Art Lies, Volume 31, Summer 2001 Page: 72
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Big as Texas
DIVERSEWORKS
HOUSTONAnti body(snatcher)
ARTSCAN GALLERY/VINE STREET STUDIOS
HOUSTON"Big As Texas"
Installation view
Photo: Deron Neblettby Catherine D. Anspon
"Big as Texas" presented 15 emergent
through mid-career talents in a statewide
survey that was very much " of the
moment." Ably curated by Sara Kellner,
Diane Barber, and Paul Arensmeyer, the
exhibit featured nearly three dozen
works in a variety of media. "Big as
Texas" was both geographically inclusive
and free of the usual suspects.
Consequently, the show's perspective was
surprising and unpredictable; it refresh-
ingly promised - and delivered - on the
premise of new discoveries.
The exhibition could have been
subtitled " Materials," since one unifying
emphasis was a playful, experimental
approach to media. Many artists incor-
porated unexpected, nontraditional
materials, ranging from soap and
Plexiglas (Meg Langhorne's lyrical
Glade) to flocking and foam (Scott
Burn's deliciously subversive dioramas).
Many works crossed media boundaries,
melding painting and sculpture to create
an overall attitude of humor interlaced
with a lively lightheartedness that
eschewed high art notions. The two
exceptions, executed in photography and
video, added counterpoints of formal
eloquence and meaning.
Occupying adjoining walls in the
main gallery, the sculptural "paintings"
of Kate Terrell and Hilary Harnischfeger
made an ecstatic pairing. Harnischfeger
uses fashion materials (sexy sequins and
glitter combined with bits of foil and sil-
ver leaf); Terrell's aesthetic is more
homespun (pompoms, stitching, and a
myriad of fabrics that invite you to
squeeze her " canvases" ). Her whimsical
anthropomorphic sculpture, Remedy,
with four legs and a lion's tale formed
from a discarded chenille bedspread, was
the exhibition's most joyful piece, roaring
with energy.This exuberant physicality could
also be seen in Kirk Hayes' paintings.
This Fort Worth artist made his
Houston debut with a trio of works enti-
tled Mouse-o-tear, Nerve Bundle, and Ka
Lunk. At first glance, Hayes' rough-
hewn, abstract style could pass for folk or
outsider art, since it appeared to contain
figurative elements created from bits of
found material. Closer inspection, how-
ever, revealed that what appeared to be
plywood, masking tape, and bits of
thread were all meticulously painted sur-
faces. Such dazzling trompe l'oeil effects
were some of the most technically per-
fect in the show.
Interjecting elements of gravity-
defying wit, Randy Wallace's Shingle pre-
cariously hovered over viewers.
Imbedded in the wall, this four-by-four
foot panel functioned as an impromptu
ceiling, loaded with threatening panes of
mirrored glass that seemed poised to fall
on unsuspecting passers-by. On a neigh-
boring wall, Wallace's Dumb Box, added a
Pop Art "frosting" to an otherwise mini-
malist sculpture. The explosion-from-
the-wall subtheme was also carried along
by Michael Roch's playful plaster Gator.
Literally pushing through the back wall
just below ceiling height, it recalled achild's toy rendered in ghostly white.
Similarly, Christine Bisetto's jumbo-sized
oil paintings, Mango and Red, sprawled
like carpets off the wall and onto the
floor. Bisetto's design encouraged audi-
ence interaction; over the course of the
show innumerable footprints gradually
eroded her glossy textures.
Set back in its own alcove at the rear
of the gallery, Justin Kidd's quasi-com-
puter Control Room suggested an ama-
teur science project, with low-tech
assemblies of cardboard, duct tape, and
light bulbs threatening to go haywire.
Kidd's seven-piece sculptural ensemble
was a hilarious sendup of our super-geek
computer age, evoking the appeal of a
simpler age of technology.
A compelling subtext of identity
was provided by Christopher French and
Chuck Ramirez. French's effectively
disturbing More Please / Please No More
presented twin videos on dual TV
screens. Installed on an adjacent wall,
Ramirez's coolly reductive photographs
displayed household garbage contained
within ubiquitous plastic trash bags.
Stretched into transluscency, the plastic
bags, shot against antiseptic white back-
drops, revealed much about the contra-
dictory habits of their owners, interject-721 ARTLIES Summer 2001
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Kalil, Susie. Art Lies, Volume 31, Summer 2001, periodical, 2001; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth228061/m1/74/?q=%221964~%22: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .