Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1525828
REMEMBERING ANYA TISH As our July/August issue went to press, word arrived that Houston gallerist Anya Tish had passed away in her hometown of Kraków, Poland, while on holiday. PaperCity dedicates this month's Art Notes column to her. Tish was a maverick art dealer with a conceptual, challenging program that also highlighted optimistic abstraction. She was always a risk-taker, one of the first Texas dealers to showcase artists working in new technology — Swiss multimedia artist Katja Loher, Houston-based lady of luminescence Adela Andea — as well as a staunch champion of talents who defied easy categorization. The great obsessive H.J. Bott comes to mind, with his exacting DoV principle, as well as Neva Mikulicz of the meticulous, cheeky-retro drawings and Suzette Mouchaty's Pop yet scientific sea- slug sculptures. Known for her unerring eye OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. in hanging shows, adventuresome aesthetic, and ability to identify important artists early on, she was the first to exhibit Core Fellow Gabriel Martinez's repurposed post-Harvey textile paintings, Moroccan photographer Lalla Essaydi's calligraphy-imprinted images, Chinese-born Gao Hang's smart, Pop-tinged canvases, and, most recently, the politically charged "The 'I' in Immigration" series by Houston painter Tatiana Escallón, a Colombian immigrant. Tish, who opened her gallery in 1996, was among the seminal art dealers who built the Houston art scene as we know it over the course of three decades. F i e r c e l y i n d e p e n d e n t , she forged a program at her original 1740 Sunset Boulevard location that segued over the years from works on paper and printmaking by European artists (which reflected her early background at Gerhard Wurzer Gallery) to more avant-garde fare. Tish was one of the founding dealers when the 4411 Montrose Gallery Building unveiled in 2005. But, beyond all this, she was greatly beloved, known for her upbeat personality, unique style, warmth, and commitment to artists who became like family to the gallerist and her husband, Mark Tish (an HISD high- school teacher with a Ph.D. in math). Anya's legacy and the gallery will continue. Director Dawn Ohmer, whose vision was honed by five years working alongside Tish, opens the fall season at Anya Tish Gallery with neo-pop discovery, "JCA: Full Plate" (September 6 through October 19). Visit papercitymag.com, where art-world insiders remember Tish. anyatishgallery.com. Catherine D. Anspon Left: JCA's Full Plate, 2024, at Anya Tish Gallery. Anya Tish in Guadalajara, Mexico, with Wings of Mexico by Jorge Marín. Art Notes Luxury is my level of service. Contact me today with all Contact me today with all your real estate needs. your real estate needs. K A T H E R I N E W A R R E N R E A L T O R . C O M KATHERINE WARREN, J.D. KATHERINE WARREN, J.D. BROKER BROKER ASSO ASSOCIATE CIATE Circle of Excellence, Hall of Fame Circle of Excellence, Hall of Fame 832.725.4340 832.725.4340 katherine.warren@sir.com katherine.warren@sir.com 30