Christina Rees and Christopher Blay go into the Houston underground to share new shows about Black narratives, video art in San Antonio, and all the exhibitions in Texas this week involving water and video.
“The theme this week is water features.”
To watch last week’s Top Five in which Christina Rees and Brandon Zech share a walking tour show in Houston, the daily lives of our furry companions, and the second parking garage art show we know of in Texas during the pandemic, please go here.
1. CAM Perennial 2021
March 1 – March 30
Contemporary Art Month (San Antonio)
From CAM:
“Since 2012, CAM has invited a guest curator to come to San Antonio and produce an exhibition of work from artists in San Antonio. Past curators have hailed from Houston, Miami, Denver, El Paso and Fort Worth. Due to circumstances with COVID-19 we have decided to move our exhibition outside of the gallery and into the city. For the CAM Perennial 2021, we are focusing on video work, which will be displayed as a city-wide, multi-location viewing experience. Additionally, we have extended the open call to all artists living and working in the state of Texas.”
Anri Sala, Time No Longer.
2. Anri Sala: Time No Longer
March 12- December 12
Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern (Houston)
From the organizers:
“Buffalo Bayou Partnership is pleased to announce a newly commissioned artwork for the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern by the internationally renowned multi-media artist, Anri Sala. This immersive new film and sound installation, titled Time No Longer, will transform the Cistern for a period of nine months, transporting visitors into an other-worldly environment within this vast, subterranean reservoir. Time No Longer incorporates a film projected onto a translucent, 22 by 150-foot (7 by 45-meter) screen with a soundtrack emanating throughout the space, its reverberations creating ripples on the surface of the water. Visitors will encounter the work in 360 degrees by making their way around the full perimeter of the 87,500-square-foot Cistern, hearing, feeling, and observing it through the Cistern’s 221 supporting columns.”
Bridges II, by Bill Viola.
3. Bridges II: Bill Viola
February 15 – April 3
The Gallery at UTA (Arlington)
From the gallery:
“With Bridges II: Bill Viola, The Gallery at UTA continues an ongoing collaboration with the Art Bridges Foundation, a program that arts patron and philanthropist Alice Walton created to loan museum quality art to partner institutions throughout the country. For the second year in a row, The Gallery at UTA has been allowed to borrow from the foundation’s collection of works by world-renowned artists. This year, internationally recognized video artist Bill Viola’s seminal video installation Moving Stillness, Mount Rainier (1979) has been selected for display. The room-sized piece, constructed on-site in a darkened, enclosed gallery space to create a more immersive viewer experience, incorporates a video reflecting off a large pool of water onto a suspended screen, along with sound recordings. The water surface is stirred with a paddle at set intervals throughout the day, disrupting the serene, reflected image. This contemplative work reflects on both the strength and fragility of nature over time.”
Evidence 150, by Rebecca Rothfus Harrell.
4. Rebecca Rothfus Harrell: Between
March 11 – April 10
CAMIBArt Gallery (Austin)
From CAMIBA:
“CAMIBAart Gallery in Austin is pleased to announce the opening of Rebecca Rothfus Harrell: Between, the artist’s third solo show at the gallery. Since the early days of her art practice, Rebecca Rothfus Harrell has been influenced by the American Precisionists of the 1920’s & 30’s, particularly their approach to spatial organization, dimensional & time flattening, and selective realism. With regards to subject matter, just as many Precisionists explored the cities, farms, and factories that surrounded them, Rebecca initially explored the modern built environment and its intersection with the natural landscape, specifically looking at cell towers. However, soon after her fascination with rocks, crystals, and gemstones took the lead, inspiring her to create artworks that were often described as surrealist landscapes or still-lifes.”
Serenity Spoke to my Soul.
5. Evita Tezeno and Jas Mardis: Sharing Memories
February 6 – March 27
ArtCentre of Plano
From the gallery:
“Tezeno combines handmade papers, acrylic paints, and found objects to create whimsical images that provoke laughter, thought, and memories.”
“Jas Mardis’ fabric and leather works focus on creating story quilts, sculptures, and lite-assemblages. His current drive is creating exhibitions around themes that seek to restore stories, histories, and an examination of the African-American folk narrative.”
