Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/758043
74 FAIR FEVER At Laura Rathe, Karen Hawkins finds inspiration in vintage PaperCity magazines. Jessica Phifer, Jeffrey Wainhause Judy Nyquist Adrian Page, Lee Steffy, Betty Moody Rainey Knudson Leslie Moody Castro Mandy Bredbenner Connie McAllister Catherine Brooks Giuffre, Max Fishko Stephanie & Ernie Cockrell Peter & Cali Pettigrew Savannah Stait, Ken Christie, Laurie McRay Christy Karll Contemplating Gina Phillips' epic Fort Dirt Hole canvas Dean Daderko, Alecia Harris, Matt Johns Katharine Barthelme, Misty Matin Yvette & Scott Hill Catherine D. Anspon canvasses Texas Contemporary Fair. Photography Teddy Wolff Y ear six of Texas Contemporary Art Fair was the most international yet, and it drew more than 13,500 collectors, curators, media, and the curi- ous. Opening night alone was an art jam — 3,500 flocked to George R. Brown Convention Center for the Fair organized by Art Market Productions' Max Fishko and Jeffrey Wainhause and team. The pavilion for "The Other Mexico," curated by Texas- and Mexico City-based Leslie Moody Castro, and the personal appearance plus explosive expressionist canvases by Michael Chow, aka Mr. Chow, at Barbara Davis Gallery and Cindy Lisica Gallery were among the top takeaways. Here are 10 additional moments that defined the Fair: Quiet little sculptural gems by David Ireland were on show at Betty Moody Gallery, along with a found sculpture by Al Souza of a tin box with mysterious contents and a tiny painting by Jean Wetta. Inman Gallery's booth was curated with a nod to nature via works by Amy Blakemore, Darren Waterston, Jim Richard, Gene Owens, and Michael Jones McKean. Mother Nature also headlined at Art Palace in the still lifes of Houston painter Bradley Kerl. David Shelton Gallery showed Vincent Valdez, whose brooding realist painting of an urban landscape in ruins attracted serious interest from a museum. Drawing a throng at Laura Rathe Fine Art were Karen Hawkins' coiled wall sculptures fashioned from 22 years of PaperCity magazines; McKay Otto's abstract portal paintings; and a salon-style wall of Hunt Slonem bunnies. Cardoza Fine Art did brisk business for Houston talents Bret Shirley, Lane Hagood, Alika Herreshoff, and Melinda Laszczynski (little painterly canvases, a steal from $500). Also intriguing was the photorealist cache of Artspace111, especially Nancy Lamb's party scenes and Daniel Blagg's ode to the American road and vernacular architecture, plus Franco Mondini-Ruiz's desk-sized sculptures and performance-art portraits at Frederieke Taylor Gallery. "Sensation" award goes to: London-based Maddox Gallery, collaborating with Houston's La Colombe d'Or Gallery for Bran Symondson's AK-47s festooned with butterfly wings in the tradition of Damien Hirst (snapped up for $30,000 each). The backstory of Symondson's services in the British Army in Afghanistan was poignant and real. Best discovery? That would be The Second Bedroom, a new, incisively curated Houston gallery/project space that we will follow closely in the coming year. Gil Bruvel, Laura Rathe Kelly Freeman, Becca Cason Thrash IMAGES COURTESY ART MARKET PRODUCTIONS