Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1545489
T his summer's immersive environment by artist Masako Miki at Rice University's Moody Center for the Arts reminds us of the iconic installations at the bygone Rice Gallery on campus, curated by director Kimberly Davenport, that ended when she retired in 2017. Miki's exhibition, "Shapeshifters, Sprites, and Spirits," achieves the balancing act of both being visually engaging and alluding to current and historic sociopolitical topics. This Osaka-born, Berkeley-based talent conjures ancient Shinto traditions of animism, contemporary manga culture, and the medieval folktale Night Parade of One Hundred Demons (Hyakki Yagyo) populated by supernatural yokai, beings which take the form of prosaic household objects, such as humble, often discarded, umbrellas. Delight reigns in Miki's meticulously felted sculptural creations, nodding to both the natural and manmade — anthropomorphic prayer beads, clouds, pine trees, mushrooms, lamps, sandals, a vase. These human-scaled f o r m s a re a r r a y e d like actors across the M o o d y 's e x p a n s i v e main gallery, whose walls are enlivened by monumental decals of sweeping clouds, h a n d s , a n d e y e s , creating a droll, highly surreal backdrop. The exhibition marks Miki's Texas solo debut and is co-curated by Moody Center founding director Alison Weaver, who recently departed for the directorship of NYU's Grey Art Museum, and associate curator Claudia Mattos. Through August 15, moody.rice.edu. Catherine D. Anspon Above: Installation view of "Mary Ellen Carroll: How To Talk Dirty and Influence People" at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. Anthropomorphic Umbrellas + Friends I t's impossible to fully describe "Mary Ellen Carroll: How To Talk Dirty and Influence People," now on view at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. This labyrinthian, enigmatic exhibition — titled after comedian Lenny Bruce's 1965 autobiography — is organized by CAMH senior curator Rebecca Matalon with 2025-2026 Rice curatorial fellow Yiran Chi. Showcasing a deeply layered practice across more than 40 years, Carroll's first major museum survey reveals an artist prophetic of this current moment in America. Houston has a starring role, achieved via Carroll's love letter to Space City, a town where the artist lived, taught, and realized one of the most iconic works: prototype 180, involving a post-war home in Sharpstown that was rotated then demolished over a nearly 20- year period, from concept to final destruction. Through November 1, camh.org. Catherine D. Anspon Poetic + Political + Prescient Above left: At Rice University Moody Center for the Arts: Masako Miki, Optimistic Camellia Umbrella, 2026. Installation view of "Masako Miki: Shapeshifters, Sprites, and Spirits." © MASAKO MIKI. PHOTO © FRANK HERNANDEZ COURTESY JESSICA SILVERMAN GALLERY. PHOTO BY CHRIS GRUNDER. SEAN FLEMING 20