Glasstire counts down five museum shows to see with family over the holidays.
For last week’s picks, please go here.
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, “Genesis,” 1993.
1. Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
October 15, 2023 – January 21, 2024
From the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth:
“Organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, the exhibition, on view at the Modern from October 15, 2023 through January 21, 2024, is a recognition of a groundbreaking artist’s work. For nearly five decades Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, has charted an exceptional and unorthodox career as an artist, activist, curator, educator, and advocate. The exhibition highlights how Smith uses her drawings, prints, paintings, and sculptures to flip mainstream historical narratives and illuminate absurdities in the dominant culture.
Memory Map is the largest and most comprehensive showcase of Smith’s career, featuring more than one hundred works. Organized thematically, the exhibition offers a new framework to consider contemporary Native American art, addressing how Smith has initiated and led some of the most pressing dialogues around land, racism, and cultural preservation. It celebrates the artist’s dedication to creativity and community, emphasizes her deep political commitments, and offers essential and potent reminders of our responsibilities to the earth and each other.”
Gem Hale, “The Protest Before the Protest,” 2023, digital photograph. Courtesy of the artist.
2. THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
December 7, 2023 – March 24, 2024
From Contemporary Arts Museum Houston:
“Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) is excited to open its newest exhibition THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show, which showcases new work from 12 Houston-based Black artists who were invited to examine innovative ways of participating in the storytelling of their legacy and heritage of Houston Freedmen’s Town.
THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show showcases new work from Imhotep Blot by way of Amaechina Blot and Studio KER led by Michael Bennett; Colby Deal, Nahtan (Nate Edwards), Dom Elam, Amarie Gipson, Priscilla T. Graham, Gem Hale, Charonda Johnson, Berlin Nicholas, Jaylen Pigford, Irene Antonia Diane Reece, and Jason Woods (Flash Gordon Parks). They were invited to examine innovative ways to participate in the storytelling of Black legacy and heritage in Houston Freedmen’s Town.”
A photograph by Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
3. As I See It: Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
The Grace Museum (Abilene)
October 14, 2023 – February 3, 2024
From the Grace Museum:
“As I See It: Earlie Hudnall, Jr. is a solo exhibition of the photography of Earlie Hudnall, Jr., who has lived for many years in Houston, Texas. He began photographing while in the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1960s and finds inspiration in the beauty and pride in everyday life in Black communities in Texas. A strong sense of community within his family and that of Black culture has shaped his work as an artist.
Earlie Hudnall Jr.’s work has been influential in the portrayal of the Black community and culture. He is best known for his photographs of the overlooked beauty of everyday life in Black communities and is widely recognized for his documentation of people in Houston, where he began taking photos in the 1970s as part of former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Model Cities Program.”
“Steve Parker: Weird Winter” at the Blanton Museum of Art
4. Steve Parker: Weird Winter
Blanton Museum of Art (Austin)
December 9, 2023 – January 7, 2024
From the Blanton Museum of Art:
“Get ready for a weird winter in the capitol city! Austin’s art museum has something oddly cheerful planned for all you sweater weather enthusiasts. Artist, musician, and longtime SoundSpace curator Steve Parker brings a new installation to the Blanton that’ll make even the grinchiest grin. Complete with brass instruments, musical snow globes, marionette-animated trees, and carols like you’ve never heard them before. Explore this installation for a limited jolly time.”
A group of sculptures by Jeffie Brewer
5. A Pop of Color: Works by Jeffie Brewer
Tyler Museum of Art
September 29, 2023 – January 6, 2024
From the Tyler Museum of Art:
“Organized by the Tyler Museum of Art, this exhibition spotlights works by Nacogdoches-based artist Jeffie Brewer. From tabletop and large scale sculptures to paintings on paper, the included works provide an overview of the artist’s current body of work. Growing up the son of East Texas junk yard owners, Brewer’s interest in steel and patina started at an early age. That interest, combined with an understanding and knowledge of graphic design, shape his work today.”
