There’s a lot of art out there now but here’s a quick overview of the good, the great, and the pretty darn respectable on view in some of Houston’s galleries.
Isabella Court Building
Bryan Miller Gallery
“Soft Math” runs through January 7th at Bryan Miller Gallery and it’s got a lot of great work.
Leigh Ruple, "Third Base," 2011, oil on canvas, 60 x 66 inches.
Leigh Ruple‘s paintings are pretty amazing. She’s purposely throwing in just enough “bad painting” to keep things interesting.
Rachel Beach
Rachel Beach‘s sculptures seamlessly fuse the crisp-edged and sleekly painted with planes of raw wood. They’re quirky and impeccably executed.
Inman Gallery
“Related Clues: Jillian Conrad, Claire Falkenberg, Ian Pedigo, Brion Nuda Rosch” through January 8th.
Claire Falkenberg
Claire Falkenberg creates these haunting and luminous pools of paint over large, collaged-together c-prints.
Also at Inman, “Toni LaSelle: Climate of the Heart: Paintings from the 1950’s” through January 8th, 2012.
Toni LaSelle, "Climate of the Heart #4," 1956 acrylic (magna) on board, 14 x 10 inches
I didn’t know Toni LaSelle’s work until I saw this Inman show with her great paintings from the ’50s. (And they’re done in magna!)
Art Palace Gallery
“ART MARKET” through December 23. Artists offer up holiday gift ideas, and it’s packed with cool stuff.
Emily Link, "Impaled Head Puppet, Arturian"
Bring me the head of Arturo Palacios! Emily Link’s portrait of the Art Palace proprietor.
Melanie Crader
Melanie Crader’s shaped painting, er panties.
Devin Borden Gallery
“Jillian Conrad: Splits” through February 7, 2012
Jillian Conrad, "Arch de," 2011
Projecting bits of cut fabric over apathetic scrap wood, Jillian Conrad‘s Frenchglish “Arch de” is purposefully not triumphant.
“Charles Wiese: foldedSpace” through January 10, 2012
Fractal digital images are forever linked in my mind with mall art but this particular piece by Charles Wiese pushes beyond technical showmanship to something intriguingly otherworldly.
Hanna Hillerova
Hana Hillerova may have just left Houston but she also left behind some nice sculptures in Hiram Butler Gallery’s lush and expansive garden. There is something strangely crystalline about these welded metal sculptures.
Colquitt Street galleries…
“Pat Colville: New Works” at Moody Gallery through January 14, 2012.
Pat Colville, "Gray Form," 2011, acrylic on canvas on panel, 36" x 36"
Pat Colville‘s Gray Form has a funky 1950’s fabric design vibe.
Michael Bise, "Mom and Dad," 2011 graphite on paper, 42" x 42"
Don’t miss Michael Bise‘s work in Moody’s back gallery from his show “Blood Poisoning.” And if you are looking for a good cause to give to this holiday season, consider contributing to Bise’s heart transplant fund.
“The Book” at Hooks-Epstein through January 7, 2012.
Lane Hagood, "Bad Art Book"
Lane Hagood‘s paintings are always good, even when they’re bad.
Rahul Mitra, "Dialogues of Civilizations," 2011, acrylic on handmade paper, 20 x 1/2 x 14"
The wonky lettering in the title in Rahul Mitra‘s Dialogues of Civilizations totally makes it.
“Gallery Artists 2011” at McMurtrey Gallery through January 7, 2012.
Detail of Troy Dugas's "Mcguillicudy's Ribbon," various product labels on canvas, 30" x 30", 2011
Troy Dugas‘s collages of vintage cigar labels and the like have decent amount of crazy person obsessiveness, but a little more would help put it over the top.
Sydney Yeager, "Traces," oil on canvas, 48" x 60", 2011
Nice, fleshy-looking abstraction by Sydney Yeager.
Beverly Penn,"Individual Botanicals," silver and bronze, 4" x 3.5" x 2", 2011
Beverly Penn offers up an array of delicate flora. They’re really nice on their own, like 3D botanical prints.
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There is also a wonderful group show going on right now at Wade Wilson Art.
Check it out.