Eye Candy: Now With 17% More Nougat
By Megan McIlwain
Image above: detail from a work by Heath Flagtvedt.
HEAR YE HEAR YE — It may be late notice, but you want to go ahead and clear your schedule for the art that’s coming through this weekend because a few of these are one-time-only, short-run, pop up shows.
FRIDAY
Heath Flagtvedt, New Body, installation view.
I had the opportunity to preview Heath Flagtvedt’s exhibition New Body and speak with him about his work. I made the mistake of walking in with expectations about process, concept, and intention. Funny thing about expectations, they are usually wildly off base and rarely fulfilled – pleasantly, in this case. On my first stroll around the space, my mind immediately tried to identify these polyethylene plastic formations, trying to pinpoint the inspiration. A limited and suffocating approach, I know. On my second (or third, or fourth) go around, actively not thinking, I was able to engage with the formations in a physical and emotional way. And what a range they offer; fun, scary, inviting, and disconcerting. Some I wanted to squeeze, jump into, consume or be consumed by. Hell, toward one of them I felt childlike happiness followed by unorganized chaos, recognizing them as polar opposites and then questioning why I think they’re polar opposites and on and on…woe is me. Once Heath told me, “they’re just plastic and it is what it is,” I felt the freedom to make (or not make) them whatever I wanted.
His process, if you want to call it that, is going about his daily routine and taking the time to look; go for a walk – look, meet up with friends – look. He will go away and come back to a piece as many times as needed, not necessarily giving it his full attention, but letting it develop and manifest.
When you’re at the show tonight, I encourage you to silence the chatter in your mind. Let the art come at you, you may be surprised what comes up. Or you may just see plastic, either way.
It’s on the fourth floor at 2800 San Jacinto Street 8pm-12am, yes, the sketchy looking building.
And go back on Saturday for readings by Meghan Martin, Michelle Oaks and Chris Hutchinson, at 6 pm.
Bret Shirley is showing a series of sculptures and paintings using inorganic lab grown salt crystals, LEDs, resins, and concrete…wut? This looks and sounds awesome and considering the work reflects on humanities fascination with the beauty and symmetry of crystalline structures, (according to the press release) I guess you can say I’ve fallen into his target audience. I’ll be there, you’ll be there, tonight from 7-10 and on view through December 28th.
Lawndale Arts Center has four exhibitions opening tonight from 6:30-8:30 with artist talks at 6 pm.
John M. O’Quinn Gallery: Drive, curated by Joshua Fischer and Katia Zavistovski, will portray the way in which highways, traffic, and that asshole cutting you off influences how one experiences the world and the perception of a city. A diverse group of artists and architects including Susie Rosmarin, Bryan Gardner, and Jesse Morgan Marnett, among others, address the subject with a wide range of media and offer multiple perspectives.
Project Space: Mari Omori shares vivid childhood memories of Postwar Japan, notions of her identity as a Japanese-American artist, and the reconstruction of her past in at dawn and dusk. By way of videos, photographs, objects, and sounds in this two room installation, Omori explores ideas for self-discovery and prompts you to peer into her, assumedly, unfamiliar world.
Grace R. Cavnar Gallery: In Pulse, Margaret Smither-Crump experiments with the malleability of Plexiglas by covering the space with three-dimensional glass-like installations. She manipulates the material by cutting it into shapes, bending or melting it by heat, chemically bonding pieces, and etching the surface.
Cecily E. Horton Gallery: Regan Golden-McNerney shows a collection of collaged and digitally altered photographs representing the decay of a forest in her hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. Having taken thousands of photos of the woods, she cuts and rearranges the traditional landscape allowing the deterioration of the original photo to mirror the decomposing of natural spaces.
In a three-year and ongoing collaboration, Mark Tribe and Chelsea Knight investigate the militia movement in Posse Comitatus. In 2024, Tribe and Knight made contact with a militia group in New York and were able to film some of their training exercises. Then, with choreographer Cecil Slaughter, created a performance dance based on that footage. In 2024, to focus on the parallels of practice, a choreographer and two dancers were placed on a platform, rehearsing the dance while the video of the militia training was projected behind them. I swear, sometimes I thought it was the choreographer instructing then to “keep your head down!” The video portrays a striking and sometimes hilarious likeness between dance and combat. Tonight from 7-9 and on view through January 10, 2024.
Our Image Film and Arts Organization is hosting a screening of Finding Fela! This 2024 documentary/concert film looks at the life and music of Nigerian singer, godfather of Afrobeat, and populist revolutionary Fela Kuti. The lights dim at 7pm, but come early if you’re not familiar with the Rice campus and the parking options there.
Saturday
Suplex Presents: Lauren Moya Ford
Curatorial collective Suplex rounds out it’s latest (Idea Fund winning) series Suplex Presents: Three Exhibitions with a show featuring installations, video, prints, and sculpture by local interdisciplinary artist Lauren Moya Ford. In this project, Ford explores the border in Brownsville, TX in both a literal and figurative aspect touching on the cultural and biological diversity in these spaces. Opening reception from 6-9 pm, one night only, don’t miss it.
Bundle up and brave the rain, see you out there.
Lauren Moya Ford, image courtesy of Suplex.
Saturday and Sunday
It’s that time of year again — time for FreshArts’ annual Winter Holiday Art Market (WHAM). WHAM, as they say, is one part curated festival, one part holiday party, and fun for the whole family. WHAM is like the antithesis of Walmart on Black Friday. Find unique, locally made, hand made items and get your holiday shopping done early in a truly festive setting with food and entertainment. Go on Saturday and then go back on Sunday.
