Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/865689
OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. Landings: It's an electric start to autumn. News swirls of major land acquisitions in the Washington Avenue Arts District: The real estate dynamos behind Sawyer Yards have wrapped deals for four historic buildings and a five-acre land tract. Read papercitymag. com for deets and players. At Houston Airport System, Bush IAH Airport's upcoming redo of Terminal D is planned. The $600 million construction project will yield a hefty budget for public art — the largest ever in the City of Houston. Airport art administrator Tommy Gregory informed us that the estimate is more than $6 million to be designated for additions to the collection, making Houston one of the top 10 cities in America to showcase public art throughout our airports. Abstraction Action: One of the motifs running through this fall is abstraction. Top picks: At Rudolph Blume Fine Art / ArtScan W h e n J a m e s B e a r d Award-winning chef Justin Yu shuttered h i s a c c l a i m e d v e g e t a b l e - c e n t r i c eatery Oxheart earlier this year, many pondered the culinary wunderkind's next move. Yu wasted no time debuting his follow-up project, partnering with Houston cocktail magnate Bobby Heugel for the neighborhood bar Better Luck Tomorrow. If you're expecting the second coming of Oxheart, wake up. With Dan Flavin-inspired interiors Gallery, Loli Fernández-Andrade Kolber's exquisite works on paper combine painting, drawing, and print-making techniques (September 9 – October 14) … Matt Magee returns from the Southwest to solo at Hiram Butler Gallery with cool, clear, geometrically honed prints that pack a visual punch (through September 30) … At Texas Gallery, David McGee's eagerly anticipated show introduces a body of work so new that the artist is keeping images under wraps. Word's out the paintings will be bold and abstract, signaling a new direction for McGee who's known for his narratives of the African-American experience (September 14 – October 21). America Calling: During this fraught political era, Sarah Williams probes "Unseen America" at Moody Gallery via canvases that have resulted in the Missouri-based artist being labeled a painter of "Midwest Noir" (September 9 – October 14) … "American Dream" is the theme of Laura Rathe Fine Art's doubleheader, pairing Pop artists who Loli Fernández-Andrade Kolber's Soliloquy #7, 2017, at Rudolph Blume Fine Art / ArtScan Gallery COURTESY THE ARTIST AND RUDOLPH BLUME FINE ART / ARTSCAN GALLERY GOOD LUCK FOR US and a soulful playlist, BLT ditches Yu's signature tasting menus for fun, elevated bar food. The 10-item menu, created with BLT head chef Matt Boesen, draws inspiration from the dishes Yu cooks for himself and friends on his days off. The laid-back, seasonally inspired plates include The Party Melt with crispy cheese and caramelized onions; Not A Pizza, topped with burrata, spring onions, and anchovy-garlic bagna cauda; charred spring squashes with herb dressing and green garlic; and hot crispy chicken served with pickled cabbage. Heugel, known for tending cocktail haven Anvil Bar & Refuge, rounds out BLT's liquid provisions with 10 hyper-seasonal cocktails and a broad spirits list. We've got the Lucky Daiquiri — rum, key lime, and raspberry — on repeat. Better Luck Tomorrow, 544 Yale St., betterlucktomorrowhou.com. Jailyn Marcel respectively present portraits of celebs and big money/the American flag: South African Gavin Rain and U.S.-based Paul Rousso (September 14 – October 14). For more art and breaking visual stories, papercity mag.com. Catherine D. Anspon ART NOTES