Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1530892
Stepping into 2025, the Houston art world is thriving, as evidenced in the four shows detailed below. B egin at POST Houston, the cutting-edge venue reimagined by architect Rem Koolhaas' firm, OMA, where director Kirby Liu curates Art Club, a unique site-specific experiential exhibit. This elevated take on contemporary art features 13 ambitious installations emphasizing both global talents and Houston creatives. Art Club defies categorization, as Liu expresses in his curatorial statement: "New Media Art is sticky and amorphous. Like other works of art, these glowing spectacles are activated by the viewer. At the edges of the sound and lights are the silences and moments of darkness where we become aware of the truths of our own interior world." Works range from the intensely scientific (L.A.-based Lachlan Turczan's Wavespace, spun around the oscillations of water) to the environmental (WET:LAND by Houston artist Skyler Smith, whose practice is rooted in landscape design) and the utopian (Seoul- based Nerdy Artist Union, making their U.S. debut with MUAH, a dizzying light-and-color- filled chamber conjuring infinity). We were also wowed by Revolution is an Abstraction by Reynier Leyva Novo, a Cuban émigré living in Houston, whose commentary on totalitarian governments is told via Soviet-era iconography; and A Separate Reality, Houston aerosol artist Daniel Anguilu's collab with Taylor Knapps, a master of digital mapping and AI generative coding. Finally, club kids will be lining up for Setup's hologram- filled Layers, poised to transform into nightclub mode, c o m p l e t e w i t h cocktails and a cast of DJs, Houston to international, booked through talent scout Christopher Kander. Exit through the gift shop and discover the return of Vico Puentes' TOMO, restaging his beloved Montrose magazine, merch, and art hub as the grand finale of Art Club (inaugural edition, through 2025). Mid-month, investigate Michael Bise's intimate and intense drawings in the much- anticipated exhibition "Apocalypse 2020!" at his long-time dealer, Moody Gallery. A teacher at the MFAH Glassell School of Art and Glasstire critic, Bise revisits his autobiography, including his medical miracle — a successful 2012 heart transplant at Houston Methodist — with visceral and surreal drawings that spark great emotion (January 18 – March 1). Aligned with Black History Month, the playful and profound "Bennett Road" at Freedmen's Town Visitor Center represents an inspiring collaboration between Houston Freedmen's Town Conservancy (HFTC) and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. CAMH project manager Mich Stevenson curates design-focused siblings Michael Bennett of Studio Kër and Martellus Bennett of the Mr. Tomonoshi! i+d LaB. The talented brothers take over in tandem the Conservancy's h a n d s o m e l y restored visitor center, setting up a dialogue about Black Labor and the past. The exhibition also has its light-hearted moments, via cartoon-inspired characters that p r o m u l g a t e the concept of childhood (and adult) play and point the way to a more open, equitable, and creative future (through February 28). Finally, Horizon on Sunset (formerly Gremillion & Co.) ups its art game by tapping gallerist Meg Poissant (who's also a trial lawyer and recently served on the Court of Appeals bench) of Poissant Gallery to organize an exhibition from her considerable Rolodex. Catch "Metamorphosis" with works by key players from the Texas talent pool and beyond, including Susan Plum, McKay Otto, Randall Reid, Patrick Renner, Joyce Joe, Elena Lopez-Poirot, Michael King, and Jawshing Arthur Liou (through February 28). Catherine D. Anspon Art Notes Michael Bise's Resurrection, 2024, at Moody Gallery Nerdy Artist Union's MUAH, 2024, at POST Houston FREDDY CEDENO COURTESY CAMH AND HOUSTON FREEDMEN'S TOWN CONSERVANCY, PHOTO ALEX BARBER Michael Bennett and Martellus Bennett's installation "Bennett Road," 2024, at Houston Freedmen's Town Conservancy Visitor Center, 2024 12 Expect exceptional. KATHERINE WARREN, J.D. BROKER ASSOCIATE Circle of Excellence, Hall of Fame 832.725.4340 ELIZABETH GREGORY CHIPMAN, J.D. REALTOR ASSOCIATE Circle of Excellence 713.265.7455