CraftTexas 2016
September 23, 2016 – January 8, 2017
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
4848 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002Opening Reception
Friday, September 23, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
At 6:30 PM, three artists will be presented with the jurors’ Award of Merit prizes. The evening will also feature open studios by HCCC’s new resident artists.Hours & Admission
Open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM, and Sunday, 12 – 5 PM.
Admission is free.
(HOUSTON, TX) June 29, 2016 — This fall, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) presents CraftTexas 2016, the ninth in a series of biennial juried exhibitions showcasing the best in Texas-made contemporary craft. Featuring 53 works by 38 artists, the exhibition includes everything from sculpture, jewelry, installation, and cut paper to works that explore diverse subject matter, including genetics, upcycling, and process.
The CraftTexas series provides a unique opportunity for Texas artists to have their work viewed by three established jurors and to display their work in an exhibition that strives to broaden the understanding of contemporary craft. The show features exceptional work in clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood and mixed media. HCCC Curator, Kathryn Hall, says, “This year’s selection of work pushes the boundaries of traditional craft media, placing craft as a field into a broader contemporary context. Displaying an impressive selection of forward-thinking makers residing in Texas, this exhibition is meant to provoke conversation and educate the public about media, technique, and skill.”
Hall finds that three pieces in the show exemplify a unique approach to craft practice and use of material. In Glaze Discard Trough, Jeff Forster uses a press mold from an old satellite dish, clay sludge, and discarded glaze found in the bucket of his shared studio to create a beautiful abstract composition. His process of experimentation and material exploration allows for surprising and unexpected results, as the combination of glazes reacts differently when fired in the kiln. By stretching animal intestine over a delicate metal framework to create insect-like forms, Masumi Kataoka breathes new life into the once-living material of her brooches. The use of this organic material teases out the metaphorical connection between one’s emotions and gut, while referencing a fascination with anthropomorphism. In Plastic Planet Raccoon, Calder Kamin exhibits a novel approach to traditional fiber techniques in her cartoonish sculpture of a raccoon made from recycled plastic bags. As a scavenger herself, Kamin collects a variety of colored plastic bags that she weaves together to inspire conversation about the role mankind plays in caring for the environment.
CraftTexas 2016 was juried by Paul Sacaridiz, Executive Director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; Nicole Burisch, Core Fellow Critic-in-Residence at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Glassell School of Art; and HCCC Texas Master, Sandie Zilker, Department Chair of Jewelry and Enamel and Three-Dimensional Design at the MFAH Glassell School of Art. The jurors were tasked with selecting the finest works from a pool of 210 applicants and 556 pieces.
Sacaridiz was impressed by the diversity in the work and by the many artists who used traditional craft processes in new and inventive ways: “While the work of these artists is firmly rooted in the material specificity that has historically defined craft, they are also asking careful questions about the role of skill, beauty, materiality, and value in how they approach making work in a contemporary context.” Zilker commented, “We were looking for, and found, fresh, exciting, stimulating, and unpredictable work that engages people visually and mentally. This show demonstrates that craft is energetically alive and flourishing and thriving in Texas.”
CraftTexas 2016 Artists
Jill Bedgood
Tanna Bennett
George Bowes
Hector Carmona Miranda
Kyla Crawford
Jennifer Datchuk
Brianna Deterling
Nathan Dube
Kurt Dyrhaug
Jean Fernandes
Mary Fischer
Jeff Forster
Maggie Fuller
Gabriel Garcia
Ronald Geibel
Clara Hoag
Natasha Hovey
Younha Jung
Calder Kamin
Masumi Kataoka
Lucia LaVilla-Havelin
Clay Leonard
Wen-Dan Lin
Edward Lane McCartney
Susannah Mira
Tamar Navama
Angel Oloshove
Jillian Palone
Jennifer Quarles
Agnes Seebass
Leslie Shershow
Graciela Socorro
Donya Stockton
Kamila Szczesna
Katherine Taylor
Jessica Tolbert
Catherine Winkler Rayroud
Merrie Wright
About Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) is a nonprofit visual arts center dedicated to advancing education about the process, product and history of craft. HCCC provides exhibition, retail and studio spaces to support the work of local and national artists and serves as a resource for artists, educators and the community at large.
Located in the Museum District at 4848 Main Street, HCCC is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM, and Sunday, 12 – 5 PM. Summer Hours: Closed Sundays, July 5th – Labor Day. Holidays: Closed Easter, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Admission is free. Free parking is available directly behind the facility, off Rosedale and Travis Street. HCCC is three blocks south of Wheeler Ave. MetroRail station on Main Street.
HCCC is funded in part by grants from The Brown Foundation; Houston Endowment, Inc.; the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance; Texas Commission on the Arts; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Kinder Foundation; the Morgan Foundation; Windgate Charitable Foundation; and the Wortham Foundation. HCCC is a member of the Houston Museum District and the Midtown Arts District.
For more information, call 713-529-4848 or visit www.crafthouston.org. Find HCCC on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @CraftHouston.
MEDIA CONTACTS
- Jenny Lynn Weitz
jweitz@crafthouston.org
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
713.529.4848 x.308 - Mary Headrick
mheadrick@crafthouston.org
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
713.529.4848 x.107
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