Houston Fine Art Fair

Announces Special Exhibitions and Events for its inauguration

Home to twelve museums, including world-class institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Menil Collection, Houston’s vibrant art scene is primed for the inaugural Houston Fine Art Fair, Sept. 15 – 18, 2011.

Houston Fine Art Fair

Some 80 leading galleries from across the US, Latin America and Europe will be gathering under one roof for Houston’s first international art fair, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center. World-renowned collectors, curators and art patrons will experience an exciting and diverse collection of art galleries and installations from around the globe. The Houston Fine Art Fair (HFAF) will offer a broad spectrum of artworks from 1950 to the present, with painting, drawing, print editions, installation, sculpture, and photography that will appeal to both novice and experienced collectors.

International in scope, the fair will also showcase a selection of the best in modern and contemporary Latin American art. In addition to an informative series of panel discussions and interviews with artists, collectors and arts professionals, visitors are invited to enjoy thought-provoking special exhibitions.

Curated exhibitions

Critical Strategies of Post-Utopian Cuban Art (Cuba-United States). The exhibition—featuring Consuelo Castañeda, Rubén Torres Llorca, Glexis Novoa, Ernesto Oroza and Gladys Triana—includes pieces (or re-mades) belonging to the period in which they lived on the island, and challenged the hegemonic system, along with artworks that are particularly strong in the production of a critical—and political, in a more general sense—vision of the United States. The exhibition is curated by Adriana Herrera, Miami-based independent curator and critical writer, and sponsored by Hardcore Contemporary Art Space, located in booth 602.

Glassell School of Art Core Exhibition. The Core Program awards one-year residencies to exceptional highly motivated visual artists and critical writers who have not yet developed professional careers. In addition to featuring work by the eight remarkably talented current fellows, the four newest fellows will be showing their work in Houston for the first time. Fairgoers can purchase the work directly from the individual artists, located in booth 603.

Artist Projects

Romanian-born, Texas-based artist Adela Andea, presented by Anya Tish Gallery, creates complex light sculptures and installations that explore the fine line between reality and virtual reality. Swarms of LED and CCL lights along with pulsing electrical components are intricately weaved together, forming technological landscapes that hypnotize and engulf the viewer, reflecting sociopolitical themes of over-globalization.

The gallery also presents English-born sculptor William Cannings. His work examines the effects of compressed air on permanent materials, such as aluminum and steel, creating sculptures that appear as if they were sensually carved, seemingly contradicting the physical properties of materials.

Anthony Shumate, represented by Houston’s Barbara Davis Gallery, will create a live performance “Capitalist’s Soup” on the fair floor, on Friday and again on Saturday.

Talks

An A-list group of speakers—featuring top international artists, arts professionals and collectors—provide the audience with insights into understanding the current market, knowing what is hot and how to buy contemporary art. Topics include A Conversation with Donald Lipski; Art: What’s the Value?; The Rising International Importance of Latin American Art; The Growth of Private Museums; and a dialogue between renowned artist Donald Sultan and his sister Terrie Sultan, a distinguished curator and Director of the Parrish Art Museum.

Film exhibitions

KIWI Arts Group presents Full Circle: Before They Were Famous, a short documentary based on William John Kennedy’s newly published and never-before-seen photographs of Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana, offering a rare look into the lives and working studios of two key artists who influenced the course of twentieth century American art. Kennedy’s photographs will be exhibited at Colton & Farb Gallery, in booth 600.

Publications

Celebrating the upcoming publication of the book Marylyn Dintenfass Parallel Park, devoted to her most recent large-scale site-specific installation, Marylyn will sign books in the fair’s café, where her major new 10-foot sculpture will be on view. Presented by Babcock Galleries, NYC, the event takes place on Sunday.

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