An Installation Story
When Principal Real Estate Investors and CBRE called MKG to help them re-imagine their lobby space as part of a five million dollar renovation at 20 Greenway in Houston, we jumped at the opportunity to enhance the iconic architectural building in Greenway Plaza. The soaring lobby required works of art that would bring drama and cohesion to two 3-story walls. The art would be the focal point of the building, adding color and interest to the expansive space.
In the selection process, Houston based artist Paul Fleming was chosen to create his most ambitious work to date. Fleming creates work ranging from grid like color formations to organic compositions which engulf entire walls. His individually cast resin pieces suggest anything from celestial bodies to reproducing organisms. In the space at 20 Greenway, Fleming created a blue/green/gray color palette that enlivens the space and provides an element of surprise. The piece thus works from two visual perspectives: on close inspection, the viewer realizes the variety of color and form in each individual element. From a further viewpoint, the elements coalesce to form an organic and dynamic composition that invites the viewer into the building.
Houston Happenings…
Menil Drawing Institute Breaks Ground
The highly anticipated Menil Drawing Institute broke ground last month. Among those in attendance was MKG partner (and President of the Menil Board of Trustees) Janet Hobby.
Slated to open in 2017, the Johnston Marklee designed building will be the first freestanding facility in the United States designed for the exhibition and study of modern and contemporary drawings.
Beyonce Says… Go see the Marilyn Minter show at CAMH.
If you see one art exhibition this month, make it the Marilyn Minter retrospective opening April 17th at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty, will feature over 25 paintings spanning the artist’s career, three video works, and several examples of Minter’s provocative photography.
Finally, don’t forget this year’s Glassell School of Art Benefit Auction.
MKG’s Melissa and Albert Grobmyer are chairing the primary fundraiser for The Glassell School of Art to celebrate its talented faculty, students, and Core artists. The evening begins with a cocktail reception in the silent auction space, followed by dinner and dancing with DJ Kiss underneath the dazzling disco shark.
Where: The former Nabisco Building at the Texas Medical Center’s John P. McGovern Campus
Chairs: Melissa and Albert Grobmyer
Individual ticket prices start at $500; underwriting opportunities start at $5,000. For more information, contact GlassellBenefit@mfah.org or 713.639.7523.
We give special thanks to artists and dealers that have contributed to this year’s silent auction. Here are just a few of the artworks featured in the auction on May 8th from top left to right:
Ali Smith courtesy of the artist and Mark Moore Gallery
Aurora Robson courtesy of Aurora Robson
Doug and Mike Starn courtesy Starn Twins Studio
Alejandro Cartagena courtesy of the artist and Kopeiken Gallery
Rosemarie Fiore courtesy of the artist and Von Lintel Gallery
* To preview more selected auction works click here.
Meanwhile, in Dallas…
The seventh edition of the annual Dallas Art Fair opens April 9th through 12th at the Fashion Industry Gallery (f.i.g.) in Dallas’s downtown Arts District. Here is a sneak peak at some artists that we are excited to see in this year’s fair. Follow us on Instagram to see our favorites in real time.
- In the words the artist Keith Lemley, “My work is about seeing the unseen – the invisible presence which exists in our minds and surrounds all objects, experiences, and memories”. With an interest in “synthesizing the organic and the machine”, Lemley’s neon works effectively communicate the integration of technology and nature. Keith Lemley’s work can be seen at Mixed Greens.
- New York based artist Ryan Sullivan’s painting career took off after his widely acclaimed debut exhibition at Maccarone Gallery in spring of 2012. Since the exhibition, Sullivan’s work has been difficult to keep in the gallery. His artistic process utilizes the cause and effect of elements, weather, and gravity. The resulting canvases are wrinkled and cracked, feeling topographical in nature. Ryan Sullivan’s artwork can be seen at Maccarone Gallery.
- MKG has long been a fan of Jim Campbell’s LED and light-bulb installations. His low resolution LED works strip away the fine detail in a moving image. The resulting effect leaves beams of light moving across the work, with no clear indication as the underlying images. In some cases it is a sparrow flying across a sky, in others its waves crashing on a beach. You can find Jim Campbell’s work at Hosfelt Gallery.
- Through his artwork, Minneapolis based Jay Heikes seeks to rid himself of existing cultural influences. Thus his artistic process, Heikes strives to attain pure unadulterated artistic expression. Jay Heikes artwork can be seen at Federica Schiavo Gallery.
Also in Dallas…
Finally, don’t leave Dallas without stopping by Talley Dunn Gallery. The current exhibition by Brooklyn based artist Leonardo Drew, features the artist’s new and much celebrated gritty large scale installations. These transformative works are thoughtfully constructed from a variety of raw and found materials, including wood, iron, cotton, paper and mud. The resulting artworks, some seemingly growing out of the wall, reflect the natural process of decay and regeneration.