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OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. Art NOTES By Catherine D. Anspon M arch Madness: Besides the riches of FotoFest (see page 82), a fabulous fivesome ignites this month's art acquisitions. The Sultan: In his first Houston show in a decade, Donald Sultan, a titan of painting and drawing, returns in a much-anticipated solo at McClain Gallery. One of the hallmarks of Sultan's practice is an abstracted, intense investigation of nature — in this show, the Zen-like aesthetics of the mimosa plant from the artist's travels to the French Riviera (March 16 – April 27). Dorothy to Disney: At David Shelton Gallery, San Antonio's queen of collage, Kelly O'Connor, headlines in "Deepfake." O'Connor's pop and op images are sourced from The Wizard of Oz, vintage Palm Springs pics, and Walt's kingdom of Disney; behind the happy facades, the conceptually loaded work leaves it to the viewer to mine messages (March 8 – April 27). Museum Must-Sees: Bask in the color-soaked palette of the Fauves in an exhibition co- organized by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Vertigo of Color: Matisse, Derain, and the Origins of Fauvism" travels to Houston after its Manhattan debut, curated at the MFAH by the museum's Ann Dumas. Focusing on Fauve pioneers Matisse and his junior, Derain, and the seminal summer of 1905 in the South of France, the exhibition underscores the short-lived movement's breakthroughs. As The New York Times critic Roberta Smith quotes Matisse: "'Fauve painting is not everything,'" he said, "'but it is the foundation of everything.'" (through May 27) … At The Menil Collection, rediscover American artist Janet Sobel, an ab-ex painter of the mid-century now known to have forged "all-over" (aka drip) painting before Pollock. In fact, Pollock was influenced by Sobel's solo shows at NYC's Puma Gallery in 1944 and Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century gallery in 1946. The Menil's show for Sobel aligns with the museum's emphasis on reclaiming female artists for art history and is curated by the Menil's Natalie Dupêcher, with support of the Sobel family (through August 11). The Immortal Daniel Johnston: A beloved cult figure, Whitney Biennial-exhibited Daniel Johnston is presented in dual exhibitions by Deborah Colton Gallery that promise the most comprehensive look ever at the brilliant comics of the late outsider artist/singer/songwriter whose artwork was an outlet for his depression. Catch "Daniel Johnston: I am a Baby in My Universe," an intro to his major characters, a t D e b o r a h Colton Gallery's original location (2445 North Boulevard, through March 16). Simultaneously, the gallery's new annex (2442 Bartlett, Building B) digs deep into the artist's ever-present signature avians in "Daniel Johnston: Duck Wars" (through April 27). Catherine D. Anspon Left: Daniel Johnston's Have You Seen the Horrible Side of Life, 2010, at Deborah Colton Gallery. Above: André Derain's Woman with a Shawl, Madame Matisse in a Kimono, 1905, at MFAH. COURTESY NEVILL KEATING PICTURES, LONDON. © 2023 ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK / ADAGP, PARIS. RIVER OAKS | 3630 WILLOWICK 5-6 BR | 7.4 BA | PRICE UPON REQUEST RACHEL SOLAR REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® 713.416.1600 713.416.1600 Rachel.Solar@sir.com Rachel.Solar@sir.com 24