Pan Recommends for the week of November 7 to November 13

Robert Boyd

Damn, this week's going to be tough! There's the usual round of openings, but layered on top is that Cinema Arts Festival, which officially opened Wednesday. I've highlighted quite a few of their films below, but you can see their entire schedule at their website, as well as trailers for most of the films. It's a pretty unique festival in that it shows a lot of films about art--visual, theatrical, musical, literary, cinematic, whatever. In addition to all these features that you have to buy tickets for, I strongly recommend you stop by their headquarters 1201 Main (at Dallas) because they have a variety of screens set up for showing experimental animated films that are completely free (there are several other programs that are free in the Festival as well). Some of these are classic animation experiments (by Norman McLaren, for example), while some are quite fascinating interactive animations using iPods as the tool for audience participation. The festival headquarters is also where they have "Cinema 16," which is a busy venue for somewhat more experimental films all during the festival.

THURSDAY



Cutie and the Boxer at Sundance Cinemas, 12:45 pm. The story of octogenarian pugilist painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife Noriko. Shinohara also has an exhibition of paintings opening on Friday at Zoya Tommy Contemporary.



Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton at Sundance Cinemas, 12:50 pm. Experimental filmmaker and poet James Broughton was a prophet of sexual experimentation in the days before the counter-culture blossomed.



North of South, West of East by Meredith Danluck at  Cinema 16, 1 pm, 7 pm and 9:30 pm. Meredith Danluck's feature film is shown simultaneously on four screen in the round. Audiences sit in chairs that can rotate and must always decide which screen to watch. (This obviously limits the audience size, which may be why it is running so frequently over the course of the festival. I recommend buying tickets in advance.)



Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction by Sophie Huber at Sundance Cinemas, 3:40 pm. The great character actor (Repo Man, Paris, Texas, Alien, and 200+ more) profiled.



Portraits of Women Artists: Lover Other / Maya Deren’s Sink by Barbara Hammer at Cinema 16, 4 pm. Two films that sound fascinating: Portrait of Women Artists is a true story about a pair of lesbian surrealists who became Resistance fighters in World War II, and Maya Deren's Sink is about the great experimental filmmaker and her sink.


Putting the U in Color by Prince V Thomas, CC Stinson Kavi T, and Jyoti Guptaat the Doshi House, 5 to 7 pm. An exhibit dealing with an issue I never heard of--"colorism"--bias against dark skinned women in South Asian communities.

Liliana Porter, The Square II, 1973

Liliana Porter: The Square and other Early Works at Sicardi Gallery, 5–7 pm. The Argentine conceptualist and her early work.



Marco Maggi: Fanfold at Sicardi Gallery, 5–8 pm. Not sure what to expect from this show based on the photos and description, but Maggi has done very interesting work in the past.



Galina Kurlat: Inherent Traits at Peveto, 6–8 pm. Galina Kurlat creates beautiful photos, and I expect to see more beautiful photos in this show of self-portraits.


Tom Marioni's The Act of Drinking Beer With Friends is the Highest Form of Artat the BLAFFER Art Museum, 6 pm to 9 pm. A well-lubricated performance of of Tom Marioni's famous conceptual piece, part of their show Feast.


Elvira Sarmiento, “Tu con El” Homenaje a Posada, 1913–2013. Solar Plate, Size: 19” x 27.5”

Elvira Sarmiento: Alludere Posada at the Museum of Printing History, 6–8 pm. Continuing with their tributes to José Guadalupe Posada is this solo show by Mexican printmaker Elvira Sarmiento.



Shepard and Dark by Treva Wurmfeld at  Sundance 2, 6:30 pm. Documenting the friendship of playwright Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark.



Paris, Texas at Sundance Cinemas, 9:40 pm. My favorite move set in Houston. The best freeway shots ever filmed!

FRIDAY



Jamel Shabazz: Street Photographer by Charlie Ahearn at Project Row Houses Eldorado Ballroom, 10:30 am. , and at Sundance Cinemas, 9:30 pm. The director of Wild Style, Charlie Ahearn, turns his camera on Bronx photographer Jamel Shabazz.



"CUTIE AND THE BOXER" work by USHIO SHINOHARA at Zoya Tommy Contemporary, 4-7 pm. A pop-up show to accompany the documentary about Shinohara.

North of South, West of East at Cinema 16, 1 pm and 6:30 pm.

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction at Sundance Cinema, 1 pm.

Geraldo Rosales

Gerardo Rosales at Avis Frank Gallery, 6–8 pm. His statement says that his art is about "about homophobia, sexuality, violence, loneliness and the imagery of the 'bear' subculture within the gay community." And sometimes it's about two headed ducks wearing a giant shoe.


an older painting by Danielle Frankenthal: Camelot,  acrylic paint on three transparent acrylic resin panels, 36 x 48 in

Danielle Frankenthal: Turbulence at Wade Wilson Art, 6 to 8 pm. She has an interesting interactive painting up at CAMH, so what better time for a solo gallery show?


Houston vs Austin featuring James Burns, Chris Cascio, Galina Kurlat, Jonathan Leach, Patrick Turk, Jerry Defrese, Hector Hernandez, Syraya Horton, Koseph Phillips and Lana Waldrep at BLUEorange Contemporary, 6–9 pm. Galina Kurlat appears in her second opening in two nights in this potential bloodbath pitting Houston artists against Austin artists. Maybe they can get John Nova Lomax to officiate.



Art Hard by Meredith Danluck at Cinema 16 at 9:00 pm. Jim Deneven makes the world's largest work of art on Lake Baikal.

SATURDAY


11th Annual Book Fair at the Museum of Printing History, 10 am – 5 pm. Oh so many lovely books, including plenty of art books from Exquisite Corpse.



Charlie Ahearn’s Hip-Hop Videos at Cinema 16 at 1 pm. From the director of Wild Style, nine videos that look totally fun.


Perry House, 3-5-11, Helter Skelter series,2011,  acrylic on canvas, 36x36 inches

PERRY HOUSE "Explosions" at HBU Contemporary Art Gallery, 1 to 4 pm. OK, this is a bit mysterious since it is not listed on HBU's way out of date webpage. It is listed on Glasstire, though. And Perry House is always worth seeing.



Persistence of Vision by Kevin Schreck at Sundance cinemas at 3:30 pm. A documentary about an unfinished animated film by the great Richard Williams.

North of South, West of East at Cinema 16 at 4 pm.


If the van's a-rockin'

The Art Guys: Loop along the 610 Loop from  5 pm Saturday to 5 pm Sunday. The 11th of their 12 events, they will drive around 610 Loop in the van pictured above (currently on view at Memorial City Mall--take that, Galleria!) for 24 hours. They will stay in contact with people via Facebook and Twitter, and you can just call the Guys up during the performance on a temporary phone line, 832-712-6207. Of course, you could just drive along side them--their van will be easy to spot!


Life Goes On… I Keep Singing by Jonas Mekas at Deborah Colton Gallery, 6 pm. Photos and videos by the great Jonas Mekas.



Jeremy Rourke: Live Music and Animation at Cinema 16 at 8:15. Jeremy Rourke is a musician/anumator who will be combining the two.



Wild Style by Charlie Ahearn at Sundance Cinema at 9:45 pm. If you want to be reminded that hip hop is old, watch this classic movie, Wild Style, from 1983. One of several Charlie Ahearn movies being shown at the festival.



Madeleine Dietz: What Remains at Gallery Sonja Roesch, 5–7 pm. These very interesting pieces toy with being architecture or interior decoration. Their liminal ambiguity combined with their beauty appeals to me a lot.

SUNDAY



Time Shift: The Films of Scott Stark at Cinema 16 at 1:00 pm. Austin experimental filmmaker Scott Stark is showcased.



Approved for Adoption at Sundance Cinema  at 1:15 pm. Interesting looking autobiographical film by cartoonist Jung Hemin. Born in South Korea, he was adopted and brought up in Belgium. His comics work looks (to my eyes) like typical Belgian adventure comics (with Asian settings). I can't find any examples of more personal comics work by Jung Hemin--except this movie.

Life Goes On… I Keep Singing at the Deborah Colton Gallery at 2 pm


North of South, West of East at Cinema 16, 6:15 pm and 8:45.


Antonio Berni, Ramona en la calle, de la serie Ramona Montiel y sus amigos (Ramona in the Street, from the series Ramona Montiel and Her Friends), 1966, xylo-collage-relief 

Antonio Berni: Juanito and Ramona at the Museum of Fine Arts, 10 am – 5 pm. Argentine artist Antonio Berni created his characters Juanito and Ramona in the mid-50s and continued to depict them in various media for the rest of his life. This show brings them together in the U.S. for the first time.

MONDAY

Life Goes On… I Keep Singing at Deborah Colton Gallery at 9:30 am

TUESDAY

Life Goes On… I Keep Singing at Deborah Colton Gallery at 9:30 am.


Houston Short Film Fund: World Premiere Screening featuring Kathryn Kane, Lauren Kelley, Douglas Newman, Jerry Ochoa and more at Sundance Cinema at 6:45. SWAMP (the best acronym ever) helped fund these short films by Houston filmmakers.

Robert Boyd's Favorites of 2012

Robert Boyd

Here are some of my favorite exhibits and performances from 2012. I won't say "best." "Best" implies an Olympian certainty about my own tastes that I don't have. In fact, I'm continually changing my mind. It also implies that I saw everything, which I most certainly did not. "Favorite" is better.

Of course, as you read this you may find you disagree with my choices. Indeed, I hope so! It would be a dreary world if everyone agreed with me. That's why I have a poll up that you can take: tell me what you think was the best art show and the best performance, this year.

The exhibits/performances below are listed in alphabetical order by artist or by title in the case of group shows.

Debra Barrera, Drive Me There And Back, 2012, 1986 Pontiac Firebird

Drive Me There and Back Again at the Blaffer Window into Houston and Kissing in Cars, Driving Alone at Moody Gallery, both by Debra Barrera. For her installation in the windows of 111 Milam St., Barrera created the best artwork featuring a Firebird/Camaro since the Dead Milkmen sang "Bitchin' Camaro." That was followed with a great show of photos, drawings and sculpture at Moody Gallery. The promise she showed in her Lawndale show was perfectly fulfilled with these two automotive exhibits.


William Betts, Untitled III, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

Recognition by William Betts at McClain Gallery. This small exhibit blew my mind. Betts used surveillance photos from CTV cameras as the basis for his images--in short, automatic, random images made without regard for art. Then using software turns them into a spots of color that can be applied by machine dot by dot onto a canvas. Get close to the canvas and the images dissolve into dots. And despite the unartly origins and robotic execution of these pieces, there is something perversely moving about them. They really stuck around in my mind.


The Bridge Club, Medium, August 4, 2012, performance

Medium by The Bridge Club at Art Palace. People wandered in and out, chatting, clomping loudly across the floor, drinking beers in normal time. Meanwhile, The Bridge Club barely moved, sitting on chairs mounted on the wall, existing in slow time. This was a meditative, unearthly performance, and I loved it. I look forward to seeing their new project, The Trailer.

 
Christopher Cascio, Mushroom Mound, 2012, acrylic paint, colored pencil and toner transfers on paper

Spring Break at Cardoza Fine Art and an exhibit at Front Gallery by Christopher Cascio. These two shows overlapped so I am going to lump them together. They gave viewers the breadth of Cascio's work--large-scale pieces and installations at Cardoza with smaller collages at Front Gallery. In both shows, Cascio deals with obsessions, benign and otherwise.

 
Hillerbrand+Magsamen, eState Sale, 2012, video installation with random suburban detritus

eState Sale by Hillerbrand+Magsamen at the Art League. Stephen Hillerbrand and Mary Magsamen are a team of video and photographic artists whose work often deals with the absurdity of modern suburban life. Perhaps because I am a lifelong resident of the suburbs (with a few years living in the country, the city, and out of a suitcase), I really relate to their work. Much of it deals with the absurd accumulation of stuff that we suburbanites manage. A video of their daughter buried in a closet-full of stuffed animals, for example. This installation was notable for its combination of four large vertical videos and piles and piles of garage-sale-ready suburban detritus.


Perry House, The Vase (Intrusion Blue), 1989, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 48"

Elegant Violence by Perry House at the Art Car Museum. I had seen a couple of Perry House's shows at Nauhaus/d.m. allison, and I liked them, but his show at the Art Car Museum which covered 30 years of his work was unexpectedly full of surprises. What I really like is his rich, muscular painting and breathtaking, somewhat spooky coloring. The work, as the title suggests, has an air of menace.

 
Miao Jiaxin, Mom's Suitcase (still), 2012, video

Chinaman's Suitcase by Miao Jiaxin at Box 13. This collection of videos, stills from live performances, and images were hilarious and naughty and said something about the transnational world we inhabit, connected by jets and live chat with one another. The highlight was a somnolent live performance by Miao Jiaxin called I Have a Dream, in which he slept while engaging in Chatroulette. Never has Box 13 seen so much wanking.

 
Nic Nicosia, Four Rectangles, NuVoile scrim material, cotton rope, site specific installation, 2012

Space Light Time by Nic Nicosia at Hiram Butler Gallery. The first Nic Nicosia photos I saw were part of a group show at FotoFest, and they were photos of rooms. He continued that approach in Space Light Time, except he photographed small boxes that looked like rooms, and made room-like installations, including Four Rectangles. I like the way he constructs an environment in order to take a photograph. But the way he makes these photos would be beside the point if they weren't so strange and beautiful.


 
Aaron Parazette, Flyaway, 2012, acrylic wall painting, 7' x 56'

Flyaway by Aaron Parazette at the Art League. Two walls of the large gallery at the Art League became two receding focal points made of intersecting lines and planes of green, blue and black. They sucked you in in the room, and curiously recalled the most famous Art League installation, Inversion by Dan Havel and Dean Ruck. The selection of small paintings that accompanied Flyway were quite choice as well. The feeling of motion and unbalance make these geometric pieces work for me.


 
Emily Peacock, Teenage Couple on Hudson St., NYC, silver gelatin print, 10" x 10", 2011-12

You, Me & Diane by Emily Peacock at Lawndale Art Center. When I heard about this, I was worried that this was going to be another empty gesture of one artist appropriating another artist's work. But instead, Emily Peacock's restaging of photos by Diane Arbus with her family came off as humorous and full of heart. Instead of a cold intellectual exercise, these photos were beautiful, playful and highly personal--the best kind of homage.


George Romney, Emma Hart as "The Spinstress", ca. 1784-85. oil on canvas, 68 5/8" x 50 5/8"

Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London at the MFAH. You go to a show expecting one thing (a collection of masterpieces) and sometimes you get something altogether different (a window into 18th century English art). Seeing the Reynolds and Gainsboroughs was fantastic, but for me the real discovery was George Romney, particularly his paintings of Emma Hart (later Lady Hamilton), the sexiest, wildest celebrity of the late 18th century. See England's Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton for more.


 
Patrick Renner, chamber #4 (bounded operator), dirt, sand, rock, gravel, window panes, plywood, found objects, cloth, 2012

chamber #4 (bounded operator) by Patrick Renner at El Rincón Social. Patrick Renner had two wonderful shows at Avis Frank this year, but his most exciting piece was a complicated sculptural installation at El Rincón Social. The subject was time--geological time and personal time as represented by memory. It seemed to be an especially Houston piece, reflecting a city full of geologists and geophysicists. He also produces small sculptural works that are similar to core samples. chamber #4 (bounded operator) seems related to that.


Carrie Schneider, Dress (stills from the video, part of the Care House installation), 2012, multimedia installation

Care House by Carrie Schneider. This complex work about Carrie Schneider's mother used her old house in Katy as the setting. Individual pieces occupied most of the first floor rooms. Visitors could wander the room seeing videos, objects, and installations about Schneider and her mother and her mother's struggle with cancer. The superimposed videos were cleverly done and quite moving. It was the most personal piece of art I saw all year, but it was one I could relate to. I lost my dad to cancer in 2001.

 
Larry Burrows, One Ride with Yankee Papa 13, 1965, Photo Essay

WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath at the MFAF. This sprawling exhibit was arranged sensitively around 26 distinct sections, including "Training," "Prisoners of War," "Refugee," "Civilians," "War's End," etc. Some of the images in this show are almost unbearable to look at, but they must be seen. Some are quite familiar, but most were new to me. The exhibit is a remarkable achievement. It's up through February 3, so if you haven't seen it, you still have time. The photo above is from a photo essay that appeared in Life--you can see the whole thing here.

 
Geoff Winningham, Jerdy's Barber Shop, Port Arthur, Texas 2004, Fuji Archive print (2007) from a 4x5 film negative, image size 15.25" x 19.75", uneditioned

Words and Pictures: Photographs 1971 - 2012 by Geoff Winningham at Koelsch Gallery. It's hard for me not to be sentimental about Geoff Winningham--he was my photography professor in school. But this show was a revelation to me. In the choices made, it showed a clever kind of post-modern sensibility, especially in his photographs of other people's collections of images, which I called "naive curation" in my review of the show.

Honorable Mention. there were lots of shows in the Houston area this year that I liked. Here are are some of them:

• John Adelman at Darke Gallery 
• Ricky Armendariz, Tu Eres O No Tu Eres Mi Baby (Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby), Art League
• John Gregory Boehme, at the The Lone Star Performance Explosion 
• HoustonH.J. Bott, RHYTHM & RHETORIC: New Works Celebrating 40 Years of the DoV System, Anya Tish Gallery 
• Pat Colville, New Works, Moody Gallery
• Demiak, The Big Blow, Redbud Gallery 
• Nathaniel Donnett, ZZzzzzzz, Art League Houston 
• Shannon Duncan, Brittney Connelly and Bryan Forrester, Identified and Objectified: A Study of the Ephemeral, Box 13
• Justin Brown Durand, "Love Man", Front Gallery 
• Ibsen Espada, Ibsen Espada: 1985-2000, New Gallery 
• Theaster Gates, Holding Court, CAMH 
• Mark Greenwalt, Surface Time and Other Portraits, Hooks-Epstein Gallery
• Lane Hagood and Seth Alverson, Cronopios, Kaboom Books
• Chris Hedrick, at d.m. allison 
• Candace Hicks, Compositions, Lawndale Art Center 
• J Hill at PG Contemporary 
• group show, In Plain Sight, McClain Gallery 
• Jaspar Johns, Two Flags, Hiram Butler Gallery 
• Aaron Landsman, Mallory Catlett, Jim Findlay and a cast of dozens, City Council Meeting, Diverse Works 
• group show, Latin American Photography 1880-1940s, Fotofest at the Houston Fine Art Fair
• group show, Luxuriant Refuse, Pearl Fincher Museum 
• MANUAL, Picture Books, Moody Gallery
• group show, Modern and Contemporary Masterworks from Malba - Fundación Costantini, MFAH 
• Oscar Muñoz at Sicardi Gallery 
• Floyd Newsum at Wade Wilson Gallery 
• Jim Nolan and Linda Post, Low Impact (Resistance to Flow / ThisIsBobDylantoMe) Subject to Change, Lawndale Art Center
• Non Grata , Force Majeure, The Lone Star Performance Explosion 
• Jules Olitski, Revelation: Major Paintings, MFAH 
• Yasuaki Onishi, Reverse of Volume RG, Rice Gallery 
• group show, Prelude: Beginning a Conversation, David Shelton Gallery 
• group show, The Progress of Love, Menil Museum 
• Robert Pruitt, You Are Your Own Twin, Hooks-Epstein Gallery
• group show, Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art, CAMH 
• Ariane Roesch, Playmates, Box 13
• Richard Serra, Richard Serra Drawing: A Retrospective, Menil Museum 
• Joel Schapiro, untitled, Rice Gallery
• group show, Shifting Paradigms in Contemporary Ceramics: The Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection, MFAH
• Bret Shirley, Erin Joyce and Lauren Moya Ford, Wax, Cardoza Fine Art
• group show, Silence, Menil Museum 
• Earl Staley at the Pearl Fincher Museum 
• group show, Staring at the Wall: The Art of Boredom, Lawndale Art Center 
• Shane Tolbert, Talk of Montauk, Optical Project 
• group show, University of Houston MFA Thesis Exhibit, Diverse Works 
• Lillian Warren, Drive-By Landscape, Pearl Fincher Museum 
• Lillian Warren, Wait With Me, Lawndale Art Center
• Matthew Weedman, Order No. 227, Art Palace
• Eric Zimmerman, Endless Disharmony & Telltale Ashes, Art Palace 

Some Paintings by Perry House

by Robert Boyd

Until I saw Elegant Violence, Perry House's exhibit at the Art Car Museum, I wasn't all that familiar with his work. I had seen Perry House's last two gallery shows (at Nau-Haus and d.m. allison), both of which featured paintings of candy-colored suburban houses being blown away. Elegant Violence features work from  30 years of his career, and was, for me, a revelation.  House is a veteran of Fresh Paint, a key exhibit in Houston's art history, but he has been a painter for far longer and has been a fixture on the Houston art scene since the mid-70s. Elegant Violence isn't a full-scale retrospective, but it does cover a significant span of time. I want to look at four paintings, completed between 1989 and 2007.


Perry House, The Vase (Intrusion Blue), 1989, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 48"

The Vase (Intrusion Blue) depicts a black modern vase with four black hoses or tendrils in it. One end of each of the hoses is in the vase and the other ends rest on the same surface the vase rests on. But that surface is not depicted--instead, the vase and the hoses are floating against a splotchy white background. Then layered on top are a series of very flat blue horizontal stripes. Every aspect of this piece is sets up an expectation that is foiled. The vase--realistically modeled--should be resting on a surface, casting a shadow, etc. The vase should be empty or have flowers in it. And the painterly underneath is overlaid by flat geometric elements. (The stripes remind me of a horizontal Daniel Buren.) The whole thing has a mysterious presence. The stripes remind me of blinds, and looking through blinds makes me think of spies or peeping toms. But why would anyone spy on this weird black vase? And what are these tendrils?


Perry House, The Curtain, The Ship of Fools, 1991, acrylic on canvas, 60" x 132"

There is a sailboat and a curtain made of the same material in The Curtain, The Ship of Fools. The material is dull and metallic with curly filigree. But it doesn't make sense that these are the same material. The curtain must be cloth. The boat however appears solid. Or maybe it is made of cloth--maybe that's why it's a ship of fools. The Curtain, The Ship of Fools, like The Vase (Intrusion Blue), features a well-modelled black-and-white image combined with a single flat color--in this case, ultramarine blue.


Perry House, Double Chintz I (Southern Dinners Series), 2003, acrylic on canvas, 36" x 36"

Twelve years later, color comes to the fore in Double Chintz I (Southern Dinners Series). "Chintz" was originally a term applied to brightly-colored printed cloth, and later was applied to mass-produced ceramic objects with similar patterns. So we have the green object (which could be ceramic, I suppose) against what I assume is cloth. I interpret this as something seen from above. The green object looks a little like a bedpan, but it's hard to say what it actually is. The primary thing is that we have two aggressive floral patterns juxtaposed. Unlike the previous two pieces, color is quite important here. In each of the two chintz patterns, we see red and yellow flowers against a background color--violet for the surface and green for the "bedpan." And our eyes perceive the red and yellow differently against green as opposed to violet. This piece deals with our perceptions of color--it's weirdly similar to James Turrell's new Skyspace at Rice University in this regard. This piece makes it hard for me to take House at face value when he said, "The fact is I’m not very aware of color. I focus on value, what’s needed to make forms recede."


Perry House, 7.25.07 (Aftermath Series), 2007, acrylic on canvas, 60" x 60"

But that statement could be true in regards to pieces like 7.25.07. There are basically two colors in this painting--a blue-green with various values and a flat yellow-green as the ground. And here, House is using differences in value to create volume and depth. This counterbalances the jumbled composition--a random landscape of twisted metal, crumbling blocks and rubble. This painting is from the Aftermath Series, and the implication is that we are witnessing a building or street after some explosive violence--a terrorist attack or aerial bombing or shelling. There are areas of Homs that look like this now.

The common thing for all these paintings is an inchoate feeling of menace. That menace is not overt, except in 7.25.07. But nonetheless, I sense it when I look at his paintings. Like certain surrealist paintings, they suggest a creeping dread or anxiety--which is not overpowering, but rather is gradually sneaking up on you. Not all of his work has this feeling, but much of it does.

Studio Visit: Perry House

by Virginia Billeaud Anderson

“Richard Stout is sweet. He called to tell me he’s going to miss my opening because he’ll be in Rome. I told him fuck you. Did you know my first art class was at a small mom and pop school across the street from Richard’s house? It was the Texas Academy of Art. I didn’t know Richard then, it was 1963.

At this point in my studio visit, Perry and I are talking about “the old days.”

“I can’t drive in front of what used to be the 11th Street Café without thinking about Lucas and Don and Dick. We met there every day, I mean every day. We drank a lot of beer, talked a bunch of b.s. We also talked about art. Lucas would talk about Mexico, and Don about the art scene in London, and Dick, well Dick was Dick. Mostly we talked about women.

It’s weird, Lucas quit smoking and drinking, Wray quit, the others quit smoking and drinking, and they’re all gone, and I’m still here, smoking and drinking. But remember I was 10 years younger (b. 1943). When I did my “Southern Dinner” series and I painted fish on those distorted bowls. That was for Lucas, because he loved to fish – did you know Lucas died fishing?”

Well yes, possessing a tiny bit of knowledge about Houston artists, I knew Lucas Johnson died fishing. Let’s turn to the topic of influence. Was his art impacted by the years he spent with Lucas, Don Foster and Dick Wray? “Well only in one way,” Perry said. “Everybody was working big, so I thought, I’ll work big. So now I have a lot of big paintings.” He pointed to large canvases stacked against the wall.

Perry gave me a tour of the living space above his studio. There are artworks in the small kitchen and also a few framed articles about him. One glossy mag published an image of a collector’s fancy living room decorated with Perry’s triptych The Fountain - The Dead Tree - The X-House, but incorrectly attributed the painting. In his bedroom he pointed to an antique head board that framed the bed in which his daughter was born. The head board is one of the recurring pieces of iconography in his art. Another repeated motif is the broken pearl necklace. It’s from a memory of pearls breaking during teenage car sex, and he employs it to alliterate transience.

And back downstairs he showed me some of his student works from around 1969, the earliest output he considered “successful.” These were made at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland where Perry finished his MFA in 1971. Hippie-dippy Berkeley in '69 must have been um, memorable. Perry’s grin speaks nostalgia and amazement, and then he reflected on the tasteless studio building in which he painted. “There were Hells Angels on one side and Black Panthers on the other.”

How did the Texas boy get to California? It was after his military service, during which he worked design jobs, and devoured art publications. “I was in the library looking at university catalogs, and someone on the opposite side of the bookshelf pushed some books, and the Berkeley catalog fell into my hands.” But prior to entering a university art program, there was a distinctly transformational moment. “It came when I viewed the Phillips Collection. When I saw that I knew I would be a painter.”

Perry taught at Cal State in Bakersfield until the mid-seventies when he returned to Houston. The decision to return was made after reading an Art in America article that described Houston’s vibrant art scene as one in which an artist could actually survive. For 40 something years he has been making art and teaching.

Teaching was necessary. Perry did not have the personality to act available and kiss up to collectors. “I had no ability to aggressively chase money so I had to teach. Playing up to collectors can feel awful, the things we have to do to sell paintings can be nasty business.” Through the years he taught at Glassell, the Art Institute, and Houston Community College.


Photo of Perry House by Casey Williams, 1996

“Did I tell you I got fired from Contemporary Art Museum for fighting with Rolf Westfall?” After returning to Houston, Perry worked for a short while for Jim Harithas at CAM as a museum assistant. One day Westfall pissed him off, “so I slugged him. We fought and I was fired.” The time spent around Jim Harithas though was revelatory. Jim did pain in the ass things like make the staff re-paint an entire gallery until the color was precisely the shade he had in mind, but his presentation was impeccable. “I’ve never seen anyone install a show as well as Jim.”

In Houston he began to have regular exhibitions. Barbara Rose and Susie Kalil included him in the 1985 Fresh Paint: The Houston School at the MFAH, where his art is in the permanent collection. Kalil mounted a solo exhibition at Diverse Works. There were shows at the Art League and Lawndale, and several at the Glassell.

And he gained gallery representation. The Graham Gallery gave him an exhibition, so did Robison Gallery, he had numerous years with Davis and McClain when they partnered, he showed at Betty Moody, at McMurtrey, and at Inman. His most recent alliance is with gallerist Dan Allison. Exhibition exposure stretched to other Texas cities, as well as to Los Angeles, Kansas City Missouri, New Orleans and New York.


Perry House, Untitled, Acrylic on Canvas, 1983 (courtesy Nau-Haus)

As one would expect, his exhibitions elicited critical commentary. Newspaper critics Mimi Crossley, Susan Chadwick and Patricia Johnson covered him, and he was reviewed in Art Lies and ArtPapers. Art critic Tom Moody wrote insightfully about him in blog reviews and in Art Forum. In discourse about a multi-panel piece from the 70s, Moody proclaimed it “Di Chirico-esque in mood.” He called another piece “classically surreal” and went on to say, “at the risk of sounding like ad copy, no one in Houston (or anywhere) does work quite like this.”


Perry House, untitled, acrylic, early 70s (courtesy of Tom Moody)

Moody found his brushwork distinct. “The paintings are done in acrylic. House has a technique of layering washes of thinned out black over a finished image to give a kind of fractal scrim livening up the paint's inherent flat inertness. It's kind of an artificial aging patina but has nothing to do with making it look old--just more complex.”

In the center of the studio is a load bearing stud with a sheet of discolored paper nailed to it. Years ago Perry wrote on it the words “sectioned,” “distorted,” “exploded.” Major categories within his oeuvre intimate these notions.

Abstract paintings in the “Explosion” series have forms that are fractured and distorted. Some of the elements are recognizable and some are not. He said he began the “Explosion” series after the Oklahoma City bombing. “I watched coverage on television and saw that crumbled façade. The paintings are an important metaphor for life’s impermanence.”

The “Happyville” series mutated from the “Explosions.” “Happyville’s” more readable architectonic forms are similarly fractured and exploded. During our discussion about “Happyville” Perry opened his studio door and pointed to his neighbor’s house. “I looked at that house and wondered what would happen if it exploded and had Walt Disney colors.” That was in 2008. Terrorism was on his mind, “you know we’ll be attacked again, nothing’s going to stop that,” and so was the mortgage crises, “all of those upside down houses.”

Driving series such as “Explosion” and “Happyville” is a thorny incongruence. The art is directed by two imperatives - elegance and violence. And you can also find those two words scribbled on the discolored paper nailed to the stud. “There’s something beautifully sculptural and elegant about terrorism.”


Perry House, from the Happyville Series, 2008-2009, Acrylic on Canvas


Perry House, from the Happyville Series, 2008-2009, Acrylic on Canvas

“ArtForum called me a good colorist. The fact is I’m not very aware of color. I focus on value, what’s needed to make forms recede.” Well perhaps, but “Happyville’s” shrilly pastels sublimate violence.

There are forms in “Happyville” that refashion the irregular patterning of terrazzo, marble chips set in cement. European travel accounts for this. In 2009 Perry had a lengthy stay in Rome. He showed me photographs he took of terrazzo covered walkways near Santa Maria Maggiore. Rome’s abundant mosaics also inform his art.

On another trip he spent time in Cordoba’s Great Mosque, and anyone who has seen that inexpressible expanse of marble, granite and onyx columns hoisting red and white striped archways can easily understand how such a thing would permeate his sense of perspective. “I incorporated depth after seeing those arches, a second epiphany like seeing the Phillips Collection.”


Perry House, from the Happyville Series, 2009, Acrylic on Canvas

Also dismembered and exploded are the forms in the “Helter-Skelter” series, which reaches further into the dark and ominous. Its forms are “agitated,” Tom Moody detected.


Perry House, 7-20-09 from the Helter Skelter series, 2009, acrylic on Arches Aquarella, 22x30 (courtesy of Dan Allison)


Perry House, from the Helter Skelter Series, 2011, Acrylic on Canvas

“Of the forty something paintings Kalil put in the Diverse Works show, five were ‘Explosions’ and all the rest were ‘Innards’,“ Perry said, informing me of yet another series. “Innards” were abstractions inspired by body fluids, “inside and out, guts, blood, piss, cum,” he decorously elaborated. He also showed me an abstraction from the “Intrusion” series. It was a lovely canvas with overwhelmingly static blue rectangular bands in the foreground and sinuous organic a-tonal forms in the background. I saw paintings from the “Ship of Fools” series, and from the “Southern Dinner” series, that’s the one with Lucas Johnson’s fish.

As we ended our studio visit I asked Perry how he described his art. “I consider myself an abstract painter. I don’t approach abstraction through design, it comes out of content. Some of my abstraction remains closely and visibly tied to objective reality.”

“Perry House: Elegance/Violence” opens at the Art Car Museum on Saturday June 2, with an opening reception at 7-10pm. “It’s not a retrospective,” he said, “because it won’t have art from the 60s and 70s. The art only goes back to 1983. I can’t even call it a 30 year survey because it only has about 20 percent of my work. They carried out 60 something paintings, and hung it and it was too crowded. Some of my paintings are too big. So Jim Harithas came in, and re-hung the show. Jim removed 13 paintings, and now it looks great.”


Perry House, from the Helter Skelter Series, 2011, Acrylic on Canvas

A Note on Perry House at d.m. allison

by Robert Boyd

Nau-Haus honcho Dan Allison has opened a second gallery in town (has anyone else ever done this in Houston)? d.m. allison is located on Colquitt in a modest converted house next door to the hulking Laura Rathe Gallery. It has a large back yard, so I hope that means we'll see a few sculpture shows in the future.

For now, we a have a show of paintings and drawings by Perry House. I think there is often a bias against drawings. They are seen as less exciting or perhaps as mere way-stations on the way to the final work--the painting. They often seem incomplete, especially when compared to paintings by the same artist. They tend to command less money in galleries and at auction.

But in Perry House's new show, the drawings seem much more interesting than the paintings.


Perry House, 3-18-10, Helter Skelter series, pencil, brush and ink, 2010

These drawings are helped by the fact that they are inked, which is what you generally see done with comic book artwork. This creates a super-bold chiaroscuro effect. It gives the work a visual punch. The drawings are for the most part on the same scale as the paintings--3-18-10 is 24 inches by 32 inches, so they don't have to compete on an unlevel playing field for the viewer's attention.
Perry House, 5-13-11, Helter Skelter series, acrylic on canvas, 2011

In contrast, the pastel colors of the paintings are riotous but don't have strong contrasts in values--they lack the punch of the drawings. The overall effect is softer and less powerful.


Perry House, 5-19-10, Helter Skelter series, pencil, brush and ink, Whiteout, 2010

 Because of the way that they are inked, the drawings remind me of comic book art. Because of their manic energy, they reminds me a bit of the work of Mariscal from the early 1980s. They are visually arresting pieces.