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OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. 22 N o luxury house understands saturated color quite like Hermès. That's why the French fashion brand's latest product will be as coveted as a Birkin bag — at a much more accessible price point. After 183 years, Hermès introduces a new mètier: La Beauté Hermès. Yes, one lipstick, in 24 hues, with its own accessories (lip- care balm, Poppy lip shine, universal lip pencil, and a lip brush). And this took a French village: Bali Barret, artistic director of Women's Universe; Pierre Hardy, creative director of shoes, fine jewelry, and Haute Bijouterie, and designer of beauty objects; and Jérôme Touron, creative director of beauty. The architectural, vividly lacquered, brushed and polished metal refillable case closes with a satisfying magnetic click, and is finished off with the old- world Hermès Ex-Libris seal engraved on the cap. The lipsticks come in two finishes: an ultra-pigmented matte finish inspired by the trademark Doblis leather and a satin finish reminiscent of Box leather. The 24 perfectly pigmented shades have evocative names, three of which are emblematic of the house: Rogue Casaque, Orange Boîte, and Rouge H. This initial offering from La Beauté Hermès hits beauty counters Wednesday, March 4. La Beauté Hermès lipstick $68, refills $42, at the Hermès boutique, hermes.com. Anne Lee Phillips XOXO, HERMÈS P hoto Flourish: T h i s m o n t h , Houston becomes the epicenter of the international p h o t o g r a p h y world as FotoFest 2020 unveils (March 8 – April 19). See our preview of "African Cosmologies" on page 28 and at papercitymag.com. Meanwhile, three must-see shows in the galleries follow. At Barbara Davis Gallery, Spanish-born Miguel Soler-Roig returns to town with his ongoing series about the road less traveled. In his lens are southern Ethiopia and its surrounding Omo River Valley, a terrain and its people considered the cradle of civilization, and a region that has avoided colonization. Word's out that Soler-Roig will reconstruct a village in the gallery, forging an installation that melds documentation with a lyrical view of the semi-nomadic people who inhabit these mythic lands and their endless savannahs (March 6 – April 3) … Closer to home, Fluxus conjoins with photography at Heidi Vaughan Fine Art with the work of Houston-based Hillerbrand + Magsamen (UH assistant professor Stephan Hillerbrand and his wife, Aurora Picture Show curator Mary Magsamen). The couple's subjects are their own domestic family life, including cameos of their children, Emmett and Maddie. Watch for strangely compelling mash-ups of photography and sculpture, ART NOTES as well as a new volume, 147 Devices for Integrated Principles ($50 to $250) that celebrates two of Texas' most original talents (through March 29; book signing Saturday, March 21, 1 pm) … The great Jonas Mekas is showcased in a posthumous tribute exhibition at long- time dealer Deborah Colton Gallery. The founder of Anthology Films in Manhattan, Mekas back in the day palled around with — and documented with his own innocent eye — Warhol and Factory fave Baby Jane Holzer, as well as Jackie O, John and Yoko, Salvador Dalí, and photog Robert Frank. Watch for a poignant screening of Mekas' WTC Haikus, a short culled from footage of the World Trade Center observed from the artist's time in SoHo spanning 1975 to 1995. The DCG exhibition is the first for the two-time Venice Biennale artist since his passing in 2019 at the age of 96 (March 14 – April 11). Applause and Accolades: Art League Houston's Texas Artist of the Year 2020 goes to the first MacArthur genius award recipient to ever garner that title: Project Row House co-founder Rick Lowe. Stay tuned for a time-travel story online, where we reprise our profile on Lowe that appeared in the June 2001 issue of PaperCity Houston. Paired with Lowe are Lifetime Achievement honoree Celia Álvarez Muñoz, the Arlington-based artist whose photo-based practice devoted to social justice and border issues remains intensely relevant. The octogenarian, in the collection of the MFAH, was last shown in Houston at a 2012 group exhibition at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art and nationally in the 1991 Whitney Biennial. Lowe and Muñoz will be celebrated with September exhibitions and a gala night October 16 at the Hotel ZaZa, along with the tightly guarded Patron of the Year, to be announced this month. Stay tuned. Catherine D. Anspon From top: Hillerbrand + Magsamen's A Device to Accept Your Imperfections, 2020, at Heidi Vaughan Fine Art. Jonas Mekas' Andy Warhol, 1971, 2013, at Deborah Colton Gallery. COURTESY THE ARTIST'S ESTATE AND DEBORAH COLTON GALLERY