“Jorge Marin: Wings of the City” This installation at Discovery Green has nine wonderful sculptures by an acclaimed Mexican sculptor; some are powerful, some playful, some enigmatic, but all are filled with a love for and an appreciation of humanity that is breathtaking and admirable. Though they represent a higher order of being — most are winged — they have retained their humanity. Abrazo Monumental (abrazo is Spanish for “embrace”) is a pietà-like sculpture of a winged angel holding a dying woman. El Tiempo shows a wounded soldier, his face intact but his head shattered and missing, and his arms severed as well, yet he remains watchful and alert, resolute, courageous, kept alive by his dedication and his need to protect the city. One sculpture is interactive: It’s a pair of giant bronze wings with an opening for the visitor to stand in and be photographed wearing the wings. Titled Alas de Mexico, it is playful indeed, and early on a Saturday evening it was very active, with visitors waiting their turn. There are six winged sculptures, and three that are not winged. Split Monumental has a gymnast with a hawk mask, short hair, balancing on his hands on a globe. Equilibrista 90 Monumental shows a masked gymnast supporting himself with his hands on a globe, his legs stretched straight out, in an elegant line. Hombre Universal Monumental shows a man standing on a large open ring of metal, holding onto it at its top, with outstretched arms, an homage to and an echo of Leonardo da Vinci’s sketch of the Vitruvian Man, probably the best-known drawing in the history of art. Through February 8. 1500 McKinney, La Branch at Lamar, 713-400-7336, discovery green.com. — JJT
“One of a Kind: Artwork from the Collection of Stephanie Smither” Stephanie Smither is an avid and perspicacious collector of folk art, which is made crystal clear in an engrossing exhibition of works from her collection. There are pieces from more than 30 artists, many of them self-taught, some internationally recognized and some emerging, and some of the work is by unidentified artists. One sculpture (the artist isn’t identified) is made entirely from wire, a tribute to a wedding bower. The central focus is on a driver controlling two donkeys pulling a carriage. On either side are two large heart-shaped holders of photographs, one of a man and one of a woman, presumably the betrothed couple. It sings of love and devotion, and its intricate design and detail testify to the artistry of the unknown sculptor. Clarence and Grace Woolsey were an American couple in Iowa whose medium was bottle caps. They passed away in 1987 and 1992, respectively, but left behind more than 200 sculptures created or covered completely in bottle caps. Surprisingly, the effect is not metallic but provides rather the look of fabric — the caps nestle one into another, with the edges exposed. An untitled bottle-cap work is on display, a cross between a scarecrow and a gingerbread man — droll, indeed. Another anonymous sculpture is made entirely of toilet paper, a finely detailed creation of a two-master, elegant, under full sail and almost all-white. The cabin is below deck, open to view, and it is finely done, including a table and chairs. Art League Houston has named Smither the 2014 Texas Patron of the Year, with the award presented at the annual gala, on Friday, October 17 at Hotel ZaZa. Ticket and table purchase information are available by contacting Jill Nepomnick at 713-523-9530. Through November 1. 1953 Montrose, 713-523-9530, artleaguehouston.org. — JJT
“Pepe Mar: Parco Dei Mostri” The Miami-based artist Pepe Mar has created a highly personal exhibition, a trip down memory lane. It has three elements: a large, richly textured window-box collage; a wall-size bookcase filled with objects that fascinate Mar, some of which he made and some of which are found art; and, surprisingly, four framed shirts that Mar has worn, three by Versace. The title of the exhibition refers to the “Park of Monsters,” a 16th-century outdoor sculpture “garden” in Bomarzo in northern Italy composed of many larger-than-life-size sculptures, including one of Hannibal’s elephants mangling a Roman soldier. That the Parco dei Mostri left a strong impression on Mar is no surprise, since it also captured the imaginations of Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dalí. Mar, like the park of Bomarzo, intends not to please but to astonish. I was certainly astonished to see those four shirts that Mar had worn included as such a major part of the exhibition; they are beautifully framed and displayed. The bookcase is worth considerable study — it reveals a keen eye for found art, and a rich sense of humor. There are scores of objects, so leave time to savor them. The major work is The Cabinet of Dr. Mar — here in a shadow-box collage is where some of Mar’s “monsters” emerge to do their work, but the art here is so complex as to defy description. Lest one be overwhelmed by the extraordinary detail, I suggest concentrating first on one section, then perhaps on another, to get a feel for the artist’s intention. Mar gives a lot of himself here, and requires a lot from his audience as well. This exhibition reveals a powerful artist with a far-ranging sensibility. Through October 25. DiverseWorks — Midtown, 4102 Fannin, 713-223-8346, diverseworks.org. — JJT
“Texas Before the Boom, 1850-1900: Selections from the Bobbie and John L. Nau Collection,” on view at the Pearl Fincher Art Museum in Spring, consists of 40 or so paintings and drawings made in Texas or by Texans, mostly before 1900. Since most people, when they think of Texas art — especially the old stuff — probably think first of bluebonnets, cowboys and longhorn cattle, this show might just as aptly be titled Texas Art Before the Clichés. There’s not a single bluebonnet or cowboy, and only one longhorn, in the show. The Nau Collection, encompassing all phases of earlier Texas art, is one of the largest and most comprehensive there is. Though only a fraction of the whole, the works included here are some of the earliest and rarest of their kind anywhere. Many of the works in this show speak to the vastness of Texas and to our Mexican heritage, and they’re so early (for Texas) and so rare that there will be revelations for even the most seasoned viewer. Thomas Allen’s Galveston Beach of 1877 is gorgeous — wedges of sand and water converging in the distance below a rectangle of sky, clouds echoing waves, no people, no buildings, reduced almost to a modernist study of geometry and subtle color. The most intriguing work is The Burning of the Heroes of the Alamo from 1903 by José Arpa y Perea. It’s richly painted and complex, befitting Arpa’s Spanish training: A painting of the burning Alamo surrounded by greenery sits before a female figure (is she a nun, an allegorical reference or something else?) holding an hourglass, or maybe an urn containing the ashes of the heroes. You’ll leave it wanting to know more. Through December 13. 6815 Cypresswood Drive, Spring, 281-376-6322, pearlmfa.org. — RT
“Three Houses by Havel Ruck” and “Sexual Selection: Jo Ann Fleischhauer” Havel Ruck Projects is the name of the collaborative works of Dan Havel and Dean Ruck, who have created the installation “Three Houses” at Art League Houston, using lumber and other artifacts from three condemned houses to form a wooden structure both cryptic and evocative. It is a very large room-size bowl that can be entered from one side, so the viewer is surrounded by the structure. The lumber is placed horizontally, with large gaps that can be seen through. The sides of the bowl rise quite high, but at irregular heights, and the top is open. Some detailing is witty: One small panel door opens to reveal an ironing board. Once inside the bowl, a visitor is essentially in the midst of used scrap lumber, but the imagination of two talented artists has turned it into a shrine to honor the past. Havel and Ruck were named 2014 Artists of the Year by Art League Houston; the award will be made Friday, October 17 at a gala at Hotel ZaZa. They are best known for their 2005 Inversion, a strikingly original project in which the exterior of the former Art League Houston building, slated for demolition, was stripped and rebuilt to form a funnel connecting it to another building. Jo Ann Fleischhauer has created more than 100 very colorful parasols and installed them, inverted and only partially opened, in the trees adjoining the Art League Houston parking lot. Surprise is a large element in Fleischhauer’s art, and this site-specific installation is quite unexpected, which is one of its several strengths. The parasols are beautiful in themselves and would brighten and enrich any place they appeared. Through November 1. 1953 Montrose, 713-523-9530, artleaguehouston.org. — JJT
“When Wood Met Design: LeeAnn Gorman and Paula Haymond” Painter LeeAnn Gorman met sculptor Paula Haymond at the Archway Gallery, forming a friendship and now a collaboration. Each artist has solo pieces, but also shows works where their efforts are collaborative. Gorman’s paintings use acrylic on canvas, and resemble in some ways the kind of map one might see of an underground subway system in London or New York. Each one is different, yet while Gorman is not repeating herself, she seems to be covering much the same territory. Gorman worked with Haymond on 230 Cathedral Avenue, a wall sculpture of nine “spires,” which has colored canvas inserts by Gorman coated with resin to make them seem like stained-glass windows. Haymond used Oregon maple for the spires, and hand-carved the openings for each “window.” Haymond created a series of wood sculptures in the shape of bowls or vases, and these give the impression of being ceramic, so highly polished is the wood. All Along the Watch Tower is such a tall vase, and Haymond has carved into the Texas ash wood separate openings for about 100 elements from timepieces, painstakingly inserted. A large wall sculpture is a 4’x8′ pine dining-room table, which Haymond envisioned as West Texas after the waters had receded millions of years ago. The work is intricate and gripping, and provides a sense of an archeological dig. The fact that it’s a powerful work of artistry using a discarded manufactured item from an industrial age adds a special resonance. Mapping the Interior II is a sculpture that rises with elegance and verve to suggest the shape of a calla lily. It has charm and style. Through October 30. 2305 Dunlavy, 713-522-2409, archwaygallery.com. — JJT
This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2014.