Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1538826
Untitled Art, Houston Opens 54 Jamie Sterling Pitt's Untitled (Desert Gate), 2022, at Seven Sisters J ulian Chichester, the British furniture designer known for his inventive take on classic English forms, opens his first Texas showroom this fall in the Dallas Design District, in the former longtime Kisabeth Furniture space. Chichester's designs nod to the past, drawing from 19th- and 20th-century silhouettes, but are distinguished by unconventional materials and bespoke finishes developed in-house, such as faux gesso, and shagreen, vellum, and aged mirror. Also look for furnishings in the Dallas showroom by Niermann Weeks, Root Cellar Designs, Heather Essian, and Nichola Taylorson. Chichester's creative path began far from the world of high design. In 1986, he left his job as a market trader in London to travel through Asia, importing antiques from Thailand and Vietnam by motorbike and sidecar. By 1988, he'd set up shop along London's Portobello Road, selling a mix of vintage furnishings. Just a year later, he began designing his own teak garden furniture, inspired by the craftsmanship he'd seen firsthand in Southeast Asia. His first interior pieces followed in 1995. The new Properly Chichester Dallas location marks his fourth showroom (following London, New York, and High Point) and expands the company's retail, trade, custom, and hospitality reach to Texas. Julian Chichester, Dallas Design District, 1313 Slocum St., julianchichester.com. Rebecca Sherman D allas Art Fair set the bar for what a Texas art fair could be: smart, international, buzzy, and a lure for dealers, artists, and collectors from across the country. Now Untitled Art, Houston, enters the game — not so much as competition to the Dallas Art Fair, but as a way to add energy to Houston's fall scene and promote a city full of serious museums, galleries, collectors, and artists. Opening September 18 (through 21) at Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center, this fair lands with a vaunted reputation. Its original edition — Untitled Art, Miami Beach, now in its 13th season — pairs curatorial excellence and the avant-garde, with booths that burst free from walls. It's also your best chance to acquire a talent before his or her work hangs on the walls of the Whitney or MoMA. Aligned with its Miami Beach mother fair, Untitled Art, Houston, brings on the curatorial rigor. Eighty-seven international, national, and Texas galleries hold court in convention center spaces reimagined by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture. The global perspective is sky-high: Every continent except Antarctica is represented, as 29 galleries from 21 different countries travel to Houston. They arrive from Kyoto (Cohju), Osaka and Tokyo (YOD Gallery), Lima (Revolver Galería), Brussels (Stems Gallery), Bogotá (SGR Galería), Bologna (Galleria Studio G7), Madrid (Marc Bibiloni, Max Estrella, El Apartamento, also based in Havana), Milan (SECCI), Nassau, Bahamas (Tern), and London (Cecilia Brunson Projects; and Pi Artworks with a solo for Turkish artist Kemal Seyhan). Art dealers from U.S. culture capitals also make statements. Those hailing from NYC include Hollis Taggart's solo for painter Tim Kent, bitforms gallery, Marc Straus, Yossi Milo, and Swivel Gallery's crafty showing for NH DePass. Los Angeles representation includes Michael Kohn Gallery, Charlie James Gallery, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles presenting Dallas art star Evita Tezeno, and La Loma's booth devoted to the feminist ceramics of Jasmine Little. From San Francisco, Jessica Silverman features the iconic Judy Chicago, whose work shares affinities with Beverly Fishman, both stars of Silverman's stable. Chicago dealers include The Mission Projects, Andrew Rafacz, and Povos. Also making showings are Philadelphia's Pentimenti, Detroit's buzzy Library Street Collective; and Miami duo KDR and Spinello Projects. Read about the fair's Nest section and slate of Texas dealers at papercitymag.com. untitledartfairs.com. Catherine D. Anspon Julian Chichester with his Jona coffee table wrapped in cloudy vellum and aged brass