courts downtown, and portrait mosaics at the historically Black ballpark Downs Field. Those are part of an ongoing project called The Legends Project — 36 and counting grassroots portrait mosaics of cultural leaders, organized through The Mosaic Workshop. Muzacz also wrote ATX Urban Art, a 700-page, self-published guidebook cataloging 128 Austin street artists and 2,000-plus photos of the city's graffiti, murals, and mosaics going back to 1949.

What Is "Texture & Time"?

Texture & Time" is a new body of work Muzacz calls ARCHETYPES — mirrored mosaic typography built from reclaimed stained glass, vitreous tile, Mexican Talavera, Saltillo ceramic, and Turkish marble, remixing rap lyrics and familiar phrases into wall pieces. In his own exhibition statement, posted on the Georgetown Art Center's site, Muzacz describes it as "an homage to the iconic stenciled paintings that Christopher Wool made 40 years ago," with "reflective mirror typography" that shifts as you move past it — "much like the eyes of a portrait painting following you across the room.

It's a departure from the big public murals: smaller, gallery-scale, and made entirely from salvaged material rather than commissioned for a specific site. The show opened August 7 and runs through September 6 in the Art Center's street-facing main gallery, which rotates artists roughly every six weeks.

What's Actually Worth Planning For This Week

The opening reception (Aug 8) and the artist talk (Aug 9) have already happened — both are past. What's still ahead is the Mosaic Masterclass on Saturday, August 22, a hands-on workshop taught by Muzacz himself, open for registration through the Art Center's own event page. It's the one date on the calendar where you're not just looking at the work — you're doing the thing that made it. Anyone who's watched a McKalla Station workday video and wondered what it's actually like to lay tile gets a real answer in Georgetown this weekend.

Where Else Can You See His Work Without Leaving Austin?

If a drive to Georgetown this week isn't in the cards, most of Muzacz's Austin-based public work is free to see any day, no ticket or reservation required:

• McKalla Station (Capital MetroRail Red Line, next to Q2 Stadium, North Austin) — "The Heartbeat of Austin," the 100,000-tile mural, on the eastern platform.
• Holly Commons, 2320 E Cesar Chavez St — mosaic portraits of Roosevelt "Grey Ghost" Williams and Ana Sisnett.
• Downs Field, 2816 E 12th St — mosaic portraits at the historic ballpark.
• Travis County Courts, downtown — a mosaic diptych of cyclists.

The full map of his and other artists' work is cataloged in his own book, ATX Urban Art, if you want to keep going — or check out what's currently on view at Fair Market or the final stretch of the free Zilker summer musical for two other Culture & Creativity picks running right now.

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"[Reflective mirror typography] creates a playful interactivity amidst the chaos and cacophony of expressive tile backgrounds... etched across time and space." — J Muzacz, exhibition statement, "Texture & Time," Georgetown Art Center

What Locals Should Know

• "Texture & Time" runs through September 6, 2026, at the Georgetown Art Center — free admission, no ticket needed for the exhibit itself.
• The Mosaic Masterclass on Saturday, August 22, is a separate, registration-required event taught by Muzacz — check the Center's own event page for the current time and any fee before going.
• The Art Center is closed Mondays; hours are Tuesday–Saturday 11 AM–6 PM and Sunday 1–5 PM.
• Free parking is available in the public lot at 10th and Main, a short walk from the gallery on the Georgetown square.
• "The Heartbeat of Austin" at McKalla Station is free and viewable any time the Red Line platform is open — no ticket to a Q2 Stadium match required.
• Muzacz's 700-page book, ATX Urban Art, documents Austin street art and mosaics back to 1949 if this piece leaves you wanting the full history.

FAQ

Who is J Muzacz? J Muzacz is an Austin-based muralist and mosaic artist, originally from Houston, who co-founded The Mosaic Workshop, a community mosaic studio in East Austin. He's known locally for large-scale public mosaics including "The Heartbeat of Austin" at McKalla Station.

What is "Texture & Time"? It's Muzacz's solo exhibition of new mosaic work at the Georgetown Art Center, running August 7 through September 6, 2026. The pieces use reclaimed glass, tile, and stone to remix rap lyrics and familiar phrases into mirrored typography.

Is the Georgetown Art Center free? Yes. Admission is free, and there's free public parking at 10th and Main, a few blocks from the gallery.

How far is Georgetown from Austin? About 30 miles north via I-35 — roughly a 35–45 minute drive from downtown depending on traffic.

Where can I see J Muzacz's work in Austin itself? "The Heartbeat of Austin" at McKalla Station (Red Line, next to Q2 Stadium) is the largest and most visible piece — 100,000-plus glass tiles, free to view any time the platform is open. Smaller works are at Holly Commons on East Cesar Chavez, Downs Field, and the Travis County courts downtown.

If you've made it this far without knowing a single local artist's name behind work you walk past constantly, that's kind of the point of this beat — more from ATX Things' Culture & Creativity coverage keeps tabs on who's actually making things in this city, not just performing in it. We'll be watching for the next Legends Project unveiling — follow @austintexasthings for when it lands.