Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art - Houston, Texas

Petah Coyne isn’t afraid of challenging subjects or unusual materials. The New York-based sculptor and photographer has made a name for herself by incorporating mud, sticks, hay and dead fish into hanging sculptures or floor installations. Check out Coyne’s first solo exhibition with Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art this week. “A Silver Pied Peacock” promises an intriguing mix of wax and taxidermy sculptures, hand-blown glass and more.

In her latest body of work, Quiet City, American artist Deborah Brown captures the beauty and nostalgia found in everyday moments – in this case, daily walks with her dog Trout through her Brooklyn neighbourhood, often at golden hour as their shadows spill over sidewalks and roads.

After a careful journey through the streets of Los Angeles and six hours of cautious maneuvering, USC’s newest piece of public art — a one-ton sculpture by Enrique Martínez Celaya — settled into its home outside the USC Fisher Museum of Art. “The Well” is the latest example of the university’s commitment to art in public spaces. USC President Carol L. Folt and other university leaders attended the event.

“Legends: An Exploration of Contemporary Storytelling from Frame to Experience” will open in Bradbury Art Museum (BAM) at Arkansas State University Wednesday, Sept. 15. The opening reception is scheduled from 5 to 6:30 p.m. that evening.

Enjoy the peace and serenity within this silo created by Wimberley artist, McKay Otto. It serves as a multidimensional space for meditation, reflection and self discovery. Tapping into elements of Eastern religion, the seven chakras of the body are represented in paintings with corresponding Tibetan singing bowls. Explore the ways in which Otto experiments with light and sound vibrations to create a complex and beautiful exhibit that fills the entire 40-foot silo.

SUMMER IS WRAPPING UP AND HOUSTON’S ART VENUES are preparing for a busy fall season. Here’s a handpicked list of commercial gallery exhibitions to check out before August comes to a close.

The Eyes Have It: the eye, beautiful and visionary, intrigues 48 artists.

The Time Between is a selection of photographs by Jack Thompson that document the unknown and what was to come during the first six months of COVID lockdown. The highly personal exhibition presents the artist’s broken narrative of finding his place amidst the uncertainty.

Since the 2016 election, we have seen a growth in the number of artists involved in political organizing. This has included voter turnout efforts, fundraising, letter writing, and the advocacy for particular issues. Below, Noah Simblist speaks with a group of artists, based in Texas and around the US, about their political organizing work. Some of these artists are also educators and, as a result, the conversation dips into universities as communities of young people and the challenges and opportunities of that context.

AbStranded features ten contemporary American artists—Polly Apfelbaum, Paolo Arao, Sanford Biggers, Samantha Bittman, Julia Bland, Rachel B. Hayes, Elana Herzog, Anne Lindberg, Sheila Pepe, and Sarah Zapata—who use fiber-based materials to investigate the complex lineage of abstraction. Utilizing a diverse variety of methods, styles, and forms, these artists uncover and co-opt textile traditions and material sources in order to re-assert their validity and relevance in an increasingly global-industrial culture. A prominent use of the hand looms large—through knitting, weaving, quilting, and more—and suggests an alternative mode of communication within today’s digital society. Together, the works reveal how artists employ the language of abstraction to speak about the intertwined histories and politics of craft, race, and gender.

In 2005, Austin artists Rachel Koper, Jon Lawrence, Shea Little, Arturo Palacios, Joseph Phillips and Jana Swec launched the Texas Biennial to showcase artists living and working in the Lone Star State. After three outings, the Texas Biennial merged with Austin nonprofit Big Medium in 2011 and stretched beyond the capital — first to San Antonio and Houston, then to Dallas and Marfa.

Cruz and Olivia Ortiz, the folks from the San Antonio-based design studio Burnt Nopal, are featured in a new National Geographic documentary, Texas: Spirit & Soul.