Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle.
Bert L. Long Jr. (1940-2013) still lives on in the Houston art scene, as well as the international art scene. Long’s work, which straddles the worlds of fine art and outsider art, can be found in many collections, and now it is described in the book, Bert Long: The Artist’s Journey. Thomas McEvilley, who died only weeks after Long did, opens the book by describing his chance encounter with Long on a Houston street in 1980. An African American artist who grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward, Long was an energetic and enthusiastic artist—painter, sculptor, and photographer— who was trained as an executive chef and came to his art through his growing ability to carve ice and make decorative food in the hospitality industry.
In conjunction with Deborah Colton Gallery’s current exhibition, Bert Long: Looking for the Right Time, currently on view through January 28, the celebration of McEvilley’s monograph on the life and career of the beloved Houston artist will take place on Wednesday, December 14 at 6:30pm.
