June 7 - August 24, 2024
From Lawndale:
“Lawndale is pleased to announce the artists and public opening for the 2024 iteration of The Big Show, our ambitious annual exhibition of new work by artists practicing within a 100-mile radius of Lawndale. This year, juror Dr. Laura Augusta selected 140 works by 90 artists from over 1000 entries.
“With 140 works in this edition of The Big Show, we barely scratch the surface of this city. And yet, there are shared and unexpected conversations unfolding across the exhibition: Anxieties about the natural world partner with quiet observations of human impact on the landscapes around us. The quiet interiority of loss and remembrance sits alongside insistent whimsy and colorful playtime. Dynamic abstractions engage histories of color and form while skillful explorations of figuration reflect Houston’s many communities. There are signals of protest and moments of repair: Houston is nothing if not deeply imbricated in the worlds far beyond its vast edges. And yet the works here also sing of the city’s special something. As you visit The Big Show, I hope you intuit the depths of Houston’s rich secrets, the shadowy corners of its abundant strip malls, the muddy trails left behind in its cycles of flood and fever, the ways in which its peoples wander intrepidly through the city’s bustle and sprawl. There is no making order from Houston’s particular delights and remarkable troubles but here, in this selection, I hope you find glimmers of what makes this place a herald of the future.” — Dr. Laura Augusta
Featured Artists
Isela Aguirre, Josh Alan, Erika Alonso, Sallie Barbee, Darla Barolini, Beatriz Bellorin, Maria Bordelon, Betty-Ann Brose, Via Aphrodite Cabanez, Chelsea Clarke, Katie Coleman, Alexandra Constantinou, Carol Sandin Cooley, Margaux Crump, Sandra de la Rosa, Nabila Dadabhoy, Laura De Leon, April DeConick, Jacinto Deleon, Roslyn M. Dupré, Jake Eshelman, Jailyne España, Diana-Sofia Estrada, Jen Figueroa, Julia Fisher, Brent Fogt, Farima Fooladi, Madelyn Foutz, DIXIE FRIEND GAY, Abigail Garcia Garza, Ian Gerson, MICHAEL GODOY, Caroline Gray, Katie Hagar, Jeanette “Joy” Harris, Lucy Malone Haslam, Juliette Hemingway, Michael Horvath, Mayra Huerta, Aisha Imdad, Cedric Ingram, Sarah Jentsch, Heather L. Johnson, Jeanne Jones, Caro Kroger, Joana Liu, Steve Louis, Renata Lucia, Elias John Lytton, Jennifer Marion, Carrie Green Markello, Jennifer K. G. Martin, Sofia Mekonnen, Jade Elizabeth Mellor, Lorena Molina, Venessa Monokian, Mark Nelson, Lay-Ing Oji, Carolina Otero, Annette Palmer, Jin Park, Naomi Peterson, Jessica Phillips, Ellen Phillips, Julon Pinkston, Gladys Poorte, Cary Reeder, Winifred Riser, Lia Rodi, Henry G. Sanchez, Michelle Schoenberg, Caz Scott, Lauren Selden, Adrienne Simmons, Kylie Sivley, Kaylan Smith, Carole Smith, Margaret Smithers-Crump, Gretchen Bender Sparks, Dreana Booker, Lisa Urban, Pavlina Vagioni, Elizabeth Waggett, William Warden, Lillian Warren, Michelle Whitney, Chris Wicker, AmyBeth Wright, XZZX, and Grace Zuñiga
About the Juror
Dr. Laura Augusta is a U.S.-born curator and writer who has worked between the U.S. and Central America since 2014. As an independent curator, she curated more than 20 exhibitions at museums, university galleries, and artist-run spaces across the U.S. and Central America from 2015 to 2022 before being hired as Curator at the Gerald & Stanlee Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at The University of Texas at El Paso. In 2023, Dr. Augusta launched a Central American exhibition series at the Rubin, one of the first university galleries in the U.S. to make a multi-year commitment to the region.
Special Thanks to The Big Show’s Supporters!
(As of June 3, 2024)
Presenting Sponsors
John Bradshaw, Jr. • Scott Sparvero
Supporting Sponsors
Jereann Chaney • Mary Catherine and Bailey Jones
Sponsors
Alexa Clements • Piper and Adam Faust • Marco Hernandez • Kerry Inman • Caroline and Ben Jansen • Anne Lamkin Kinder • Ryan and Emily LeVasseur • Michelle Matthews • Meghan Miller and Jeff Marin • Adrienne Moeller • Sara and Bill Morgan • Winnie and Nic Phillips • Teresa Porter • Aaron Reimer • Stephanie Roman • Joey and Nicole Romano • Jessica and Blake Seff
Patrons
Tim Kollatschny • H. Russell Pitman
Friends
Rob Greenstein • Cindee Travis Klement • Jeryn and Walter Mayer • Chad Neal • Claire Osborne • Sarah Stauder • Anna Walker
The Big Show 2024’s media sponsor is Glasstire”
Reception: June 7, 2024 | 5–7 pm
4912 Main Street
Houston, 77002 TX
(713) 528-5858
Get directions
2 comments
Laura’s writing is absolutely breathtaking!
Annette, Because you said this, I read it — and you are so right!