PaperCity Magazine

PaperCity_Houston_July_August_2025

Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1536611

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 15 of 67

I nking It: Begin at Asia Society Texas with "Hung Hsien: Between Worlds," the dramatic rediscovery of a nonagenarian talent who has synthesized the painting traditions of East and West over her 70-year career. The Chinese-born modern ink master's trajectory includes study in Taiwan with a keeper of Qing dynasty court painting traditions, Prince Pu Ru, and a U.S. education at Northwestern University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Having lived in Houston for the past 40- plus years, she's exhibited with Taiwan's avant-garde collective Fifth Moon Group. Her solo at Asia Society Texas, which travels next year to Asia Society Hong Kong, marks her first major retrospective, despite being in such collections as the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Harvard Art Museums, Art Institute of Chicago, and Hong Kong Museum of Art. Hung's way with ink was inspired by millennia of Top left: Hung Hsien's Snowscape, 1985, at Asia Society Texas. Top right: Kingsley Onyeiwu's Heir to Fire, 2025, at Galveston Arts Center. In the heart of the summer, we're venturing to a museum and two nonprofits that embody the range, depth, and history of Houston's art scene. Chinese painting traditions and Japanese woodblock prints, as well as abstract 20th-century forebears Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, and Mark Tobey — but her swirling, lyrical inks on paper are wholly her own and may remind the viewer of graffiti art pioneers as well as unconscious-tapping Surrealist talents. Kudos to curators West Coast-based Dr. Tiffany Wai- Ying Beres and Denver Art Museum's Dr. Einor Cervone for reprising art history with this presentation of Hung's contributions to abstraction (through September 21). A Really Big Show: One of the rites of summer is "The Big Show" at Lawndale Art Center, a tradition that began in 1984 with the "East End Show," when Lawndale was still located on the street that gave this present-day Museum District space its name. This is an excellent and inclusive way to take a read on our Houston-area art scene without gallivanting to hundreds of studios. This year's edition tapped Dr. Phillip Townsend, curator of the Art Galleries at Black Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, to cull through entries from 376 artists, to ultimately showcase 88 works by 77 artists (through August 2). Tip: "The Big Show" is also a great way to jump-start a collection. Ask Lawndale staff for artists' contacts for pricing and to secure your acquisition. Galveston, Oh Galveston: A prime destination for viewing is always Galveston Arts Center, where artist turned curator Dennis Nance organizes a respected and edgy exhibition p r o g r a m t h a t holds court in GAC's grand 1878 First National Bank building along the Strand. Must-see this summer: TSU grad/current professor Kingsley Onyeiwu, whose bold figuration and command of the medium of charcoal and pastel on paper is extraordinary (through August 3). Paired with Onyeiwu is poetic installation work also influenced by the African diaspora. Collaborators Blya Krouba and Cat Martinez's "Roots in Frame" conflates photography upon organza fabric with steel sculpture to evoke the West African origins of shotgun houses — think Project Row Houses — while conjuring concepts of community and close-knit African American family life via this simple vernacular style of architecture (July 12 – October 5). Catherine D. Anspon Art Notes R A C H E L S O L A R - R E A L T O R ® | 7 1 3 . 4 1 6 . 1 6 0 0 | R A C H E L . S O L A R @ S I R . C O M | R A C H E L S O L A R . C O M Superior service shouldn't be a luxury. COURTESY THE ARTIST AND HOOKS-EPSTEIN GALLERIES ALEX BARBER 14

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of PaperCity Magazine - PaperCity_Houston_July_August_2025