Pete Gershon, the Houston-based author and historian, will be giving a talk tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. at Deborah Colton Gallery in conjunction with Colton’s current show as well as Gershon’s forthcoming book, Collision: Contemporary Artists Working in Houston, 1972 – 1985.
This should be a fantastic talk for Houstonians interested in the long and rich history of the city’s art scene. Here’s the compelling description of the book, and by extension the subject of the talk, via Gershon and the gallery:
“This detailed social history traces the development of the scene in between the opening of the present-day Gunnar Birkerts-designed Contemporary Arts Museum Houston building in March 1972 and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s presentation of Fresh Paint: the Houston School in January 1985, drawing upon primary archival materials, contemporary newspaper and magazine accounts, and over seventy-five interviews with key artists, administrators, and patrons who transformed the scene during a period of unprecendented growth, risk, and opportunity. What were the highlights, the detours, the noble failures? How did the city influence these artists, and how did they in turn influence the city? How did contemporary art activity in Houston reflect, oppose, or presage trends in the regional and national arts communities? Was there really any “Houston School” and if so, what was it?”
Colton’s current show, which runs through Nov. 4, is Focus on the ’70s and ’80s: Houston Foundations Part II. It features work by, among others: HJ Bott, Mel Chin, Dorothy Hood, Jesse Lott, Luis Jimenez, Sharon Kopriva, Forrest Prince, James Surls, and Earl Staley.
For more info, please go here.
