Texas Contemporary Art Fair Review, Houston, TX 2015

texas contemporary art fair

Texas Contemporary Art Fair, Houston, TX  2015

October in Houston is something to look forward to.  The weather is getting cooler, hurricane season is coming to an end, and it is time for the city’s art lovers to get ready for the Texas Contemporary Art Fair, which was held October 1-4, 2015, at the George R. Brown Convention Center.  The 2014 Fair drew an audience of 14,000.  Galleries showing this year were from across the United States, as well a good representation of galleries around the world.

The venue of the event was perfect, elegantly designed, with spacious walkways, refreshment areas, and perfect climate control of temperature and humidity.  The floorplan of the galleries allowed an easy flow and transition from one exhibit to the next, without interruption or redundancy.  There was a wonderful vibrance to the event, with the majority of the galleries providing a visually exciting and aesthetically pleasing experience, in an atmosphere conducive to open discussion.  Several galleries in particular caught our attention.

Art Mur, from Montreal, Quebec, showed unique and unforgettable pieces of art.  “Veiled Hood #1,” a plasma cut car hood by Cal Lane, is an engaging work combining the delicate plasma cuts with the sturdy hood.  The “Monument to the First American in Space” by Brandon Vickerd, is a monumental figurative sculpture in a post-modern age.  That first American was a rhesus monkey named Albert, who on June 11, 1948 became the first American to achieve space flight.

Adelson Galleries, from New York, NY, was an exquisite delight to see.  It is hard to describe the emotionally charges and energetic feeling which one gets when viewing the astonishing work of artist Federico Uribe, whose passion and calling is to “mold inanimate objects into vibrant images.”  His exquisite work “Leopard” is created from bullet shells. The leopard looks ferociously at the viewer.   “Pawel” and “David” are two divine canine creations of artist Uribe, which are made from colored pencils.  Truly remarkable!  We can truly state that all of the artwork shown by this gallery is stunning!

The Cynthia Corbett Gallery, from London, United Kingdom, showed stellar works of Lluis Barba, Isabel Van Zeijl, Tom Leighton and others.  We were particularly amazed at “Gallery of Views of Modern Rome,” a Perspex mounted C type print of Lluis Barba.  Similarly, “7^th Avenue 2013” by Tom Leighton, left us mesmerized.  We were so impressed by the quality, expressive and fresh art from this gallery, that we were wishing they brought much more of their wonderful art from across the Atlantic.  We look forward to seeing them later in the year in Miami.  It is no wonder that there was a significant crowd of people visiting this gallery.

Unix Gallery from Houston TX and New York, NY showed a remarkable work of “Washington,” oil on canvas, painted by Alexi Torres.  There was also a unique piece entitled “Yeah, I Own This, So What?” which caught our attention. They had another similarly impeccable piece showing Lincoln.  What was amazing is that despite the piece being 96 x 84 inches, no detail was lost whether standing one foot away, or 10 feet away from the painting.

Charles A. Hartman Fine Art from Portland OR, displayed magnificent archival pigment prints.  One which caught our attention was “Alaska Knight,” by Corey Arnold.  The mighty ship Alaska Knight is smashing into the ferocious waves of the sea.  In “Wake and Sea,” also by Corey Arnold, the fierce sea, with huge whitecap waves, is again seen.  Photo artist Corey Arnold has truly captured the essence of the moment with his lens.

Denise Bibro Fine Art from New York, NY, showed expressive and energetic works of the extremely gifted artist Jerry Meyer, with “Yikes Music,” as well as other very creative and thought provoking contemporary art.  “Head Spinner IV” is a unique work “when you can’t take it for one more minute,” complete with rotating and backlit art behind fluid filled tubes.  “Harold, Your Socks Don’t Match” takes us back a few decades, as a woman looks in horror, realizing Harold’s socks don’t match.  Director Denise Bibro was an absolute pleasure to discuss this fine contemporary art with.

There were many other galleries with beautiful exhibits, and the leadership of Texas Contemporary Art is to be congratulated on orchestrating such a wonderful production.  We are confident that with the great skill and talent at the helm of this fine organization, future events will be even more fulfilling.

Keywords: Texas Contemporary Art Fair, art, artist, gallery, contemporary art