Almost all of us are guilty of gluttony, lust or greed. But is this necessarily bad? Texas-born artist Anthony Sonnenberg, who now hails from Seattle, addresses these questions in his exhibit "With Wild Abandon," which opens this Friday at Lawndale Art Center. "My work really comes down to the idea of how we indulge," explains Sonnenberg, who incorporates taxidermy, ceramics, porcelain, textiles, tchotchkes, photography and self-portraits in his work. "Indulgence is something that we enter upon by choice. [We ask ourselves], 'What thing can I have that will make me happy?'

"It's a bit of a paradoxical thing," continues Sonnenberg. "On the one hand, giving in to pleasure makes life worth living. On the other hand...do we hasten our demise?" Like Icarus with his doomed winged flight, "Was that one moment of freedom worth it? It's a question that we all have to ask. What is the answer? I still haven't figured that out," Sonnenberg says.

Neither advertisement nor condemnation, Sonnenberg's Crown for Silenus is an over-the-top gaudy headpiece made of brass sheeting and piping, red coral and silver solder. "It visually grabs you," he says. "The crown itself is like a mermaid made of all the most popular intoxicants. Marijuana plants, cocaine plants, tobacco plants and mushrooms around the crown."

There's an opening reception with the artist at 6 p.m. this Friday. Regular viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 12 to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Through April 18. Lawndale Art Center, 4912 Main. For information, call 713-528-5858 or visit lawndaleartcenter.org. Free.

Ballet lovers of all types as well as people not too sure what part of the art form appeals to them will have a chance to look at it in some variety as the Houston Ballet presents Modern Masters, a program featuring three distinctive dance performances, this Saturday and Sunday. Oliver Halkowich, a soloist with the Houston Ballet, will be dancing two roles; he's in George Balanchine's Ballo della Regina and Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato's Jardi Tancat. Halkowich did the same roles five years ago and thinks he's doing them both better now since, he says, he understands them more clearly. "The Balanchine piece is very abstract. There's a bit of a story. The guy is a fisherman. We're looking for this pearl, which is the girl. But it's abstract. It's a challenging role. It's a lot of jumping and fast footwork."

In Jardi Tancat, there are three couples. "It's earthy and down. It's kind of this story of Spanish workers. We've been given a lot of images of lifting carts of oranges and planting and sowing and that sort of imagery to get us down into the ground and moving in this heavier, earthy feeling." The other piece, Etudes, takes the dancers onward from beginning work at the rehearsal bar. "I think the exciting thing about a lot of the mixed repertory programs we do is there's got to be something in there for everyone," Halkowich says. "With Jardi you have this beautiful Spanish music from Catalonia that I think a lot of people can relate to. There's a lot of feeling and emotion in the music, and if your cup of tea is not classical ballet, then this is probably the one for you. And then the Balanchine ballet is Verdi; it's really quick, it's exciting and really uses that extreme classical technique. With those two ballets, you are really getting -everything you would want in dance. And then Etudes is just such a firework."

Houston Ballet: Modern Masters continues 7:30 p.m. March 20 and 21; 2 p.m. March 22. Wortham Theater -Center, 501 Texas. For information, call 713‑227‑2787 or visit houstonballet.org. $20 to $195.