2004

RUST BUCKET
November 19, 2004 - February 2005

Rust Bucket is an exhibition of the sculpture of several generations of Houston artists who have either purposely used rust as an element of expression or accepted it as part of a natural process -- the oxidation of iron. Rust in the hands of an artist is not only potentially beautiful but it also can make an artist’s work more meaningful. Rust implies age or the aging process; it gives the work of art integrity and a rustic sense of survival.

Most significant is the fact that this exhibition presents important but little known works by some of Houston’s most gifted and serious artists: Kenny Browning, W.T. Burge, Noah Edmundson, Roy Fridge, Tim Glover, Eric Kolflat, Jesse Lott, Cesar Martinez, Koral Pior, Forrest Prince, Jim Robertson, Mike Scranton, Ed Wilson, and Richard Wood. Each of the artists listed above is a significant figure in the Houston art world. The ‘down-home’ look of their work is pure Texas, a look that is fundamental to its meaning -- the transformation of humble materials into meaningful form.

Two one-person exhibitions are also being formally opened on this date. The first, an exhibition of collages by Ann Harithas, presents the artist’s most recent work. Her work is a kind of Texas-based Surrealism. Her frequent references to Native American culture and her use of Christian religious symbolism imply a profound sense of morality. The paintings of Dion Laurent are also featured in a one-person exhibition. His images of gas pumps from all over the world are symbols of the global power of the oil industry.

FRONTERAS
September 17, 2004 - November 14, 2004

Featured ArtCars on display are: Cig-Kills by Alex Harrah, Big Splinter and Little Splinter by Isaac Cohen, Faith by David Best, Xyloto Bot by Jim Robertson, Spoonozoid by Mark Bradford, Thorny Rock & Roll by Alex Coward, Pink Cadillac and Swamp Mutha by Ann Harithas.

A group exhibition:
Fronteras features Mel Casas, Luis Jimenez, Cesar Martinez, Frank Fajardo, Jesse Lott, John Alexander and several members of the California Street Scapers.

Dion Laurent's Travel Series is an ongoing series of paintings of international gas pumps.

The Armory, is a steel sculptural installation by Noah Edmundson that features a diverse selection of weapons and other elements made of steel.

Ann Harithas new collages are rigorously composed expressions of a kind of surrealism that is Texas based.