"Ladies First"

Lauren Kelley usually works with video, but her contribution to the “Ladies First” group exhibit at Art Palace is a photographic still from a video work. Kelly, who has received the Artadia Houston Prize and was a fellow in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's Core Program, says, "[I'm] trying to find ways to kind of tell these narratives outside of a moving image." Kelley has often used Barbie dolls to illustrate the black woman's struggle with body image, but here she explores power issues with topiary animals - the animals, in different sizes and on pedestals of different heights, appear to be staking out their territories. That may sound like a complete shift of subject matter, but Kelley says the dots definitely connect. "A constant thread has always been this desire to...claim one's own turf - whether it's black woman, whether it's woman, whether it's individual in a larger territory," she says.

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• Lauren Kelley
• Margarita Cabrera
• Jessica Halonen
• Visual Arts
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

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The roster of other artists participating in "Ladies First," Art Palace's first group exhibition, is impressive. Elaine Bradford’s strange hybrid creatures made from ordinary craft materials, Margarita Cabrera's hand-embroidered soft sculptures, Ali Fitzgerald's dioramas and other small works, Jessica Halonen's imagery exploring the impact of genetically modified plants, and Bari Ziperstein's site-specific sculpture will all be on view. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Through May 1. 3913 Main. For information, call 281-501-2964 or visit www.artpalacegallery.com. Free.
Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Starts: March 12. Continues through May 1, 2010