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Another artist to single out in a collection that tilts to place- making sculpture is Pablo Serrano, an early addition to the University of Houston-Clear Lake campus. The Spaniard's monumental bronze Spiritus Mundi, 1977, was installed the year it was made and numbers among the the artist's most ambitious public commissions. Fittingly for a campus near NASA, "Spiritus Mundi is evocative of both the physical and cosmic sense of space," writes PAUHS director and chief curator Dr. María C. Gaztambide in the catalog On Site: 50 Years of Public Art of the University of Houston System. Collectors, take note: On Site from Scala Arts Publishers releases this month ($60) and surveys the history and significance of works by 42 artists that define the ever- expanding collection. Stepping Out with the Temporary Public Art Program It's Thursday morning before Labor Day, and I received a call that the fitting session for a major piece of UH public art was about to go down — the inaugural sculpture for the university's much anticipated Temporary Public Art Program (TPAP). Usually media missions involve trekking to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Rice University's Moody Center; or The Menil Collection for press previews. This time, however, the action required a jaunt to Spring Branch to an industrial manufacturing facility, Regal Plastics — not the usual fine art endeavor. Realization of this new commission from Frieze- and Art Basel-exhibited Marta Chilindrón — New York-based since the late 1960s, originally from Argentina — involved heroic feats of engineering and impeccable teamwork between fabricators Regal Plastics and Star Precision; art handlers Rootlab; the Mexican chemical company, Chemcast, which made the dual-toned acrylic; and design optimization/project management team Metalab. Metalab principal Joe Meppelink told PaperCity, "Marta's piece, Mobius Houston, is unique as it is a mathematically challenging form — a triple Möbius strip that folds upon itself three times. It also pushed the limits of engineering calculation." For behind-the-scenes of Mobius Houston in process, visit papercitymag.com. (continued from page 110) THE "GO-TO" REALTOR clients return to again and again. Top Producer l Society of Distinction 713.303.3070 brittanyc@johndaugherty.com BRITTANY HANSEN CASSIN