Best of Houston

Inman Gallery is nothing if not hip, so hip it's been included in New York's Amory Show, that commercial mecca of über-cool contemporary art, for the past two years. Inman focuses on emerging artists with an emphasis on Texan talent, and their openings are attended by a roll call of the Houston art world. If you're looking for Bill Davenport's quirky sculptures and paintings or Amy Blakemore's lushly skewed photographs, this is the place to hit. The gallery consistently presents high-caliber work and thoughtfully composed group shows. Next year will find Inman in a brand-new space. The 1925 brick home that has housed the gallery since 1990 will be demolished to make way for a new and improved venue. An expansive, high-ceilinged gallery space will replace the narrow converted living room that previously doubled as the central exhibition space, allowing Inman greater flexibility in the scale and number of works it shows. During the construction process, the gallery has temporarily relocated to Lawing Gallery's gorgeous downtown space while owner Doug Lawing is on sabbatical from his own schedule of cutting-edge exhibitions. The interim space on Travis is known as Inman@Lawing.