Glasstire is the source for visual art in Texas. Our weekly Top 5 video rounds up the best art events in the state. Find us on Facebook or the web for events, news, reviews and more! www.glasstire.com
1. re:construction
McClain Gallery | Through April 28
One of the more sophisticated shows we’ve seen in a long time, re:construction assembles an eclectic group of paintings, drawings, furniture, ceramic sculptures and glass vessels into a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. This is a museum-caliber show — but one that is far more quirky than most things you see in a museum. Thaddeus Wolfe’s remarkable glass vessels, cast from Styrofoam forms and then cut and polished, are a revelation, as is Sheila Hicks’ woven all-white “painting” that evokes Robert Ryman as well as the best of 70s macrame. Everything is pulled together by a selection of postwar furniture by the French designer Marcel Gascoin, and the minimal paintings by Leon Polk Smith, who was ahead of his time in the early 1950s. Not to be missed.
www.mcclaingallery.com
2. The Photography of Louise Ozelle Martin
One Allen Center | Through April 20
This gem of a show features dozens of works by Louise Martin, who chronicled Houston black society from the 1950s through the ’80s. Martin captured the births, weddings, parties and portraits of a generation as a society photographer, in addition to documenting the Houston Freedom Riders and photographing the funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr., as one of only two women photographers invited. This show presents a slice of Houston history that would have been forgotten but for the efforts of former TSU professor Sarah Trotty, who saved Martin’s estate, and curator Sally Reynolds, who helped mount this show. www.allencenterhouston.com
3. Discoveries of the Meeting Place
Spring Street Studios | Through April 22
Every two years, during its biennial exhibition, Fotofest presents a special show of artists selected from its portfolio review program. Featuring more than 450 photographers, the competition is fierce–artists come from around the world to show their work to a group of international curators, editors, publishers, gallery owners and collectors. Ultimately, ten artists out of the group are selected to be shown in the next biennial, meaning this year’s Discoveries of the Meeting Place features the top artists chosen from 2016’s reviews. If you want a highlight reel of up-and-coming photo artists, look no further.
www.springstreetstudios.info
4. Henry G. Sanchez: Patriot Game
Civic TV Laboratories | Through April 14
In his exhibition at Civic TV Laboratories, Henry G. Sanchez addresses the problematic question of who gets to define what the words “liberty,“ “freedom“ and “choice“ mean in American society. Collaborating with the Houston Chapter of United We Dream, an organization that advocates for the rights of undocumented immigrants, Sanchez has created videos that explore how members of the organization reinterpret concepts that have so long been considered “quintessentially American.”
www.civictv.org
5. Nick Vaughan & Jake Margolin: The Scene (Houston: 1969–1981)
Devin Borden Gallery | Through May 12
Houston-based artists Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin are documenters of underappreciated, unrecognized histories. While their past projects have involved researching LGBTQ accounts in all 50 states across the U.S., The Scene is instead focused on Houston’s bustling drag community from 1969 to 1981. The artists reinterpret images from found photographs into graphically-charged portraits created using intricately cut maps, referencing both the concept of place and the drag community’s impact on shaping the city.
www.devinborden.com
