Houston is flush with galleries showing strong contemporary work, from the well-established houses of the Texas, Moody and Inman galleries to the new jack swingers like Jonathan Hopson, Homeland and Scott Charmin. So there are many hands on this hardbody, but this year we’re handing the keys to the Jeep to Cardoza in recognition of its fast and furious way of showing artists early and showing them often. Its restless menagerie of talent includes Katie Mulholland, Bret Shirley, Chris Henry, Melinda Laszczynski, Mark Flood and many others. Cardoza has artists on the rise, artists from the underground and artists who are just here to party. Perhaps, as the years go by, it will catch some artists on the decline, too. In addition to its local presence, Cardoza keeps a toehold in various national art fairs, the better to wiggle in somewhere in the national dialogue. Perhaps as important to the layperson is that Cardoza can party, as its sporadic deejay events attest.