Bury The Past: The Hidden Agenda

Rahul Mitra, “Culture Bleed,” 2024 (detail)

This week offers up a number of artist talks and exhibition openings at Capsule Gallery, Blaffer Art Museum, Redbud Gallery and more, as well as the Young Patrons party at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.

Tuesday, August 30

CAMH Young Patrons: Fall Launch Preview Party at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

From 6 to 8 pm, join the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (5216 Montrose) for a special preview party celebrating the 2024 Texas Contemporary Art Fair and CAMH’s newest patron group for young art-minded individuals. The event will feature complimentary refreshments and after-hours access to CAMH’s three part exhibition series, Right Here, Right Now: Houston, Volume 2, and gives patrons the opportunity to mingle with the artists featured in the show. Admission to the party is free and open to the public.

Wednesday, August 31

Discussion — Free Gallery Talk + Lunch: Katherine Veneman on Matthew Ronay at Blaffer Art Museum

Join Blaffer Art Museum (4173 Elgin) at noon for a free gallery talk about Matthew Ronay’s solo exhibition, one which concludes over lunch provided by the museum. Curator of Education Katherine Veneman will discuss Ronay’s exhibition and docents will lead small-group tours of the exhibition.

Discussion — Conversation with Anna Walker and THIRST Artists at Capsule Gallery

At 6 pm, Capsule Gallery (3909 Main) is hosting a conversation with Anna Walker, Windgate Foundation Curatorial Fellow for Contemporary Craft at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and artists Terry Fromm, Sandie Zilker, Denise Greenwood Loveless, Abbie Preston, Katherine Poeppel and Richard Moiel as they discuss their work in the gallery’s current exhibition, THIRST. The exhibition runs through September 10, so be sure to take this opportunity to check out the summer exhibition.

Thursday, September 1

Discussion — Free Gallery Talk and Lunch: Javier Sánchez Martínez and Allison Hunter on Hilary Lloyd at Blaffer Art Museum

Join Blaffer Art Museum (4173 Elgin) at noon for a free gallery talk about Hilary Lloyd’s solo exhibition by Blaffer curatorial fellow Javier Sánchez Martínez, who organized the exhibition, in conversation with Allison Hunter, Visual & Dramatic Arts Humanities Artist in Residence at Rice University. The discussion ends with lunch provided by the museum.

Saturday, September 3

Summer Exhibitions Closing Reception and Artist Talk at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

From 11:30 am to 12:30 pm, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (4848 Main) is hosting the closing reception for the organization’s summer exhibitions, including A View Within, an exhibition of textiles by Karen Rips and Paula Chung inspired by body imaging, as well as Charlotte Potter’s Glass Armory, a solo exhibition that investigates the physical manifestation of identity through the intersection of skin and glass. To celebrate the closing, HCCC will also host a artist talk with Potter at 3:30 pm.

Open Studio: Activities Inspired by the Art of Thedra Cullar-Ledford at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

Between 2 to 4 pm, stop by this week’s Open Studio event, a monthly series featuring drop-in, hands-on activities that tie-in to the exhibitions on view at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. This month visitors can sketch their hearts out in a strange doll still-life drawing session in homage to the work of artist Thedra Cullar-Ledford, currently presented in the museum’s three part exhibition series, Right Here, Right Now: Houston, Volume 2. Admission is free and open to the public.

Opening Reception — Rahul Mitra: I Bury My Past So I Can Repeat It at Gspot Gallery

From 6 to 9 pm, Gspot Gallery (310 East 9th St.) is hosting the opening reception for Houston-based artist and writer Rahul Mitra’s solo exhibition, I Bury My Past So I Can Repeat It. The exhibition is Mitra’s “attempt to capture the consensus transitory events in our society that make up the contemporary history through a series of drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations,” adding that the “overall opinion is that we are still living with the same set of prejudices from millennia.” The exhibition will be on view through September 28.

Opening Reception — Yuliya Lanina: Stories Untold at Redbud Gallery

From 6 to 9 pm, Redbud Gallery (303 East 11th St.) is hosting the opening reception for Austin-based artist Yuliya Lanina’s solo exhibition, Stories Untold. Her work, which ranges from paintings and interactive sculptures to animations and performance, highlights her interest in transforming the traditional medium of painting into a multi-dimensional and interactive experience for the viewer. This exhibition, which will be on view through September 25, is “comprised of Lanina’s latest works on paper as well as a series of small-scale mechanical sculptures based on popular folk tales.”

Opening Reception — Samantha Persons at Capitol Street Gallery

From 8 to 10 pm, Capitol Street Gallery (6701 Capitol) is hosting the opening reception for a solo exhibition by interdisciplinary artist Samantha Persons, who works in sculpture and new media. The format for the exhibition is composed of multiple projectors to form a screen spanning over thirty five feet wide. Persons’ composition is a five-minute silent composite film, “exploring queerness within science fiction” through footage of outer space, motion graphics and hand-drawn imagery.

by Elizabeth Rhodes