Going Darke

Robert Boyd

Darke Gallery is closing. Ratio, a group show featuring Jonathan Clark, Tara Conley, Allison Hunter, Catherine Colangelo, Heath Brodie, Nicholas Auger and Sophie Clyde, is the their last. It opens this Friday.


Allison Hunter, still from Honey Bee, 2011, 3D stereoscopic color video with sound, RT 7.5 min

Darke Gallery is closing because gallery owner Linda Darke is having serious health problems which will require two surgeries and lengthy recovery time. She told me, "I wanted to make it clear that the gallery was for the most part a great experience.  And that I wasn't closing because it is too hard to make a commercial gallery operate at a profit in Houston."

Kathryn Kelley's sculpture outside Darke Gallery

Darke  Gallery opened in 2007. It's in a strange location, pretty far from all the other galleries in town. When I started going there, there was a big empty lot across the street that made parking easy. But their neighborhood, Rice Military, has been built up so quickly that empty lots don't last. Parking was a bit of a pain after they filled that lot with townhouses.

Darke Gallery was fairly adventurous for a commercial gallery. "I very much enjoyed being able to create the artist in residence program.  It gave me the chance to put on wonderful exhibitions for Emily Sloan, Kathy Kelley, Joshua Goode and other artists whose work would not normally be shown in commercial spaces," Darke said.  (Most of the photos here are from Kathryn Kelley's show in 2011, which featured an amazing installation. There are few other galleries in town that would exhibit an installation like that.) As a gallery goer, I appreciated Darke Gallery's willingness to take this kind of risk.


Kathryn Kelley wall pieces

By my count, The Great God Pan Is Dead wrote about 11 Darke Gallery shows starting in October 2009, shortly after the blog began. I think my favorite pieces were Dean Liscum's review of Baby Ruth in a Swimming Pool by Emily Sloan and my piece on John Adelman.


Kathryn Kelley installation

I also bought work at Darke Gallery--a wonderful drawing by Rabéa Ballin and a photo printed on fleece by Magsamen + Hillerbrand.


Kathryn Kelley installation

That's Linda, seen from inside a Kathryn Kelley installation. She intends to stick around--"I will continue to be involved in the Houston art scene, once I get this medical stuff resolved I am going to plan my come back.  I may reopen Darke Gallery in a new space, focus on art fairs or pop up exhibitions.  As I said in my note, the art scene is changing so fast, I think there are a lot of exciting possibilities.  And we have an apartment in NYC so we'll be able to spend more time there.  (I threw that in so that you can't feel sorry for me!)" I already look forward to her triumphant return.

What Does It Take to Be Patron of the Year?

Robert Boyd

The obvious and cynical answer to the question above is "big checks." Particularly big checks to the artistic institution that is awarding the title "Patron of the Year." In this case, the institution is the Art League of Houston, and I have no idea if big checks were involved or what criteria at all were used to choose the 2012 Texas Patrons of the Year, Scott and Judy Nyquist. But from the point of view of local artists, they do one thing that well-qualifies them for the honor--they buy local art. And this honor affords them the opportunity to engage in what is the secret desire of all collectors--to show off their collection. I was kind of proud to notice that I had works in my modest collection by many of the same artists shown in this exhibit. So maybe I could be "Patron of the Year" someday--as soon as I start writing some big checks.

Here are a few notable pieces from the exhibit.



Adam McEwen, Jerrycan (water), 2007, powder-coated pressed steel, 18 1/2" x 13" x 6 1/2", edition 10 of 75

Jerrycan (water) by Adam McEwen apparently came with five gallons of water from Marfa, but I don't know what happened to the water...



Chuck Ramirez, Elderflowwer, 2006, pigmented inkjet prints, 60" x 48", edition 3 of 10

The late Chuck Ramirez created this photograph of Judy Nyquist's purse. One of his trademarks was to photograph objects isolated in a white, indistinct space, and this piece is a good example of that approach.



Gary Sweeney, You're Our Favorite Artist, 2008-09, woodblock print, 23" x 29"

Ain't it the truth? Gary Sweeney's piece should make folks who buy work for fundraisers fell just a little bit guilty. I confess I look for bargains at such events. But they are somewhat exploitative, no? Aside from a possible tax deduction, some "exposure", and good feelings, what does an artist get from donating art for silent auctions, etc.?



Joseph Havel, Leap Year, 1996-97, bronze with patina, 100" x 4 1/2" x 6"

Collecting sculpture is often quite difficult because it makes a lot more space demands than a painting or photograph. But Leap Year by Joseph Havel is the perfect sculpture for an individual collector--it has a tiny footprint. Anywhere you have 4 1/2" by 6" of floorspace, you can display this piece.



Joseph Havel, Leap Year (detail), 1996-97, bronze with patina, 100" x 4 1/2" x 6"

 
Joseph Cohen, Proposition #111, 2009, reclaimed latex and latex on Brazilian cherry and African mahogany, 13 1/2" x 10" x 1 1/2" (top) and Allison Hunter, untitled #1 (from the Blue Butterfly Series), 2011, digital c-print, 30" x 30"

This was an interesting pairing--Joseph Cohen's bold, plastic painting above Allison Hunter's delicate nature photo. The two works are both beautiful to my eye, so they have that in common.



Marzia Faggin, Fruit Loops, 2011, cast painted plaster, 6" x 6"

There were two vitrines full of smaller work, such as Marzia Faggin's pill and cereal combo, Fruit Loops. And this is a way for young collectors to get access to work--buy small pieces. Sure you'll end up with shelves of artistic knick-knacks, but what else are you going to put on those shelves? Humel figurines?



Rachel Hecker, Green Car Check, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36"

Rachel Hecker paints (among other things) the little scraps of paper that have scrawled writing on them that inhabit our lives--like post-its. Her meticulous, impersonal painting style invests these ephemera with weird (and it has to be said, undeserved) dignity.



Aaron Parazette, Study for Jake, 2009, colored pencil on paper, 20" x 15"

These sketches by Aaron Parazette are of the word "Jake", the name of the Nyquist's son. What's neat about them is that we see the designer in Parazette at work--trying out different variations of the same basic idea.



Robin Utterback, Untitled (no 1064), 2002, acrylic on canvas, 78" x 69"

Robin Utterback was one of the Fresh Paint alumni and was tragically murdered in 2007. I apologize about the spotty lighting on this painting, and I want to note that the front gallery at the Art League was really badly designed. It has tall large windows that let in direct afternoon sunlight. In addition to potentially damaging some artwork on display, it is really distracting.



Woody Golden, Study River Stones, 2007, collection of seven, paper and glue, 3" x 2 1/2" each

Woody Golden takes colored paper, laminates it together into a kind of board, then sands it down to resemble river stones worn smooth and round by erosion. These are another example of artwork that doesn't cost a collector to much yet leaves the collector with something charming and lovely.

That's actually the real virtue of this show. It has items that are small and intimate, items that were gifts from artists, and multiples--in other words, it is almost a primer for a beginning collector. It can be intimidating if you want to buy art but have a limited income (like most of us). You walk into a gallery and look at the prices and it's scary. You don't see how you can even start. The Nyquist collection contains some works that I'm sure they paid a pretty penny for, but it also contains work that probably didn't cost all that much--but which probably brought them as much pleasure as many of the more expensive pieces.

Where Texas and France Collide

by Robert Boyd

One thing I know nothing about is high society, and I fear that anything I would have to say about it would make me sound like a rube. But so be it! Last night I attended the second annual Texan-French Alliance for the Arts art award and auction. The event was held at Decorative Center Houston at Woodway and Sage. A friend wondered why it was being held is such an out-of-the-way place. The answer is obvious--the Decorative Center was perfectly equidistant between River Oaks and Memorial. The second I walked in, I felt under-dressed. I had come straight from work and was in my usual Dockers and white dress shirt (no jacket), but the real reason I felt under-dressed was that so many people there were in finely tailored clothes--designer dresses and bespoke suits. They radiated wealth. It was a very different crowd than one might see at a Box 13 fundraiser--a fact I will return to later.

The space was big and bare and it somewhat overwhelmed the art on display.



(Photo by Robert Boyd)

But the art was very nice--beautiful pieces like this:



Allison Hunter, Untitled (parakeets), Digital color photograph facemounted to non-glare plexi-glass , 2009. (Photo courtesy of TFAA.)

And this:




Susie Rosmarin, Pattern Painting #4, acrylic on canvas, 2010. (Photo courtesy of TFAA.)

(You can see all the work here.)

Many of the artists were present. There was a small selection of French artists and a larger selection of Houston-area artists--people like Jonathan Leach, Francesca Fuchs, Geoff Hippenstiel, Alison Hunter, and Marcelyn McNeil and probably others. David McGee won the big prize for the artists that night--a fellowship to spend some time in Paris.

As I said, there were some knock-out outfits there. I should have taken lots of pictures, but I'm not fashion photographer. But here's one of Martha Finger, who was the co-chair of the event. She was wearing a really va-va-voom dress that night.



(Photo by Robert Boyd)

And as Cary Wolfe (standing behind her) can probably testify, it looks every bit as good from the back!

My friend also made an astute comment--she said there were lots of young faces on old bodies. It was a little freaky. But generally the impression was one of wealth and status. The tickets were $80 apiece (I got in free--I guess because I'm "press".) So I wonder, what does the TFAA have that Box 13 doesn't. I don't mean to pick on Box 13--it could be Freneticore or Labotanica or any scrappy small arts organization in Houston. Don't get me wrong--the TFAA does lovely things. If you liked those amazing Bernar Venet sculptures in Hermann Park (now moved to Oyster Creek Park in Sugar Land), thank the TFAA. But broadly speaking, it's hard for me to say that the TFAA is more important or more deserving than Box 13. The TFAA's revenue in 2009 was over $170,000; Box 13's was $60,000. (Organizations like Lawndale, Project Row Houses, and Diverse Works tend to be closer to $1,000,000 in annual revenue.)

I realize it sounds a bit like I'm setting up a class distinction--TFAA is high society, Box 13 is bohemian. The reason Box 13 is on my mind is that they recently held their big fund-raiser--you can read about it and see pictures here. And they even had at least one crossover artist participate--Jonathan Leach had pieces in both shows. But the crowds were very different, the vibe was different, and the prices at the TFAA auction--while not extravagant--were far higher than what people were paying at Box 13. It was a totally different experience--economically and socially. And I wonder why.

One of the exciting things about the TFAA event was live auction. It was conducted in a very lively manner by Wade Wilson. Has anyone else has ever noticed the striking similarity between Wade Wilson and 70s country crooner Charlie Rich?



Charlie Rich and Wade Wilson

I'm going to start calling Wade Wilson "The Silver Fox." I hope he knows the words to "The Most Beautiful Girl." In any case, he made an excellent auctioneer.



(Photo by Robert Boyd)

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The Second Stimulus Show

Last year, the Apama Mackey Gallery put up a one-night only show called The AMG Visual Stimulus Package. The show's gimmick was that all the artwork was on sale for either $50 or $100. It was in their really cool gallery made of old shipping containers up on 11th in the Heights. I've wondered what happened to them. The last show they had that I know about was last December, and the gallery always seems locked. I have been assuming they went out of business--or at least on hiatus.

The new Stimulus Package was tonight, and it didn't really settle the questions because it was held at Ggallery. It was still put together by the same people, but now in a bigger gallery. It looked like there was more art, too.



Here's some of the art I liked there.


Sarah Jawda, untitled, photograph

I liked the juxtaposition of barcode and "fuck me heels." I guess it could be read as saying sex is a commodity. Jawda is a designer and half of the design crew Jawda and Jawda.


Marzia Faggin, not sure what the title is, painting

I saw a couple of Marzia Faggin paintings at Poissant Gallery last month, and liked them a lot. I liked her work in this show as well. The work she showed here--this painting and a couple of other pieces--is drastically different from the work I saw before. I wonder where she is coming from with her work? It's hard to reconcile the work I've seen. I like it all, though.


Chris Olivier, untitled, lightbulbs, nuts, bolts, wire, 2010

I liked these a lot and I almost got one. Picking them up is a trip--they weigh quite a bit. I was worried about how to display it. It seemed very fragile, very breakable. A functionless object made out of very functional pieces. Chris Olivier was apparently part of I Love You Baby and now also makes art under the moniker Bexar.


Allison Hunter, untitled 23, photograph

I was really harsh about Allison Hunter's Diverse Works installation Zoosphere. On the opposite scale, her four tiny pastel photos of lambs and birds that were on display here were really good. They seemed so plastic and wrong, yet with a subtle hint of sincerity that undercut the airless irony. I liked them quite a lot.


unknown artist, unknown title, phtoograph

I don't remember who this artist was. It looks like he or she took a piece of 35 mm film and blew it up, sprocket holes and all. The image could almost be newsreel footage of Evita Peron. The photo I took of it has a bunch of blue reflection in it. At first I was bummed, but the more I look at it, the more I like the reflections! It was just what the piece was missing! Kidding--I liked it for what it was. The hugely blown up motion picture film worked for me.

I liked some other art as well--enough that I bought it. But that's another post.

review of Zoosphere at Diverse Works

I wrote a review of Zoosphere, the video installation by Allison Hunter that is up at Diverse Works. Please do me a favor and check it out. It's up at 29-95.com.

My review is short and not too sweet. I thought about comparing the installation to The Invention of Morel, but thought it might be too obscure a reference. In this novel by Adolfo Bioy Casares, a man trapped on an island sees tourists to the island. He hides from them, but as he observes them, he falls in love with one of them. But ultimately, he realizes that they are holograms stuck in a loop. Realizing that he will die, he records himself interacting with the holograms, so that even after death his realistic simulacrum will continue to live on--with his lover. His copy will be happier than he was. It's a prescient precursor to post-modernism. If you see Zoosphere, you will see why it popped into my mind.