Lisa Qualls: "Paris is Burning"

Conceptual artist Lisa Qualls explores what happens when one group of people rubs up against another in her new exhibit Lisa Qualls: “Paris Is Burning.” A frequent traveler to Europe over the last 18 years, Qualls saw the desperate living conditions of African immigrants there. More recently she saw those immigrants, afraid of deportation and discrimination, all but disappear from the streets. “It was like a whole class of people had been eliminated,” she said in press materials. In response, Qualls created this exhibition, a collection of cotton and boning skirt forms covered with European newspapers and hung from the ceiling at Lone Star Art College--Kingwood Art Gallery. The newspaper articles include narratives about the immigrants’ hazardous crossing from Africa to the Canary Islands and the families they left behind. Why skirt forms? “I’m interested in how cultures absorb and share garment forms, patterns, body markings and ritual objects. Over time, some African tribes adopted the hoop skirt forms as part of their traditional and ritual dress,” said Qualls. There’s an opening reception and artist talk from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on January 15. Regular viewing hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to noon Fridays. Kingwood Art Gallery, Lone Star College-Kingwood, 20000 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood. For information, call 281-312-1534 or visit www.kingwood.lone-star.edu. Free.

Tuesdays, Thursdays, 12:30-5 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m.-noon; Mondays, Wednesdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Starts: Jan. 15. Continues through Feb. 5, 2009