Bill Durow needs a good home for his churches. After almost 30 years of collecting colorful, hand-painted Mexican clay churches, the Houston art enthusiast has decided to sell them off. Until he does, however, viewers can admire (or think about buying) his throwbacks at ย“Masterful Churches: A 30 Year Collection.ย” The sculptures were once a popular product of the Mexican folk art scene, but Las Manos Mรกgicas gallery owner Madeleine -Crozat-Williams says that in the past decade, theyย’ve become harder to find. ย“Mexican folk artists are very, very, very clever about not doing anything until their market dries up,ย” she says and laughs. ย“If youย’ve found [something] for several years, theyย’re going to stop doing it because theyย’ll know theyย’ll saturate the market.ย”

Crozat-Williams says Durowย’s religious upbringing and interest in church organ music sparked his interest in the vibrant sculptures, which exhibit the diversity of architecture and religion throughout Mexico. The increasing scarcity of the works makes it difficult to understand why Durow would want to sell them off, especially considering his three-decade long journey collecting them. But -Crozat–Williams says the reclusive collector recently married and had to move, and he no longer has the space to house everything. The collection includes the work of Mexican notables such as Candelario Medrano, the late Heron Martinez and Guillermina Aguilar. After looking at the work of these and others, you may consider making some room.

Wednesdays-Saturdays, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Starts: Sept. 14. Continues through Dec. 22, 2007

This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2007.