''Common Objects''

Comments (0) By Meredith Deliso Thursday, Jun 14 2012

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David Shelton Gallery

3909 Main St.
Houston, TX 77004

Category: Galleries

Region: Third Ward

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Artist Ted Gahl, Nathan Hayden and Lane Hagood each have very different styles and sensibilities, but, for purposes of the show ''Common Objects,'' currently at David Shelton Gallery, they are united by their exploration of the ''idiosyncrasies of daily experience.'' Organizing an art show around everyday, ordinary objects seems like a liability. By focusing on the mundane, there's the risk of the artwork itself being mundane, too. Luckily, David Shelton's latest show, narrowly avoids this fate thanks to the strength of its three artists. Connecticut artist Ted Gahl's work is about painting itself. His small-scale paintings line the front room of the gallery, stretching above the gallery desk in a varied conversation about paint and process that feels like the painting equivalent of multiple personality disorder. Southern California artist Nathan Hayden's unkindofremarkable, an installation three years in the making consisting of black-and-white ink drawings on paper, stretches across one wall. The paper is comically small for the impressive amount of detail and text that comprise both the front and back. Houston artist Lane Hagood, a Hunting Prize winner, contributes childlike images of feet and hands in his trademark primitive style. It's a style that makes it seem as if the artist isn't trying all that hard. But the more time viewers spend with them, the more they notice the details -- the blue veins in the hands and feet, the thorny hair on the legs -- and the thoughtful composition of his paintings.
Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Starts: Jan. 11. Continues through Feb. 16, 2013