From Public to Private
MKG is proud to announce Houston’s newest art addition in Rice Village. California based artist Nathan Mabry recently installed a vibrant, modernistic owl perched atop a stairwell on Kelvin Drive, north of University Boulevard. The owl is Mabry’s first public sculpture in the US (he completed a large-scale sculpture in Toronto last year).
Houston’s “Rice Village,” eponymously named for the adjacent Rice University, is a cultural nexus for Houston’s Southwest inner loop neighborhoods. Inspired by Rice University’s owl mascot, Mabry created the gigantic origami sculpture from aluminum. Mabry’s work has long explored the depiction of birds from all facets of art history, and there are four life-like owls which playfully flank the sculpture’s structural scaffolding. All are monochrome, deep blue. Mabry’s work can be seen at Cherry and Martin in Culver City, CA.
MKG has been working with Trademark Property Co. to visually enhance the shopping district through a public art program. Stay tuned for upcoming MKG projects at Rice Village, including two murals by Houston based artists.
Private collections have also kept us busy at MKG, above highlighting some art additions to Houston collections. Whether working in tandem with interior designers, or directly with a collector intent on formulating a fine art collection, MKG’s expertise contributes to the definition of residential interiors.
Works by Susan Dory (hall way) and Andrew Kuo (dining room), Seattle and New York based artists, both engage color and negative/positive space. Their color, hard edges, and joie d’vivre energize these interiors.
On the other hand, mercury glass disks by Paris based artist Arik Levy, commissioned especially for this master bath, give an air of serenity to the space. Interior by ESY Design.
Aaron Parazette (above left) and Terrell James (above right), two of Houston’s best known and most established artists, punctuate each space while adding visual interest. Interior by ecco design.
Paul Villinsky’s aluminum butterflies, each unique and cut from a discarded soda can, flutter around this dining area. Villinsky’s work can be seen at Morgan Lehman in NYC.
Chinese artist Zheng Lu (b. 1978, Inner Mongolia) has long been fascinated by the properties of water, from its amorphous shape to the quality of light that glints across its surface. Lu also grew up in a literary family where the art of Chinese calligraphy played a meaningful role in his upbringing. In his stainless steel sculptures, the artist merges these two unrelated interests to create gravity-defying waves of calligraphy. Zheng Lu exhibits his work at Sundaram Tagore in NYC.
Finally, this classic Vernon Fisher painting from 2002, exemplifies his meticulously-rendered visual narratives. Woven with literary and scientific references combined with pop cultural iconography culled from his youth, Fisher’s humorous, ironic, and melancholic works exhibit paradoxical subjects and stylistic variations. Fisher’s work can be seen at Hiram Butler Gallery in Houson. Interior by Karen Burke Interiors.
Houston Happenings…
Ron Mueck
Check out the Ron Mueck exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Born in Australia, and living and working in London, the artist creates exceptional hypereal. Mueck portrays his everyday subjects with extreme naturalism and stunning detail, yet always plays on scale, some figures filling an entire gallery while others a few feet tall.
The exhibition features 13 sculptures, about one third of the artist’s entire production, spanning from 1999 to 2013. The exhibition runs through August 13th.
MFAH is open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday – Wednesday,10 am to 9 pm Thursday, 10 am to 7 pm Friday – Saturday, and 12:15 pm to 7 pm on Sunday; closed Monday.
Gisela Colon: Atmospheres
Opening this month at McClain Gallery is an exhibition featuring work by Gisela Colon, on view April 20th through June 17th. Born in Canada, raised in Puerto Rico, and currently working in Los Angeles, Colon’s ‘Glo-Pods’ represent the work of the next generation of California Light and Space artists. Her pods are produced using a ‘blow-molding’ technique, layering tinted acrylic sheets and molding them into the desired anamorphic shape with hot air. The ‘Glo-Pods’ have an organic quality, as the iridescent colors continually change by moving around the sculptures.
McClain Gallery is open Tuesday through Friday 10 am to 5 pm, and Saturday 12 to 5pm.
Interference Paintings: David Simpson
Currently on view at Sonja Roesch is an exhibition of work by California artist David Simpson. Like Gisela Colon, Simpson also uses light as a key element in his works. The paintings have an iridescent and ever changing surface depending on light and vantage point. The exhibition runs from March 25th through May 17th, 2017.
Sonja Roesch Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 6 pm.
MKG Watch List
- Los Angeles based artist, Mary Weatherford, takes on the legacy of American abstraction. She explores and expands the medium’s possibilities and breaks with tradition by incorporating sculptural elements, such as neon tubes, and her fearless approach to the painterly gesture. A traveling retrospective of her 30-year practice will be making its debut at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston in 2019. Mary Weatherford is represented by David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles.
- Brooklyn based artist Andisheh Avini explores the duality of his identity in his work, often incorporating iconic Iranian images like calligraphy, peacock motifs, marquetry and carpets with concepts of minimalism and abstraction. His multi media practice speaks to a globalized society and contemporary culture. Andisheh Avini is represented by Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York.
- Self taught photographer Hendrik Kersten’s primary inspiration has been his daughter and muse Paula for over two decades. His early portraits of her quickly transitioned to reflect the craftsmanship and lighting of seventeenth century Dutch portraiture. These photographs often have a witty twist between the past and present by utilizing contemporary props such as plastic bags and towels as the headdress. Hendrik Kerstens is represented by Danziger Gallery and Jenkins Johnson Gallery in the US.
- Adopting the principles of simplicity, Brian Wills creates works using contemporary materials such as nylon thread to experience light and color. Based in Los Angeles, his work is characterized by simple, smooth, pared-down geometric shapes, adopting Mies Van der Rohe’s famous motto ‘less is more’. Brian Wills is represented by Praz-Delavallade Gallery in Paris and Los Angeles.