"Perspectives@25: A Quarter Century of New Art in Houston" This retrospective has got mad flow. Sophie Calle presents her fluid recollections of Rembrandt's only maritime painting, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee. Robert Longo and Aaron Parazette offer up renditions of curling waves. Nancy Burson gives us a morphed amalgam of the face of the human race. And Dario Robleto serves up some magic potion. All of this flow is fitting, considering how the "Perspectives" series at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston always has been focused on chugging through exhibitions fairly quickly. It is also symbolic of how contemporary art is constantly evolving. And nothing evolves quite like Sam Taylor-Wood's A Little Death. This video begins with what looks like a classic Old Master still life: A dead rabbit hangs on the wall. But this work isn't as still as it seems. Through time-lapse technology, Taylor-Wood speeds up the furry guy's decomposition. As maggots begin to feast, we realize Taylor-Wood has cannibalized the work of her predecessors. This work wasn't in her original show, but, like many of the other works featured in this stunning retrospective, it shows us what the artist has been doing since then. The CAMH is giving us a fresh look at some familiar faces. Through January 9. 5216 Montrose, 713-284-8250.
"Red Fall" "Red Fall" presents the politically charged work of 12 local, national and international artists. These are strong and politically invigorating exhibitions for anyone -- no matter if you were depressed or elated by the elections. One work, S.O.S. -- Urgent Messages to the President from the Streets of the Bronx, a video by Mel Chin, features "84 Bronx residents offering heartfelt thoughts to the President." It sounds straightforward, but it's an incredibly powerful piece. In it, ethnically and politically diverse people offer the president their advice on a range of issues. One by one, each person stares into the camera without speaking, as the text of his or her message runs along the bottom of the screen. The video is accompanied by a thumping, rumbling audio -- the sound of the interviewees' heartbeats, taped by Chin. Other works include a series of photographs by Paul Fusco, Fallen Soldiers -- Iraq, which presents the flag-draped coffins of the dead, and Bringing the War Home (2004), an installation by David Krueger. Through January 15 at the Station, 1502 Alabama, 713-529-6900.
"Scott Gordon: paperwork" Remember collages, those grade-school art projects made with blunt scissors, construction paper and Elmer's glue? Scott Gordon's new collages at Hooks-Epstein Galleries use that time-honored paper-plus-adhesive technique, but with visually sophisticated results. Gordon takes vintage scraps of paper, culled from books, magazines and old letters, and cuts them into geometric forms. There are hints of early cubist and constructivist collages in the way Gordon selects solid-colored swatches and snippets of text and abstract pattern. The materials have a subtle, mellowing patina of age, and they may remind frequent Colquitt visitors of the collage work of Lance Letscher, who shows at nearby McMurtry Gallery. But while Letscher uses strips of old books to compose much larger designs, Gordon pieces and layers together his shapes irregularly. He arranges his cut components with a painter's sense of composition to create small and satisfying works. Through November 27. 2631 Colquitt. 713-522-0718.
"Yigal Ozeri: Long Island City Series" Yigal Ozeri has some kind of weird pigeon phobia, but you wouldn't know it from his current series of pigeon-centric paintings. The images are taken from the pigeon-encrusted windows outside his studio. Ozeri videotapes the birds and then paints from the video. In his work, clusters of pigeons mix with the bold geometric forms of window frames and the sills of aged brick buildings. You imagine Ozeri spending long hours in his studio staring out these windows -- he apparently spent 13 months on the pigeon series alone. The scenes are particular to dense urban areas, and there's a pretense to grittiness in these paintings. But the romantic pinks that emerge from Ozeri's blue- and purple-tinged tones overwhelm any edginess. These are well-composed and well-painted works that need to push themselves a little further beyond the conventional. Through November 27 at New Gallery, 2627 Colquitt, 713-520-7053.
