Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/674050
"W e've been thinking about this for quite awhile. It was time James had a presence again in Houston," confides Gus Kopriva, a partner in an art venture that proposes a new model for representing a senior master. Kopriva is referring to the mighty James Surls, who's considered the founder of the Houston contemporary art scene as we know it, and the man that birthed Lawndale. Now the seminal sculptor who hails from Splendora has a permanent showroom in Houston. A little background: In 2011, Surls took control of his career, left his galleries and tapped Linda Clarke, former director of the Houston Annenberg Challenge, to coordinate commissions and oversee sales. The arrangement flourished, yet Houston- based Clarke realized that patrons could not always travel to the artist's Aspen studio. Kopriva entered the equation; the retired engineer from Dow has curated exhibitions for Texas talent around the world, Peru and Germany to India and China and also organizes monthly exhibitions from Redbud Gallery in the Heights. He and Clarke are partners in the new endeavor Clarke & Associates Fine Art Consulting, adjoining Redbud in a space formerly occupied by G Gallery (which has now relocated to 9th Street). The expansive gray-walled, 3,500-square-foot interiors in the 1920s-era shopping center — which was once the boat-repair business of Red Ortman, the father of Gus' wife, artist Sharon Kopriva — make for an ideal backdrop for a rotating series of recent works. Featured are creations executed in metal and wood, the latter, Surls' signature material. The showroom, handsomely lit and beautifully installed, boasts wall sculptures, mobiles, small objects (a Surls' "salad" bowl filled with symbolic totems), a commanding drawing and the pièce de resistance: a suspended torque of a twisted tree that harks back to the sculptor's early days where wood exerted its primacy. Stay tuned this summer: The artist's Splendora studio north of Houston will be revived by West Texas creatives Jeffrey Wheeler (of Wheeler Brother renown) and Maisie Marie Alford presiding as residents. James Surls Showroom at Clarke & Associates Fine Art Consulting, 301 E. 11th St., 713.254.2998 (Clarke) or 713.854.4246 (Kopriva), clarkeassoc.com. Catherine D. Anspon Extraordinary residential real estate service and knowledge. Every time. 713.553.4255 m a r y h a l e m c l e a n . c o m Tanglewood C oming Soon: The new Saks Fifth Avenue designer salons aren't the store's only fresh offering. The restaurant 5115 has moved into an expanded 9,800 square feet in the 200,000-square-foot store. In addition to a striking modern interior designed by Houston decorator Nina Migon, Contour Design, new chef Stefon Rishel (Max's Wine Dive in Fort Worth) has redesigned the menu. More in June … The team behind Helen Greek Food & Wine, which was nominated for a James Beard Award for best new restaurant, is going for restaurant number two with Arthur Ave, a Heights eatery serving Italian-American cuisine. Designer Erin Hicks, who brought Helen's ambience to life, will oversee Arthur Ave's interior design. Arthur Ave is set to open this summer at 1111 Studewood Street …. Astros legend Craig Biggio breaks into the restaurant scene with a two- story sports bar named Biggio's inside the Marriott Marquis hotel downtown, opening in November in time for the 2017 Houston-hosted Super Bowl. Expansions: News broke earlier this year that New York-based burger chain Shake Shack opens its first Houston location in the Galleria in late 2016. Double the happiness: The glam shack also opens in Rice Village in 2017… Now Open: Kirby Icehouse is open for business. The 6,500-square-foot venue modeled after Dallas' Katy Trail Ice House includes two bars, 50 beers on tap, a one-acre outdoor seating area (with space for games and food trucks) and a lounge. Owner Danny Evans also owns the Little Woodrow's bar conglomerate … Treadsack restaurant group's seventh concept, Canard, is open at 4721 North Main Street. Cocktail rock star Leslie Ross mans the bar and plans to partner with the chef of Foreign Correspondent (another Treadsack restaurant), PJ Stoops, on a bar menu in the near future … Chinese cuisine meets craft cocktails with the opening of Ginger and Fork at 4705 Inker St. Owner Mary Li (a Tony Mandola's vet), serves up Hong Kong-style Cantonese, pairing native Chinese ingredients with recipes developed by Li. Jailyn Marcel Restaurant Buzz SURLS RISING R ecipe for Success' first decade is worthy of one heck of a dinner party: The nonprofit has educated 33,000 kids in Houston and beyond about nutritious food — and don't forget Recipe's new Hope Farms and marKids Days. Rather than celebrating for just one night, founders Gracie and Bob Cavnar have cooked up two epicurean benefits. The first is Delicious Alchemy: The Banquet, set for Thursday, May 19. The ingredients: 10 chefs (Bryan Caswell, Charles Clark, Robert Del Grande, Monica Pope, Elouise Adams Jones, Randy Evans, Lance Fegen, Randy Rucker, Peter Garcia and John Sheely), 100 guests and 10 courses. Guests will gather around a long table at The Dunlavy and drink and dine like the gods, with truffles and Cava and champagne and wines. Then on Friday, May 20, the art set runs wild at Delicious Alchemy: The Art of Food, a very special cocktail party and art auction. Bid on luxe napkins bearing original drawings and acquire collectible-edition sets of napkins created by artists selected by former Lawndale director Eleanor Williams and PaperCity's Catherine D. Anspon. Paul English serves as music curator, and Amy Corron Power chairs the wines and beverages. Art stars from Texas and across the pond create the original foodie-inspired drawings, including David McGee, Andrea Bianconi, Michael Bise, Kent Dorn, Kermit Oliver and Bennie Flores Ansell. Tap papercitymag.com for a preview. PaperCity sponsors both big nights. Delicious Alchemy: The Banquet, Thursday, May 19, $2,500 per person, at The Dunlavy; Delicious Alchemy: The Art of Food, Friday, May 20, at the corner of Main and Polk downtown, general admission $150, VIP $250; to purchase tickets contact Stephanie Hill, 713.520.0443, stephanie@ recipe4success.org, recipe4success.org/events/ delicious-alchemy.html. James Brock Top Toques, Celebrated Artists: Two Delicious Evenings for a Cause Before there was Roberta Roller Rabbit there was Roberta Freymann — dowager of New York City's Upper East Side chic who collected treasures from her travels and bestowed them on a jet-setting clientele via her Roberta Freymann boutique off Madison Avenue. Then, in 2003, inspired by a fable of a magical rabbit that the designer found on a piece of discarded fabric on an Indian sojourn, the Roberta Roller Rabbit collection came to be. Quietly, subtly, her breezy kurtas and caftans began to infiltrate ROLLING in Style MAX BURKHALTER Gus Kopriva and Linda Clarke at Clarke & Associate's showroom for James Surls MAX BURKHALTER Surls' sculptures grace the new space in the Heights. PHOTO DRAGANA HARRIS, COURTESY RECIPE FOR SUCCESS RecipeHouse signature salad PHOTO GRACIE CAVNAR, COURTESY RECIPE FOR SUCCESS Recipe for Success founding chef advisory board member Michael Kramer David McGee inks his Art of Food napkin . PHOTO ELEANOR WILLIAMS, COURTESY RECIPE FOR SUCCESS Neva Mikulicz' Art of Food napkin COURTESY THE ARTIST, ANYA TISH GALLERY AND RECIPE FOR SUCCESS sunny vacation spots and poolside parties everywhere. The easily recognizable, ethnically inspired graphic and floral prints have since become a cult classic inspiring men's, children's, accessories and a home furnishings line as well. Houston falls in line behind the Hamptons, Palm Beach, LA, Newport, Punta Del Este, Uruguay and St. Barths as Roberta Roller Rabbit hops on to the scene between Intermix and Tom Ford at the River Oaks District mid-month. Roberta Roller Rabbit, 4444 Westheimer in River Oaks District, 713.877.1701, robertarollerrabbit.com. Francine Ballard Roberta Roller Rabbit