Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/562658
OPENING NIGHT: With a Preview Party chaired by the high-octane power couple John and Becca Cason Thrash, Thursday, October 1, promises to be a night like no other. Expect an intriguing cocktail of art world cognoscenti colliding with deep-pocketed philanthropic types. The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is the beneficiary of this largesse — receiving full proceeds from the Patron VIP Passes sold to allow early acquisition access during the first two hours of the Fair. THE OTHER MEXICO: Independent curator Leslie Moody Castro adds a fresh international element, organizing a roundup of Mexico City's cutting-edge galleries and project spaces including Yautepec Gallery, Anonymous, Enrique Guerrero, Galeria Parque, Diagrama, Galeria Marso, and Casa Maauad. Word's out that a flock of Mexico City collectors will attend for the first time, too. DARING DESIGN: A pair of the most buzzed-about new design talents on the planet, The Haas Brothers, also make an appearance. Watch for twin frères Niki and Simon Haas — regular stars of Design Miami fairs in Miami Beach and Switzerland — in a special panel presentation; a lucky few will secure a seat at the intimate dinner party where the brothers star as the guests of honor. (Wonder if attendees will perch on the duo's signature animalistic furry seats?) HOUSTON POWER HOUSES: At press time, three major Houston galleries have signed on: Barbara Davis Gallery, Moody Gallery and David Shelton Gallery, joined by up-and-coming gallerist Pablo Cardoza, whose stable at Cardoza Fine Art is populated with gifted young talents (recommended: canvases by Houston painters Alika Herreshoff, Bret Shirley and Dual). Moody all-stars include Venice Biennale-exhibited James Drake, grand-master painter Gael Stack and obsessive drawing master Michael Bise. Barbara Davis brings internationals Danny Rolph, Mie Olise and Andrea Bianconi (the latter also devising a performance). David Shelton features a smart foursome: museum-collected Vincent Valdez, MFAH Core Fellow Rodrigo Valenzuela (2014's $10,000 Texas Contemporary Prize winner), Tameka Norris and Matthew Craven. Also just announced: Unix Gallery, which opens at 4411 this month, then debuts at the Fair come October. INTRIGUING NATIONALS: Visit txcontemporary.com for the official list of Fair exhibitors — more are flocking at press time. Just confirmed: L.A. doyenne Rosamund Felsen Gallery, whose stable includes the incomparable Joan Jonas, currently on view in the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (and an award winner); photo dealer Wall Space Gallery, in from Santa Barbara (and Seattle); Santa Fe-based TAI Modern, which pairs contemporary talents with extraordinary Japanese basketry; Boston- based Adelson Galleries (showcasing Federico Uribe's conceptually provocative work produced from bullet shells); Sponder Gallery from Miami, with its rich, diverse offerings that include a very iconic image of Warhol boxing with Basquiat snapped by Michael Halsband; and, from across the border, Art Mûr from Montreal, a substantial player on the Canadian scene. DEMOCRATIC ART: Line up once again at Rice Gallery's booth, to meet the artist who will create an immersive site-specific installation — in this case, the startling silhouette work of Andrea Dezsö, a Rumanian educated/ Massachusetts college professor who last took over Rice Gallery in 2010. We're hoping there will be a chance to acquire some affordable creations, in the vein of past Rice presentations at the Texas Contemporary, from Steve Keene to Jane Miller and Ana Serrano. MOVE OVER, SEATTLE: After Art Market Productions' much buzzed about Seattle Art Fair this summer — it didn't hurt that the Fair's co- producer was Paul G. Allen's Vulcan — it's now game on, Houston. Event impresario Matt Johns, whose art stints have included gigs at Artpace and the Blaffer Art Museum, is overseeing this year's Texas Contemporary's VIP experiences. From rare adventures at The Menil Collection to Rothko behind-the-scenes, plus a historic hotel to party at (the JW Marriott Downtown) and some very insider tours, those who achieve VIP Pass status will be handsomely rewarded. During Fair hours, Patron VIP Pass and VIP Pass holders will bask in the VIP Lounge, daringly designed this year by MaRS architecture in collaboration with Internum. For breaking Texas Contemporary news and the latest for VIPs, peruse papercitymag.com. ALL IMAGES COURTESY THE ARTISTS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE GALLERIES NASH BAKER COPYRIGHT NASHBAKER.COM Clockwise from top left: Alika Herreshoff 's The Passenger, 2015, at Cardoza Fine Art Tanya Haden's The Spectators, 2015, at Rosamund Felsen Gallery Matthew Craven's Demiurge (Totem), 2015, at David Shelton Gallery Andrea Dezsö in her 2010 Rice Gallery installation Tony Magar's Chalice II, 2015, at Laura Rathe Fine Art The Haas Brothers with their creations Maxine Helfman's, Imim 2015, from the "Historical Correction" series, at Wall Space Gallery Tony Solis' Miguel y Tarola, 2015, at Galeria Enrique Guerrero Center: James Drake's Red Gabriella, 2010, at Moody Gallery TEXAS CONTEMPORARY: FAIR + FANFARE LIKE A MINIMALISTIC BOX BY DONALD JUDD OR A RESTRAINED CANVAS BY AGNES MARTIN, THE REASONS TO ATTEND YEAR FIVE OF THE TEXAS CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR ARE POWERFUL AND COMPELLING, ENLIVENED BY A DOSE OF DESIGN SAVOIR FAIRE AND A DASH OF HIGH JINX SUPPLIED AFTER HOURS BY PARTIES AND — FOR THE FIRST-TIME — AN INTERNATIONAL CONTINGENT. SAVE THESE DATES: OCTOBER 1 THROUGH 4, AT THE GEORGE R. BROWN CONVENTION CENTER. CATHERINE D. ANSPON REPORTS ON WHY A CHUNK OF THE TEXAS ART WORLD WILL BE THERE. (TO ACQUIRE YOUR VIP PASS, TXCONTEMPORARY.COM.) Judy Ledgerwood's Ladies Night, 2015, at Barbara Davis Gallery