Christopher Blay and Christina Rees on a power nap for 2020, the creative advantage of dyslexia, and a show in Austin titled People the We.
“What a beautiful turn of phrase, because we DO need ‘People the We.’”
To watch last week’s Top Five in which Christina Rees and Brandon Zech discuss when painting turned into sculpture, a drawing that can’t exist without sunlight, and a showcase that helps you imagine art in your (alter ego’s) house, please go here.
1. Nap Church’s Southern Naptist Convention
October 30 – November 1
Mystic Lyon (Houston); Online-only event
“Participants are encouraged to have available their favorite pillows, blankets and whatever else will help them nap . This series of community naps is free to attend. The series features gong-induced vibrational healing, embodiment (somatic awareness), listening and napping scores by Emily Sloan some of which are inspired by artist Salvador Dali and sound composer Pauline Oliveros.”
Sara Sudhoff’s Installation “The Reading Brain” at the Doseum, San Antonio.
2. Sara Sudhoff: The Reading Brain
Part of Beautiful Minds – Dyslexia and the Creative Advantage
October 10 – January 3, 2021
The DoSeum (San Antonio)
“Beautiful Minds – Dyslexia and the Creative Advantage explore the successes of those who think and thought outside the box when faced with the challenges of dyslexia and learn about some of the tools and resources for diagnosis and pathways to success.”
“Running in conjunction with Beautiful Minds will be The 2020 Artist-In-Residence, Sara Sudhoff’s installation, The Reading Brain, which will allow families to be immersed in the inner-workings of the reading brain through a multi-sensory, data driven interactive installation.”
3. a) Claire Drennan: Window BOX
September 26 – November 7
Box 13 Artspace (Houston)
“This installation by artist Claire Drennan consists of overstuffed letters spelling out the word ‘V-O-T-E,’ displayed in the converted storefront window of BOX 13 ArtSpace on Harrisburg Avenue in Houston’s East End. In an array of blues, each letter is fashioned from a quilted patchwork of found textiles, stuffed with more found textiles. Viewed from across the street, the piece blurs the line between street and sky.”
3. b) Elaine Bradford: The Distance Between
September 26 – November 7
Box 13 Artspace (Houston)
“This exhibition is all about distance and connection. Originally it was going to be about physically joining people together through crochet and movement; then the pandemic hit. As artist Elaine Bradford sat alone in her house day after day, she began to connect inanimate objects together as representations of these relationships she was missing in her life. Some of the work was created before the lockdown. There are people connected to each other through crocheted masks. Embroidered vintage photographs show odd associations and awkward dinner parties. The newer work utilized her collection of thrift and antique store finds that surrounded Bradford as she was socially distanced inside her house. She transformed these discarded pieces of people’s lives by linking them together with crochet, embroidery and collage.”
4. Rachel Jones: A Sovereign Mouth
October 30 – December 19
Opening Reception, October 30, 4-7 PM
12.26 Gallery (Dallas)
“12.26 is pleased to present A Sovereign Mouth, London-based artist Rachel Jones’ inaugural solo exhibition in the United States.
“Continuing the artist’s investigations into representations of Blackness, Jones has created a new series of paintings that employ the imagery of teeth and the interior of mouths to further her understanding of internal spaces, both real and imaginary.
“In keeping with the following excerpt from Ladi’Sasha Jones’ essay on ‘Black Interior Art’ (2019) Jones is interested in using her own visual language to compose recognizable images that vacillate between both the familiar and unfamiliar, creating profound landscapes that are rooted in the Black interior.”
5. Betelhem Makonnen and Adrian Aguilera: People the We
October 30 – January 3, 2021
Prizer Arts & Letters (Austin)
A two-person exhibition featuring work by Adrian Aguilera and Betelhem Makonnen.
From the gallery:
“people the We is a collaborative exhibition by the artists Adrian Aguilera and Betelhem Makonnen conceived in the wake and on-going aftermath of the Black Lives Matter led uprisings that were reignited in May 2020. Over a series of masked and socially distanced exchanges, mostly in the natural spaces outside both their studios, Aguilera and Makonnen tried to give form to the overwhelming personal and collective emotions of rage, disappointment, exhaustion and bruised hope that they experienced in the last six months. Cultivating their continuous curiosity about the relationship between symbols and collective identity, transnationality and diaspora perspectives, as well as history’s inextricable hold on the present, Aguilera and Makonnen introduce new multimedia work in conversation with existing work to reflect on this (re)current moment in our country.”
