Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1366498
L ate last year, Houston Art Alliance tipped us off to an Instagram discovery, @inanimatenature, a talent who crossed their radar for his plant-propagation event at Project Row Houses two autumns ago. In February, we encountered Preston DISCOVERY: PLANT MAN WHY PRESTON GAINES LEFT A STEADY GIG AT ONE OF HOUSTON'S MOST ELEVATED ARCHITECTURE FIRMS TO CREATE A BIOPHILIAN WORLD OF PLANTS AND FURNITURE Gaines at Collect It For the Culture III at GreenStreet downtown. At the former Forever 21 store occupying Midway's retail destination, Gaines — a late edition to C4CIII — was one of the pop-up exhibition's most memorable talents. His installation melded handmade, sustainable, packable furniture with vintage '70s upholstery, paired with tropical plants. It transformed the 23,000-square-foot interiors of the former big-box brand into airy biophilian vignettes, around which spun paintings and sculpture. Now Gaines steps into an even more prominent role — and his first museum COMING TO CAMH BY CATHERINE D. ANSPON. ART DIRECTION MICHELLE AVIÑA. PHOTOGRAPHY GERARDO VELASQUEZ. Preston Gaines 86