'The Specter of Nature' at Spacetaker's ARC Gallery

Well it looks like I'll be having an exhibition in January at Spacetaker's ARC Gallery. I'm excited to present my images to a Houston-based audience. I haven't seen the space yet, but I look forward to viewing it and re-arranging the work to consist of something a little different than my thesis show, perhaps to include some 'sketches' of imagery before the development of my final work.

A little bit about Spacetaker:

Spacetaker is a 501(c)3 professional organization and Artist Resource Center located in Houston’s First Ward whose mission is to provide artists and non-profits access to economic development, continuing education, and networking opportunities to support their professional growth.

If you're an artist or business, you can build a profile on Spacetaker.org for free and may upgrade your membership to include additional perks such as multiple portfolios, artist opportunities, etc.. and it's for a good cause. Keeping the arts alive in Texas.

The show info. is still tentative:

Exhibition to run from January 1-29.
Reception on January 8, 2011 from 5-7pm.

ARC Gallery:
Location: Studio B11 of Winter Street Studios, 2101 Winter Street, Houston, TX 77007
Gallery Hours: Wed - Fri from 11am - 6pm or by appointment. Call 713.868.1839

I'll definitely keep you updated on changes.

Ball Nogues Studio: Feathered Edge

installation view of ‘feathered edge: a new installation by ball-nogues studio’ at MOCA pacific design center, 2009, photo by brian forrest

In response to yesterday's post on Gabriel Dawe's Plexus No. 4, my friend Kaylen Rose sent me this blog post from Design Boom under the e-mail title 'blogs n strings'. An interesting comparison, looks like Ball Nogues Studio's Feathered Edge would offer a different and more airy experience.

Gabriel Dawe at Dallas Contemporary

Plexus No. 4 by Gabriel Dawe

Gabriel Dawe's installation Plexus No. 4 at the Dallas Contemporary has been extended to January 23. One of the more impressive installation exhibits I've visited in the past few years. Gabriel's work with colored string seems to play with our visual perception through the interaction of the colors and the complex construction that moves between varying fields of depth. One exhibit that truly shouldn't be missed.

Dallas Contemporary
161 Glass Street
Dallas, Texas 75207

Gary Schott

eskimo kisser #5 by Gary Schott

I quite like Gary Schott's mechanical playthings. There's a bit of nostalgic whimsy in them, and they make me smile. A couple of his pieces are currently on view in the CraftTexas 2010 exhibit at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, up until Dec. 30. View Gary's portfolio here.

David Sullivan at Lawndale

image from David Sullivan's site

I visited Lawndale Art Center this weekend and one artist that caught my eye was David Sullivan. Sullivan's Fugitive Emissions installation includes three looping videos that explore the relationship between biological matter and the petro-chemical process. The imagery, constantly shifting in focus and forms, offers a visual approach that reflects the amalgamation of chemical sciences with living biology. The animations, created while Sullivan was at A Studio in the Woods, enter an already expansive discourse exploring the post-modern reality of the seen and unseen; questioning how, as a culture, progress and its impact on our very lifestyle can so easily depend on abominations of nature. Fugitive Emissions highlights the complex but not unfamiliar issues surrounding human intervention, through the framework of science, with our natural environment.

Off-Topic: Corpse Flower 'Lois' @ HMNS

Visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science yesterday to view the Corpse Flower 'Lois' who has been getting a surprising amount of buzz around Houston. While we didn't get to see the flower in bloom yet, we did get the opportunity to visit the Cockrell Butterfly Center and I had a fun time with my camera phone. This would be a great place for any new photographer to get some practice with an exotic subject such as the plants and butterflies available here, and the lighting changes throughout the day.

For all you Houstonians, if you would like free tickets into the Cockrell Butterfly Center, you can visit Foursquare.com for a 1st time 'checkin' redemption code for 1 free ticket.

Natalia Almada

While reviewing alums of the Whitney ISP Program, I came across information on Natalia Almada whose work chronicles various family stories along side a contemporary history of Mexican culture. I would love to see her short documentary 'All Water Has a Perfect Memory' about the death of her two year old sister as a child.

You may also find more information on her work at Women Make Movies, with information available about purchase and rental of her films.