Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/304026
Ann Sacks Tile & Stone has picked its spot in West Ave: next to Del Frisco's and across from Cru. Opening early August, this is the second Ann Sacks showroom in Texas (Dallas also has one); Tamara Smith heads up the Houston locale … Bailey McCarthy's home haven Biscuit unveils in a new space at 1435 Westheimer Road May 5. Stay tuned for all the big, buttery details as we share all things bedding, gifts and home next month. DESIGN Buzz W ithin weeks, Houston gained nine new public art pieces, all in highly visible and highly trafficked spots. All are works of sculpture. Eight are temporary, destined to be on view along Heights Boulevard into November; the ninth, a permanent commission, boasts a commanding presence in the Upper Kirby District, along the esplanade across from West Ave. For the Heights project, christened "True North," gallery/patron/ curator Gus Kopriva joined forces with artist and activist Chris Silkwood. "True North" has become a reality after more than a year of meetings and rallying neighborhood supporters, with Joe Turner from the Parks Department and Minnette Boesel with the Mayor's office as catalysts, and thanks to a hefty Mayor's Initiative Grant through Houston Arts Alliance and private donors including the aforementioned Kopriva and Silkwood. The first installment features talents long associated with the Heights or who reside close by, including Carter Ernst, Dan Havel, Paul Kittelson, the late Lee Littlefield, Patrick Medrano, Steve Murphy, Dean Ruck and Ed Wilson. Every time I pass on my commute, I smile at Ruck's real-life church steeple as bird feeder (which came from a discarded architectural fragment from a nearby congregation); Kittelson's gargantuan lawn chairs scaled for Ernestine; the charming ark by Medrano with its oars rooted in the earth; and Wilson's folded stainless- steel "paper" airplane. The sculptures have become popular stops for all sorts of photo ops and selfies. Meanwhile, on Kirby Drive, James Surls' 38-foot tall Tree and Three Flowers punctuates the fact that we are an art city. It's a fitting exclamation point for a sculptor who has molded our scene, from the founding of Lawndale to curating the mythic "Fire!" at the CAMH back in the day. More than three years in the works, this mighty metaphor-filled monument to nature was sponsored by the Upper Kirby District Foundation, with other funding from collector types and the area's businesses. Says Surls of his big blossoms and giant arbol: "In Tree and Three Flowers, the vessel gives life and appeals to the intellect. The form gives rise to the flowers and it is cool, calculated, rational, systematic and mathematical. Now we have two values given. The other one is romantic and blossoming, with eyes that let us in and tell us that the sculpture is alive and looking deep into our being." Catherine D. Anspon THE NEW Face of Public Art B rooklyn-based Lori Nix, an early entrée into the FotoFest buffet, has been the talk of the town for her meticulous, handcrafted tableaux at G Gallery — absolutely extraordinary dioramas that are memorialized in her viewfinder in the series "The City," curated at the G by Diane Barber. (Note: The actual dioramas upon which the photographs are based are destroyed soon after the images are snapped.) The subjects hearken to days gone by in the life of a metropolis and possess a distinct vintage vibe. Miniature mall. Check. Sign makers shop. It's here. As are a Laundromat and beauty shop, as well as abandoned subway car and Chinese take-out spot, all shown in post-apocalyptic splendor. Nix's oeuvre belongs to the art-world movement of beautiful decay, of whom a famous practitioner is Marilyn Minter; it's also the concept of "Ruin Lust," a current show at the Tate Britain. There's a whiff of Victoriana, especially in pieces such as a conservatory run wild with flora and her crumbling Palladian-style arcaded museum with its contents, canvases and sculpture abandoned and in disarray. Nix labels herself a "faux landscape" photographer, while we see within her work a tradition of constructed reality along the lines of Sandy Skoglund's elaborated staged vignettes from the 1980s. With a newly minted Guggenheim Fellowship in hand and collectors such as Lester Marks calling, Nix is the next it- girl of the photo firmament. Be sure to snap up her latest volume from Decode Books, timed with the artist's first solo in Germany at Galerie Klüser. But you don't need to travel to Munich; G Gallery in the Heights stocks Nix's limited-edition prints, still affordably priced between $3,000 and $10,000. Through G Gallery, ggalleryhouston.com. Catherine D. Anspon Glamorous Disasters in MINIATURE London Grey, 3600 Kirby Dr. at Richmond, 713.444.2327, londongreyrugs.com You might recognize Hayden Parvizian's name, but he's certainly not relying on his family's 40-year history procuring rugs from all over the globe to sell his own. In fact, the owner of London Grey doesn't even put his last name on his business card. Steadfast in his conviction to forge his own path, the 29-year-old entrepreneur wants to take all intimidation out of shopping for a rug. In his new shop, London Grey, situated in the burgeoning design lanes of Kirby Drive and Richmond Avenue, his selections run the gamut from of-the-moment over-dyed vintage rugs to calm, muted designs as screened back as they come. Want a wallop of color? Explore the new trend from India: sari-style rugs with a thick pile woven from up-cycled sari cloths. Of course, if you don't know exactly what feels right, he can take you through the options, even customizing graphic patterns on a computer screen, giving you more than 350 color choices that can be realized in a size that fits your space perfectly. Parvizian works with weavers in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Turkey and Afghanistan to manufacture carpets expressly for London Grey. But if flipping though rugs in person overwhelms you, just wait: He estimates that within six months, his 30,000 rug selections will be ready to view on London Grey's website. Laurann Claridge W hen Roger Howard expressed interest in selling ownership of what was then known as the Houston Antiques Dealers Association (HADA), Rosemary Krieger submitted a proposal and found herself in possession of the oldest antiques show in Houston. Her first order of business has been modifying the name to Houston Antiques + Art + Design Show, which better reflects the tone of the show she aspires to produce at the George R. Brown Convention Center September 19 through 21. She is also effecting some very basic changes: transitioning to a fully walled booth layout for the 125 to 150 dealers she expects, editing the number of jewelry dealers, increasing those trading in 20th century and modern pieces, and incorporating complementary programming such as lectures into the weekend. This fair is only one in a long list she owns and produces with Gordon Merkle and her Chicago-based team at Dolphin Promotions; others include the Palm Beach Winter Antiques Show, Palm Spring Modernism, Los Angeles Antiques Art + Design Show, San Francisco 20th Century Art and Design Fair and, most recently, New York 20th Century Art and Design Fair, organized in association with 1stdibs.com. Stay tuned for more details. To inquire about exhibiting or for more information, visit dolphinfairs.com. Seth Vaughan Hello, Houston Antiques + Art + Design Show, GOODBYE HADA LONDON Calling Arhaus, known for its handcrafted furniture and accessories, has launched a tabletop collection in solid, chunky ceramic and stoneware, glassware and linens, all handmade for Arhaus by artisans who still rely on age-old methods and molds. We love the Coimbra earthenware tureen hand-painted in Portugal ($225) and Luisa dinnerware made in a family-owned workshop in the southern region of Italy (set of 16 pieces $368). At Arhaus, arhaus.com. HAND to TABLE Outdoor rugs generally come in one of two categories: beautiful but with the shelf life of organic watercress, or long-lasting with all the sex appeal of American Gothic. Perennials, however, plays against type with its new Out & About collection of high- performance rugs. Gorgeous enough for indoor use, each handwoven design can withstand everything Texas weather can bring … heck, these stain-resistant babies could even best a plague of locusts bearing goblets brimming with pinot noir. Deliberate between six different solids, stripes and patterns (all available in 12 nature-inspired color ways) in sizes going up to 10' by 14'. To the trade at David Sutherland Showrooms; davidsutherlandshowroom.com. Amy Adams Something's AFOOT R uth Gay, founder of Houston-based Chateau Domingue, has been very busy. In recent months, she has developed a line of custom doors (produced in the Houston area by subsidiary Atelier Domingue), as well as new European aged flooring, which will be available through Chateau Domingue itself. The doors have a resounding simplicity, with uncomplicated steel frames and expansive panes. Gay sought to recreate a low-profile design that was at once "distinguished and demure." Punctuating the portals are slyly upturned handles. Equally exciting is that this project marks the business becoming a family affair, with her son Paul Gay heading up design at Atelier Domingue, assisted by operations manager Lyle Davis. The new collection of stone flooring is a competitive equivalent to Chateau Domingue's reclaimed offerings from the 17th through 19th centuries; price variations depend on stone, shape and size. The marble is quarried in European countries that employ age-old methods, and the patina is furthered by finishing touches once the stone arrives in Houston. Aiding in this new flooring arm of Chateau Domingue is Daniela Fishburn. Doors, price upon request; flooring, from $15 a square foot, at Chateau Domingue, chateaudomingue.com. Seth Vaughan On Portals & Pavers Hayden Parvizian James Surls James Surls' Tree and Three Flowers, 2014, holds court along Kirby Drive Patrick Medrano's From the 'Hood to the Heights, 2014 , rows along Heights Boulevard Lori Nix's Mall, 2010, at G Gallery Los Angeles Antiques Art + Design 2012 exhibitor Alcocer Anticuraios of Madrid showing an 18th- century Spanish Italian Vargueno in bone and ebony cabinet on stand 18th-century Jifu, shown by Jon Eric Riis of Atlanta Atelier Domingue's custom portals Octagonal Bezier tile from Chateau Domingue's new Bastide collection MAX BURKHALTER KEN FREDERICK GARY GRIFFIN