In the last few years, legendary Japanese printmaker Katsushika Hokusai has joined Salvador Dalรญ and M.C. Escher on the list of artists whose work is most likely to adorn college dorm rooms. His highly energized prints of rampant waves have that kind of instant coolness. Houston artist Marco Villegas pays tribute to Hokusai with ยLong Way She Wave,ย his series of latex-on-canvas works at Art League Houston. But while his idolยs representations of the ocean were synergistically colorful, Villegasยs are all black and white. The swirling black splotches are organized in rows and go through cycles of getting larger and smaller across the Art Leagueยs walls, supposedly emulating the actual look of rolling waves. (Hokusai was never this conceptual.) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Through August 20. 1953 Montrose. For information, call 713-523-9530 or visit www.artleaguehouston.com. Free.
CORRECTION: Marco Villegas’ work for “Long Way She Wave” is not acrylic on canvas, but rather marker drawings on the gallery walls.
July 22-Aug. 20, 2010
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2010.