Pan Recommends for the week of June 20 to June 26

Robert Boyd

Here a few art things to do this weekend. 

FRIDAY

 
Britt Ragsdale, Run Through 1, from The Chase series, 2013, video. Photo courtesy of the artist 

Playback: An exhibition of new video works by Britt Ragsdale, curated by Paul Middendorf at Fresh Arts' Winter Street Gallery, 6 to 8 pm (runs through July 12). Britt Ragsdale's videos dissect popular film culture by laser focusing on one specific part of that language--being chased in The Chase series or romantic embraces in Duets.



LaToya Ruby Frazier, Holland Avenue Parking Lot, 2011. Silver gelatin print, 30 x 40 inches

LaToya Ruby Frazier: Witness at CAMH, 6:30 to 9:00 pm. You're thinking, summer's going great! I'm so happy! I need a splash of cold, depressing reality! Come see the LaToya Ruby Frazier exhibit which documents her hometown of Braddock, PA, a post-industrial town that has seen its population plummet from over twenty thousand to less than five thousand. Fun!

SATURDAY


Kathryn Spence's scrappy fox sculpture

Kathryn Spence at Front Gallery, 4 to 6 pm (runs through July 27). Kathryn Spence makes sculptural objects through the time-honored method of combining crap with crap. Among the crap used to create this exhibit is string, wire, mud, "how to wash" labels, "do not remove" upholstery and mattress tags, "do not eat" desiccant packets, hair, money, beanie babies, "Ken" dolls, and petroleum jelly.


Work in progress--beading Rosine Kouamen's piece for Coming Through the Gap in the Mountain on an Elephant

Coming Through the Gap in the Mountain on an Elephant featuring Regina Agu, Gregory Michael Carter,  Nathaniel Donnett, Robert Hodge, Autumn Knight, Rosine Kouamen, Lovie Olivia, Phillip Pyle II, Sehba Sarwar, Michael Kahlil Taylor, and Monica Villareal and curated by Robert Pruitt at Texas Southern University - University Museum, 7:30 pm (runs through August 25). This show has something to do with old World's Fairs, and the title seems to reference Hannibal. That's all I know, but this line-up of artists makes it a pretty safe bet!

Pan Recommends for the week of November 1 to November 7

All kinds of events this week--it's difficult to spotlight just a few. But here are some we like.

THURSDAY

Windows on Main featuring new work by Rosine Kouamen and Rahul Mitra at the corner of Main St and Winbern st. on Thursday, November 1st, 2012 at 7pm. That's right by Tacos-a-GoGo which means you can have a cheap tasty treat and look at art. Bonus!

City Council Meeting by Aaron Landsman, Mallory Catlett and Jim Findlay at Palm Center, 2nd Floor Courtroom, November 1, 2012 from 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm. To use Claire Bishop's term, this is a piece of participatory artwork, reproducing a city council meeting using volunteer "actors"--including maybe you! You can read more about it here. It will be performed tomorrow at the El Dorado Ballroom and Saturday at noon at Diverse Works, but the Palm Center courtroom seems like the most ideal setting for it.

FRIDAY

Projection & Amplification by Sandy Ewen at Spacetaker ARC, 6 pm, November 2 (running through December 14). The word here is "micro-collages," collages of materials so small that they must be blown up (either on paper or via projection) to be seen. This exhibit includes a bunch of musical performances (the artist is also a guitarist), both on the opening night and many subsequent days during its run.

SATURDAY

Sharon Engelstein: I like that very much a lot at Devin Borden Gallery, 6 pm – 8 pm, November 3 (through December 22). Wax and ceramic sculptures. Engelstein writes, "I recently fell in love with wax." Come see if wax loves her back!


Update: This event has been cancelled.  Bert Long: Everything Bert with Melting Pot at the Houston Museum of African American Culture, November 3 (through January 6, 2013).
The reception for this show had to be postponed when Bert Long had an accident, but now it's happening and is supposed to include a 4 ton ice sculpture (illustrated above). Wow!

And this just scratches the surface for what looks like a busy weekend, with shows opening at Box 13, PG Contemporary, CAMH, EMERGEncy Room, Williams Tower Gallery, East End StudioGallery and much more. Apparently everyone has had time to decompress from the art fairs and do their own things again.