Note: the following is part of Glasstire’s series of short videos, Five-Minute Tours, for which commercial galleries, museums, nonprofits and artist-run spaces across the state of Texas send us video walk-throughs of their current exhibitions. This will continue while the coronavirus situation hinders public access to exhibitions. Let’s get your show in front of an audience.
See other Five-Minute Tours here.
Cary Reeder: True North 2021, a Heights Boulevard Sculpture Project at Heights Boulevard Esplanade, 400-1800 blocks of Heights Boulevard, Houston. Dates: March 15 – December 15, 2021.
Additional artists featured: David Adickes, William Cannings, Danville Chadbourne, Julia Ousley, Bill Peck, Jamie Spinello and Anthony Suber.
Via the artist:
“TRUE NORTH 2021, a Heights Boulevard sculpture project, is a temporary public art installation organized by an all-volunteer team, along with the Houston Heights Association (“HHA”)—its nonprofit sponsor and long-time custodian of Heights Boulevard’s esplanade—and in cooperation with City of Houston Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments, the Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and Houston Arts Alliance. The official opening of the sculpture project is March 15, 2021, and sculptures remain in place through December 15, 2021.
“Going into its eighth installation, TRUE NORTH 2021 is comprised of extraordinary and diverse works by distinguished Texas artists David Adickes, William Cannings, Danville Chadbourne, Julia Ousley, Bill Peck, Cary Reeder, Jamie Spinello and Anthony Suber. The sculpture project is co-curated by Linda Eyles, Simon Eyles, Chris Silkwood and Kelly Simmons, and Gus Kopriva of Redbud Gallery is its engineering and project consultant. TRUE NORTH is underwritten entirely through private donations from art- and community-minded individuals and businesses who wish to support the popular public art project and its ongoing success, and honorariums are given to the artists for their participation.
“Heights Boulevard’s esplanade is a ‘Scenic Right of Way’ which runs right through the heart of the Houston Heights. Patterned after Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Heights Boulevard’s 60-foot-wide esplanade was the site of Houston’s first electrified streetcar system, ferrying Houston Heights residents the ‘considerable distance’ of four miles to the big city. Fast forward and thanks to the Houston Heights Association and extensive community activism and fundraising over the years, the esplanade is now home to show-stopping architectural gardens, pavilions, old-growth tree lines and one of the most popular walking/jogging trails in the City.
“Large enough in scale to be seen from passing vehicles and bicycles, with more intimate views along the winding trails of the esplanade, TRUE NORTH sculptures are seen by hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors to the Houston Heights. The sculpture project is wildly popular on social media feeds and has a website and Facebook and Instagram pages. The project has become even more meaningful during the pandemic as people seek fresh air, safe activities and solace.
“’TRUE NORTH 2021 will celebrate a welcomed new year,’ says co-curator Chris Silkwood. ‘These eight unique works by amazing Texas artists may be seen from afar, but you’ll want to experience them along the forested trails of the esplanade to truly appreciate the complexity, design, media and the luminous imagination of the artists.'”
