Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/660799
W hen David Shelton moved to 4411 Montrose, the timing was right for Sarah Sudhoff, an accomplished artist whose medium is photography and who recently served as director of Houston Center for Photography. Ready to leave the nonprofit world, the soft-spoken but tenacious Sudhoff soon signed a lease on the 900-square-foot space in the historic Isabella Court complex, and Capsule Gallery was born. The name is an homage to Sudhoff's upbringing in Cape Canaveral and her lineage as the daughter and granddaughter of Navy pilots, plus her own yet-to-be-realized obsession with becoming an astronaut. Capsule's first show introduced a program that alternates avant-garde photography with museum-worthy contemporary craft, tilted towards studio jewelry. (Sudhoff's husband, Gary Schott, is a recent Houston Center for Contemporary Craft resident, and a possible show for his work is being discussed.) It's promising to have a gallery again promoting this media after Goldesberry shuttered, but what we're most excited about is Capsule's T hanks to artist, curator, and director Mel DeWees, Colquitt Gallery Row is included in this roster of new dealers of importance. The Cooper Union grad, a painter, has taken over the former McMurtrey Gallery space. (Roni McMurtrey shuttered her respected gallery after 30-plus years to take a break and concentrate on fresh curatorial projects.) While the back room is now DeWees' studio, it merely pays the bills for the front space, which represents a hybrid type of endeavor: Although work is for sale, Gray Contemporary's vision is more akin to a nonprofit or foundation. It's not so much about representing a rotating roster of artists as presenting a conversation about abstraction, minimalism and the reductive beauty of an organic interplay of space, light, pigment and line. DeWees recently shed nearly 15 artists that he exhibited at his previous space in a design center; he firmly believes less is more and COURTESY THE ARTIST AND CAPSULE GALLERY COURTESY THE ARTIST AND CAPSULE GALLERY COURTESY THE ARTIST AND GRAY CONTEMPORARY NEW PHOTOGRAPHY + CRAFT AT ISABELLA COURT NEW-GEN ABSTRACTION ON COLQUITT photography emphasis. This month, Brooklyn-based Alison Brady's disquieting nudes, cavorting and posed in all sorts of strange domestic scenarios, introduce a wicked Surrealism in keeping with Sudhoff's own edge as a photographer. (Brady's solo, "I've Lost Myself Completely," April 8 – May 14; artist talk and book signing Saturday, April 9, 4 pm). Capsule Gallery, 3909 Main St., 713.807.7065, capsulegallery.com. intends to only exhibit a stable of (a great) eight or so going forward. With price points beginning around $1,000 for national and international artists with MFA degrees, this micro kunsthalle — and its refined, quiet aesthetic — is a good place for beginning to advanced collectors alike to shop. Insider tip: Denver-based Theresa Anderson is a Gen-Y heir of the late Eva Hesse, evoking the powerful, yet understated tenets of feminist body art. For Texas collectors, mid-career Otis Jones' minimalist pigments on canvas hold their own in the lineup. (Now about the name: This art space's moniker does not reference the Menil's signature hue — although DeWees once worked as an art handler and installed works there. The namesake is much closer to home: a beloved Shar-Pei who passed on.) Gray Contemporary, 3508 Lake St., 713.862.4425, graycontemporary.com. Sarah Sudhoff, Capsule Gallery Mel DeWees, Gray Contemporary, with works by (from left) Nathalie Thibault and Erin Lawlor Alison Brady's Untitled, 2007, at Capsule Gallery Alison Brady's Untitled, 2010, at Capsule Gallery Amber Cobb's Graze, 2016, at Gray Contemporary L O N D O N G R E Y R U G S S P R I N G S A L E A P R I L 1 – 3 0 SAVE 40% OR MORE ON OUR ENTIRE INVENTORY IN ADDITION, A HUGE SELECTION OF RUGS AT DISCOUNTED FLAT RATES 6 x 9 - $1200 8 x 10 - $1600 9 x 12 - $2200 10 x 14 - $2800 3600 KIRBY DRIVE | HOUSTON, TX 77098 713.234.1773 LONDONGREYRUGS.COM