LOCAL Houston | The City Guide April 2017 | Page 39

1. Round 46: Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter | Project Row Houses
Through June 4
During her 2016 residency at the New Museum in New York, artist Simone Leigh founded
Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter, a collective of some 150+ individuals working
to spotlight and renounce racism. The group is presenting interactive installations and per-
formances in the PRH shotgun houses this spring, with plans to form a local chapter of the
national organization. .
www.projectrowhouses.org
2. Cheryl Donegan: Recent Work | David Shelton Gallery
Through April 15
Donegan is famous in the big bad art world for her clever, witty videos such as “Head“ and
“Kiss My Royal Irish Ass,“ some of which will be screened on April 8th at the gallery. Stop
by for a truly wacky show of mannequins wearing custom tracksuits printed with images from
eBay, and plaid paintings that echo hipster lumberjack shirts. This is a case of the emperor
really wearing the clothes of everyday American pop culture.
www.davidsheltongallery.com
3. James Surls | Clarke & Associates Cultural Solutions
Houston artist James Surls fostered a generation of talent at the original Lawndale Annex,
once part of UH, where he was legendary for only saying “YES“ to young artists, no matter
what they wanted to pull off in the space. His own Earth Mother sculptures of wood and steel
can be found in cities across the country, but what we're most excited about in this show is a
new crop of his fantastic, trippy drawings. Great stuff.
www.clarkeassoc.com
4. Martin Ivy | Front Gallery
Ivy‘s work revolves around celestial spheres and final frontiers. This tight show in the intimate
Front gallery features two ingenious sculpture installations and lots of satisfying, spacey works
on paper. Our pick: small, rough, sparkly black drawings with hints of colored glitter peeking
through here and there. It‘s like having a view from the Hubble Telescope at a tiny fraction of
the cost.
www.frontgallery.com
5. Lynda Benglis, Alan Shields & Peter Young | Texas Gallery
Through April 6
The good people of Texas Gallery decided to cheer the Houston art scene up a bit with this
fast-and-loose show of colorful paintings, fabric works and an awesome, bestial rough clay
piece by Lynda Benglis (fun tip: Google her infamous NSFW spread in Artforum from 1974).
We love this show.
www.texgal.com
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