Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1547305
Art Nouveau to Anime: At Asia Society Texas, curator and director of exhibitions Owen Duffy rolls out a captivating take on Japanese-born Yoshitaka Amano, the brilliant animator of film and video-game franchises such as Final Fantasy, Vampire Hunter D, and Speed Racer. Amano is celebrated in "Big Bang," a three-decade spanning solo (through February 7, 2027). With materials as diverse as automotive paint on aluminum, sumi on washi paper, and crayon and gold leaf on wood panel, he plays with scale, intimate to heroic, while raiding the art-history icebox. Art Nouveau, Art Deco, fantasy, Pop, and traditional Japanese folklore and screen painting forge a high-voltage, wholly original take on East and West in Amano's practice. asiasociety.org/texas. Catherine D. Anspon XX W e ' re s t i l l r i d i n g the ecstatic wave of Untitled Art, Houston. Read our take on year two of the international fair that also showcases the insider heart of the Houston art world on papercitymag. com. Meanwhile, here are three must-sees for November. Clockwise from top: César Martínez, Reinvented Icon for this Time and Place (San Antonio), 1991, at Art League Houston. Yoshitaka Amano, Big Bang (detail), 2018, at Asia Society Texas. Tim Glover, Bayou Madonna, 2024, at Site Gallery at The Silos at Sawyer Yards. Jamal Cyrus, Moon Eats Sun, 2010, at Art League Houston. Art League Doubleheader: The pairing of Texas Artist of the Year Jamal Cyrus (in the enviable stable of Inman Gallery) with Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts talent César A. Martínez makes for powerful and required viewing at Art League Houston (both exhibitions curated by Bridget Bray, through December 20). Cyrus poetically engages with history — in ALH's show, "Saharan Air Layer," the African diaspora and the sonic tradition. Watch for his crusty saxophone suspended from a corner of the gallery wall and an immersive performative videos. Next stop after Art League, the Houston-based artist is the subject of a Mass MoCA solo curated by CAMH's Ryan N. Dennis, come June 2027. Martínez's work hasn't been shown in depth in Houston in decades, since his former dealer Lynn Goode shuttered her Colquitt space. Catch classic Bato/Pachuco portraits informed by the Color Field movement, as well as works from the South Texas, Serape, and Mestizo series that speak to the Chicano movement embodied by the MoMA-, Whitney-, and Cheech Marin- collected Martínez. artleaguehouston.org. Creepy, Cool Silos: A somber dystopian mood is always evoked by Sculpture Month Houston, which takes over Site Gallery at The Silos at Sawyer Yards every fall. Curator/collector Volker Eisele has a deep history with the Texas scene, and his selections for Sculpture Month are always eagerly awaited (through November 21). Free Saturday public tours with Eisele highlight his vision. Some OGs in this round that marks a decade of SMH include Tim Glover, Ed Wilson, Steve Murphy, Steve Brudniak, and Margo Sawyer, alongside discoveries such as recent Lawndale Studio resident Zulma Vega and the text-based practice of Alicia Eggert and Alton DuLaney. sculpturemonthhouston.org. Art Notes COURTESY THE ARTIST AND INMAN GALLERY. PHOTO BY THOMAS R. DUBROCK. COURTESY THE ARTIST AND THE VELA COLLECTION COURTESY THE ARTIST AND LOMEX, NYC. PHOTO BY KEVIN TODORA. RICK GARDNER