"Georganne Deen, Patrick Phipps, Scott Teplin" All three of these artists play at the murky frontier of image, text and narrative. Teplin incorporates letters and words into a rebuslike code; they have a set of repeating elements, including letters drawn as glassware, hollow teeth with straws, mustachioed mouths, looping cords and crud dripping from the letters. Looking at this whole set, the viewer starts to see these repeating motifs as part of a hieroglyphic language, as if they carried as much meaning as the letters and words. It doesn't seem possible to interpret them exactly, but the simple illusion of meaning is a positive thing. There's no such illusion in Patrick Phipps's work. His ink sketches are done on graph paper and lined office tablets, pinned to the walls unframed in an untidy, haphazard fashion. A few of Phipps's drawings work as cartoons, at about the level of workmanship found in self-published comics. They comment upon easy cultural targets. For example, "Generation Gap" shows a kid in a T-shirt with the slogan "I love Staind and Linkin Park." Phipps's humor is more obvious than Teplin's, while Deen's paintings resonate with the viewer more. She uses words to present a narrative in a series of paintings. Taking the mythological character of Persephone and her captivity in the underworld as a starting point, Deen portrays her struggle through grief and anger as she finds her way out of darkness and into a world of light and possibility. The story is enhanced by text written on the walls around the pictures, in the voice of the heroine. Although these paintings are presented as illustrations of a simple fable, each stands on its own, both as story and as visual object. Through July 3 at Mixture Contemporary Art, 1709 Westheimer 713-520-6809.
"Olafur Eliasson: Photographs" Olafur Eliasson presents a world with a quietly powerful, contemplative and fascinating beauty. For his exhibition at the Menil Collection, he's taken photos of Iceland and grouped them in grids, creating series of images and recording his movements though landscape -- over a trail, down a river. He creates what are essentially portraits of the natural and man-made phenomena he explores: chunks of intensely blue glacial ice, boulders, broken stones, bridges. Portraits of rocks may sound boring as hell, but his carefully examined presentation makes them fascinating. Nature's incredible variety is a patently obvious concept, but Eliasson explores it without heavy-handedness. You go through the same process of discovery he did in taking his pictures, editing them and grouping them together. The path series (1999), a grid of 24 photographs, depicts lush green grass worn away to reveal rich, dark earth, footsteps embossed in a line in the snow, and a trail burnished into a desolate stony field. It's a record of different landscapes and a document of the artist's walk through his environment. And what a strange environment it is. In The moss valley series (2002), a grid of 16 large photographs records sections of rocky, moss-covered earth. The undulating carpets of dull green look like NASA shots from an alien landscape. They're beautiful and just a little bit creepy. The landscape series (1997) has some lovely images, but the scenic shots aren't as compelling because they're not as specific as his other investigations. Eliasson's work is at its best when parameters are more closely defined. Through September 5. 1515 Sul Ross, 713-525-9400.
"Real Time" The white sheets cascading in Kelli Connell's Clothesline almost tickle your face. Hung by two women staring at each other, they dangle in the breeze in front of a wooden fence. One of them, wearing a white shirt, gazes forward at her lover, who hangs a white bra on the line. It's a delicate moment between two women -- two women who happen to be the same woman. The photo is digitally spliced together from two different shots of one female model. Connell has teamed up with David Hilliard and Joe Schmelzer for DiverseWorks' "Real Time," an exhibition of photographs addressing issues of gay identity and personal relationships. Hilliard's work also deals with gay identity, but its gayness isn't as striking as that of two women staring at each other. The models in his works are standing alone, solitary in their studliness. Rounding out the exhibition are a few of Schmelzer's works. Noah in Tub, New York, NY is an excellent photo of a man in a bathtub, and it has a twist. Shot from above, it shows the photographer's bare foot standing on a towel over the toilet seat. But you can also see another socked foot on the floor, no doubt belonging to someone else who's admiring the beauty of the lover in the bath. There's a threesome going on here, ladies and gentlemen. The whole "Real Time" exhibition is inviting. Curator Patrick Reynolds managed to pack some big works in a small space without overdoing it. Clean and crisp, they relate poignant narratives of gay love. Through June 26. 1117 East Freeway, 713-223-8346.
