summer 2009
NE W S L I n E
the Art Museum of the University of Houston
f rom th e director It is with great enthusiasm that we greet spring at Blaffer Gallery. This is my first season as director and chief curator of the museum and I am grateful to have earned the trust of the search committee members who have appointed me to this position. I feel fortunate indeed: I inherit a healthy institution with a dedicated staff and an enthusiastic board who are bound by an ambitious agenda. In difficult economic times such as these, we find great comfort in our proven ability to successfully negotiate challenging situations without compromising our institutional relevance. Blaffer Gallery is staying true to its mission and will continue to do so in the future. The past three months have been action-packed with programs and events. Coinciding with the closing of the Center for Land Use Interpretation’s exhibition Texas Oil: Landscape of an Industry and Electric Mud, we co-hosted Systems of Sustainability, a
multi-faceted, cross-disciplinary program that combined academic and populist agendas. Unfolding over three days, it drew audiences old and new to the University of Houston and Blaffer Gallery. The first of its kind to have been organized together with our partner, the UH Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, we celebrate its success and look forward to further developing this format of part-symposium, part-festival in our collaborative ventures. May 15 is a big day: it marks the opening of Existed: Leonardo Drew, a mid-career retrospective of this significant artist based in New York and San Antonio. It is also the night of our annual gala. Sporting the title RenGen Remix, this year’s event is dedicated to the celebration of regeneration and new beginnings. You will note that we have changed locations and we will be off-site. Please join us at the New World Museum for an evening filled with great food, music, and art. We hope to see you there!
Claudia Schmuckli Director and Chief Curator
Upcoming Events Friday, May 15 6–8 p.m. Opening Reception for Existed: Leonardo Drew Friday, May 15 8 p.m.–12 a.m. RenGen Remix 2009 Blaffer Gallery Gala
Wednesday, June 3 12 p.m. Brown Bag Gallery Tour
Wednesday, July 15 6:30 p.m. Contemporary Salon
Wednesday, June 24 6:30 p.m. Artist’s and Curator’s Talk Featuring Leonardo Drew and Claudia Schmuckli
*Programs subject to change. Please visit www.blaffergallery.org for the most updated calendar of events.
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1. Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture’s Visual Resource Curator Jean Krchnak and Director of the Graduate Design/ Build Studio Patrick Peters at the Texas Oil: Landscape of an Industry Contemporary Salon 2. Electric Mud contributing artist Patrick Wilson with Sara Cochran (center), Phoenix Art Museum Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, and Claudia Schmuckli (right), Director of Blaffer Gallery, at the Electric Mud roundtable discussion and luncheon 3. Donald Van Nieuwenhuise, Director of the UH Petroleum Geoscience Program, points to the forty-two-gallon barrel of oil
9. at the Texas Oil Brown Bag Gallery Tour 4. The Center for Land Use Interpretation Founder and Director Matthew Coolidge gives a tour of Texas Oil to Blaffer Gallery docents 5. Visitors look over photographs during the Texas Oil exhibition opening 6. Electric Mud contributing artist Michael Reafsnyder (left) with exhibition curator David Pagel (right) at the Electric Mud roundtable discussion and luncheon 7. Artist Divya Murthy (left) with Blaffer Curator of Education Katherine Veneman at the Texas Oil Contemporary Salon
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8. Blaffer advisory board member Sallie Morian (right) at the Electric Mud exhibition opening 9. Joseph Pratt, Interim Dean of the UH College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, at the Systems of Sustainability welcome address 10. John Reed, Director of the UH School of Art, and Nancy Zastudil, Program Manager of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, at the Texas Oil Contemporary Salon 11. Cindi Strauss, MFAH Curator of Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts and Design, at the Electric Mud roundtable discussion and luncheon
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existed: LeonardO drew May 16 – August 1, 2009
Opening in mid-May, Existed: Leonardo Drew presents sculptures and works on paper created over the last twenty years by New York- and San Antonio-based artist Leonardo Drew. Throughout his career, Drew has been engaged with the cyclical nature of existence. Made to resemble the detritus of everyday life, his formally abstract but emotionally charged compositions have an aesthetic authority and metaphorical weight that are unique, transcending time and place in a celebration of things eternal. These works range from the intense drama of his sculptures and installations of the 1980s, to the epic sweep of his massive wall-bound tableaux of the 1990s, to the ethereal language of his paper casts of the early 2000s. Add the poetic intimacy of his recent works on paper, and Drew’s practice can be described as a journey toward enlightenment, full of reprises and returns as well as new beginnings. Exhibition curator and Blaffer Director Claudia Schmuckli sat down with Drew to discuss what he has been working on for the exhibition.
Above: Number 43, 1994 (detail) Fabric, plastic, rust, string, wood 138 x 288 x 12 inches Marc and Livia Straus Family Collection and the Saint Louis Art Museum Photo © Dorothy Zeidman
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Claudia Schmuckli: You often describe certain bodies of work in terms of “developing” and “arriving,” as if you saw them undertaking a series of journeys. It seems to me that the shift in trajectory in your work often coincides with a focus on a new material or form. How do you arrive at these junctures? Leonardo Drew: I’ll say that the shift in material, and sometimes in trajectory, has to do with self-exploration. There are basically two different things we can draw on: we can draw on our personal history, and we can draw on a collective history. I think that I pretty much go back and forth between the two. I can see in hindsight how some experiences introduced themselves in the work because they made me gravitate toward a certain material at a particular point in time, but the work is never literally about personal experience. It’s about a human experience — there is a larger history at work here. CS: There is an undeniable emotional charge to your art that carries through from your first mature work, Number 8 (1988), to your most recent paper casts. I feel, though, that the intensity and tenor of the emotion has changed quite significantly. In your art throughout the nineties, there was a lot of emphasis on notions of temporality, ruin, and decay. This is most palpable in the works that employ rust, but it applies to the paper casts as well. Their ghostlike presence speaks to the absence of the actual objects and
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Leonardo Drew Number 26, 1992 Canvas, rust, wood 120 x 168 x 6 inches Private collection, New York Photo © John Berens
conjures up a lost history of people and their lives that we may or may not know about. I feel that your most recent work strikes a lighter, somewhat more jubilant stance. It speaks more about the originary aspect of nature than its transience. LD: I would say that is what’s actually happening. I mean, if we were to speak of birth, life, death, and regeneration — this shows the work going through that very process. CS: So do you agree that your work is at a regenerative stage at this point? LD: The work references itself now. It’s all part of a journey, and I think that at this point in the journey, it’s about trying to reinvent myself. There is a need to reassess. The work is in a state of reinvestigating itself by referencing its past. Number 26, 1992 Canvas, rust, wood 120 x 168 x 6 inches Private collection, New York Photo © John Berens
But the thing that remains consistent in the overall feeling of the work is that it’s weighted. When I began to take up paper, I thought I was pushing against the idea that my work was always going to have that very same weight or effect. But there was no getting around it: you look at the paper casts, and they have the same substantial emotional magnitude as the other sculptures. And that’s who I am; I can’t avoid that. That’s going to be a part of my actual sensibility, and that’s going to be my signature, no matter what materials I touch. The results are the same, absolutely the same, so I think that has to do with a sensibility at the core of my creative self that cannot be denied. At this point in my life, I’m just allowing it to take hold, take shape, and be. It’s important for the work to be able to breathe and to have an identity that is not in denial of itself. Number 104, 2005 Cast paper, graphite, paper, rust 95 x 96.5 x 3 inches, unframed Private collection Photo © Luciano Fileti
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CS: And where do you locate this emotional weight in yourself? LD: It’s like a dance. Things are coming to me or flowing out of me without my having to tag them. It’s a type of freedom, something that also comes out in the work. I don’t question it. I think you just allow these things to sort of take shape and take form. It sounds very strange, but for me it’s the most natural way of creating.
Number 8, 1988 Animal carcasses, animal hides, feathers, paint, paper, rope, wood 108 x 120 x 4 inches Courtesy the artist Photo © Frank Stewart
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Existed: Leonardo Drew is organized by Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation, the Harpo Foundation, the Linda Pace Foundation, Allen Bennett MD, The Fifth Floor Foundation, Guillermo Nicolas, and The TOBY Fund. Support for the catalogue is provided by Sikkema Jenkins & Co. Following its Blaffer debut, Existed: Leonardo Drew will travel to the Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina, from February 7 through May 9, 2010. Number 33a, 1999 Canvas, metal boxes, oxidized metal, rust, shoes, wire 99 x 96 x 22 inches Collection of the McNay Art Museum. Museum purchase with the Helen and Everett H. Jones Purchase Fund Photo © McNay Art Museum
special f e atu re
Double Physichromie The University of Houston is honored to now have in its collection a work by the world-renowned artist Carlos Cruz-Diez. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1923, CruzDiez was part of the advertising world until 1955, when a trip to Europe introduced him to the work of geometric abstract painters and the Bauhaus. Due to his intense interest in, and understanding of, color and color theory, as well as the contemporary influence of Kinetic and Op Art, Cruz-Diez switched careers, becoming one of the most important artists of his generation and one of the most revered Latin American artists living today. Exhibiting internationally, he has received numerous honors, and his works have found a home in such institutions as the Tate Gallery, MoMA, the Centre Pompidou, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In 1997, he opened the Carlos Cruz-Diez Print & Design Museum in Caracas as an educational resource to support Venezuelan artists. Cruz-Diez has executed numerous public commissions around the world, but the one for UH is the country’s
first. Creating Double Physichromie (for the University of Houston) was a collaborative effort. The large serpentine sculpture measures five feet tall and sixty-five feet long, with over two thousand aluminum and steel parts; these were fabricated locally by Blumenthal Sheet Metal and painted by J. E. Titus Company from detailed drawings made by the artist. Located at Entrance 1 off Calhoun, the sculpture was commissioned using the 1% of the budget of the new Welcome Center/Parking Garage that had been set aside for public art. The work is meant to be seen in motion and from multiple angles, although standing still in front of either side, one can appreciate the complexity of the color combinations and forms: repeating vertical stripes of color and alternating blade shapes create dizzying optical effects. Double Physichromie is a remarkable piece of art. You can learn more about the artist at www.cruz-diez.com and at www.sicardi.com, or by visiting Sicardi Gallery in Houston. Michael Guidry Curator, University of Houston Public Art Collection
Detail: Double Physichromie
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S.O.S systems of sustainability
art . innovation . action march . 27 – 29 . 2009 www.soshouston.org
Blaffer Gallery and Mitchell Center Send Out an S.O.S.
Part arts festival and part academic symposium, Systems of Sustainability (S.O.S.): Art, Innovation, Action was held March 27–29 in partnership with the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts to examine creative enterprise as an integral tool for cultural growth and social change. A diverse audience of community members, artists, and students attended events showcasing the innovative practices of local, national, and international sustainability advocates. From its opening kickoff party, headlined by DJ and artist Steve Nalepa, to the closing remarks of collaborators Liz Lerman and Robert Harriss, S.O.S. provided three days and evenings filled with programs that asked questions, sparked dialogue, and illuminated new artistic practices in today’s ever-shifting cultural landscape. Friday evening featured an “Animated Keynote” given by Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, following an introduction by University of Houston President Renu Khator and Mayor Bill White, who each addressed the importance of sustainability in the arts, higher education, and Houston. Mornings opened with casual conversation followed by lectures and related panel discussions on provocative topics. “Research and Environs,” moderated by Harriss, investigated practices that foster interaction between art and technology as well as our interaction with the environment. “Poetics and Performance: Art in Public Spaces,” moderated by Blaffer Director Claudia Schmuckli, extended the conversation by considering site-specific artworks that activate and change their surroundings. Finally, “Society and Community,” moderated by artist Barbara Pagh, directly addressed ways to sustain and nurture artists 8
who either work collectively or share a common space and artistic philosophy. S.O.S. also offered numerous afternoon and evening interactive opportunities, site-specific projects, and on- and off-campus field trips. For instance, on Friday, Brian Collier gave those interested a tour of his observation station for non-native Quaker Parrots in Houston. On both Saturday and Sunday, the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange performed a community tea ceremony. A full list of activities that took place can be found online at www.soshouston.org. S.O.S. attendees benefited from three days of inspired and fresh perspectives on the future of sustainability. Blaffer Gallery and the Mitchell Center extend their sincere thanks to participants, guests, volunteers, and everyone else who made S.O.S. a weekend to remember.
Karen Farber (left) and Claudia Schmuckli
Deja Rendez-Vous party and project unveiling with CLUI representatives and the SIMPARCH designers
s.o. s. recap
Richard Lerman
Liz Lerman
Houston Mayor Bill White
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
Lindsay Utz Lindsay Utz
UH President Renu Khator
Katherine Veneman (left), Barbara Pagh (center), and Alexandra Broches (right)
Robert Harriss
UH design students at the kickoff party
Steve Nalepa
Dario Robleto
Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Michael Mercil
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Josephine Meckseper
antiwar protests, and her signature mannequin and product display installations. Blaffer will also debut Untitled (2009), a recreation of the stage sets used during U.S. presidential television debates.
September 12–November 14, 2009 Born and raised in Germany, Josephine Meckseper received her M.F.A. in 1992 from the California Institute of Arts in Valencia. She has lived in the United States for nearly twenty years, creating magazines, installations, and films that address leftist theories and politics in a consumerist reality. Her work playfully examines the semantics of media propaganda as well as capitalist sales and advertising strategies. As the artist has said, “Instead of aestheticizing political issues and problems, what I try to do is to challenge ingrained perspectives, for instance, habits of seeing while leafing through a newspaper in which horror stories from Iraq appear side by side with underwear advertisements. These works exaggerate this mode of dissemiSave a Bundle, 2007 Mixed media nating information Part I: 65 x 48 x 24 inches Part II: 48 x 48 x 24 inches and consumerism Courtesy the artist, Elizabeth Dee, New York, in order to expose and Arndt & Partner, Berlin/Zürich it.” The individual elements of the works symbolize or simulate commercial objects. Meckseper’s exhibition at Blaffer Gallery will focus on her recent artworks, which examine the conflicting interests of the mass media, politicians, and the oil and auto industries as played out in the Iraq War. This is spelled out in the film 0% Down (2008), a mix of American car commercials set to the song “Total War” by Boyd Rice/NON. The exhibition will also contain Meckseper’s documentary photographs of 10
Meckseper’s work has been included in such prominent exhibitions as New Photography Untitled (Angry Brigade), 2005 2008 at MoMA, Prospect 1 New Acrylic, gouache, pencil, and Orleans, That Was Then . . . This fabric on canvas 60 x 48 inches Is Now at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Courtesy the artist and Elizabeth Dee, New York Center, the international touring exhibition USA Today: New American Art from the Saatchi Gallery, the 2006 Whitney Biennial Day for Night, and a significant retrospective at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. Blaffer Gallery is pleased to present Meckseper’s first full one-person museum exhibition in the United States. JRP|Ringier is publishing a catalogue of the exhibition with texts by exhibition curator Rachel Hooper, Heike Munder, and Sylvère Lotringer (in conversation with Paul Virilio). The catalogue is published on the occasion of Meckseper’s exhibitions at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst Zürich, the Ausstellungshalle zeitgenössische Kunst Münster in Germany, and Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston. 0% Down, 2008 Video 6 minutes Courtesy the artist, Elizabeth Dee, New York, and Arndt & Partner, Berlin/Zürich
Josephine Meckseper is organized by Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston. The exhibition and publication are made possible, in part, by The Cecil Amelia von Furstenberg Endowment for Exhibitions and Programs, Houston Endowment, Inc., and the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany.
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Jon Pylypchuk
Pylypchuk is fearless in his use of themes and materials — September 12 – November 14, 2009 nothing is considered Jon Pylypchuk was born in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1972, too trivial or pathetic received his M.F.A. from UCLA in 2001, and currently splits — yet the results his time between Winnipeg and Los Angeles. His work lays are oddly heroic and bare the frailty of human existence and social relationships. deeply affecting. A contemporary fabulist, Pylypchuk draws upon the animal Organized by Claudia world to create heart-wrenching stories of attraction and Schmuckli, Director repulsion, love and loss, pleasure and pain, triumph and and Chief Curator of failure. The creatures populating his paintings, drawings, and sculptures channel our worst fears and greatest hopes. Blaffer Gallery, the exhibition will be on Endowed with human attributes, yet endearing in their furry cuteness, Pylypchuk’s animals inspire empathy. Their expe- view through midNovember. A fully riences and struggles speak to the pathetic banality, stubillustrated catalogue, born determination, and relentless optimism that define co-published with many of our paths through life, that unfolding tragicomedy the Ausstellungshalle of epic proportion. zeitgenössische The exhibition will include ten sculptures and twenty paintKunst Münster My life would be good if I didn’t have so much to complain ings created between 2000 and 2008, as well as a new (AZKM), Germany, about, 2005 large-scale and multi-figure instalwill accompany the Mixed media on panel lation conceived for this debut artist’s first solo mu- 72 x 48 inches at Blaffer. Composed of scrap seum exhibition in Europe following the Blaffer show. The plywood, wallpaper, fabrics, sand, book will include work shown in both Houston and Münster, glitter, and matchsticks, Pylypproviding a transatlantic, comprehensive, and in-depth look chuk’s works have a raw, amateur- at this artist’s oeuvre. It will feature about fifty color plates, ish look suggestive of early Art including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and collages, and Brut, here enriched by a vibrant essays by Schmuckli and Gail Fitzpatrick, Director of the palette. Instead of a paintbrush, AZKM. Pylypchuk often uses a screw Jon Pylypchuk is organized by Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the gun to fabricate his paintings, University of Houston. The exhibition and publication are made possible, and employs pen and paper to in part, by The Cecil Amelia Blaffer von Furstenberg Endowment for hey, don’t fuck with the pipsqueak!, inscribe self-defeating, abusive, or Exhibitions and Programs and Houston Endowment, Inc. 2004 Mixed media self-effacing dialogues onto his im78 x 36 x 48 inches ages, exchanges that encapsulate the relationships between his characters. The crudeness of his materials only heightens the fragility of his characters. 11
Summer Arts Now Enrolling One of our most popular children’s programs, Summer Arts gives children ages 6–12 hands-on art experience through a series of fun activities and lessons. During six sessions led by a professional art educator, students create two- and three-dimensional artworks that are inspired by Blaffer’s exhibitions. The class is held June 16–26, and class size is limited. For more information, please visit our website or contact Katy Lopez at klopez@uh.edu.
Director of the Graduate Design/Build Studio at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture; and Nancy Zastudil, Program Manager of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts. Students Shine at Blaffer
Winter Programs Attract Artists and Experts
Young Artist Apprenticeship Program students along with artist-mentors and Blaffer education staff members at the opening reception for Alternating/Current in March
The Texas Oil Brown Bag Gallery Tour led by Donald Van Nieuwenhuise draws a large crowd
Each season, the museum brings in artists, curators, and experts to present insightful and challenging viewpoints on Blaffer exhibitions. This semester, the museum was pleased to present artists Michael Reafsynder and Patrick Wilson, along with curator David Pagel, Associate Professor of Art Theory and History, Claremont Graduate University in California, to discuss the Electric Mud exhibition with Director Claudia Schmuckli. Later, Blaffer’s Brown Bag Gallery Tour of the exhibition featured artist Lucinda Cobley and Cindi Strauss, MFAH Curator of Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts and Design. For Texas Oil: Landscape of an Industry, a series of programs featured guests Matthew Coolidge, Founder/Director of the Center for Land Use Interpretation; Donald Van Nieuwenhuise, Director of the UH Petroleum Geoscience Program; John Reed, Director of the UH School of Art; Patrick Peters, 12
From high school students in our Young Artist Apprenticeship Program to college students participating in the museum’s internship program, Blaffer has seen its students put on stellar performances. Twelve students from four HISD schools (Austin, Chavez, Eastwood, and Milby) successfully completed the six-week after-school workshop and produced an exciting exhibition entitled Alternating/ Current. At the college level, the spring semester intern team of Taylor Alvis, Kerry Ingram, Maria Mora, Jasmine Moses, and Trinh Nguyen made significant contributions to the daily operations of the curatorial, education, and public relations departments. The staff congratulates the students on a job well done. Houston Heights Membership Tour In January, Blaffer Gallery members had the privilege of touring the home of Beverly and Wayne Gilbert. After enjoying beverages, hors d’oeuvres, and the Gilberts’ unique
E Du cation/de v e lopm e nt
Wayne Gilbert leads a tour of his home and private art collection
private collection, guests headed over to Nau-haus, Redbud Gallery, and G Gallery for a tour of their current exhibitions. Stay tuned for similar upcoming members-only events. To ensure that you don’t miss the next one, call 713.743.9528 to become a Blaffer member.
Celebrate REGENERATION with RenGen Remix! When Friday, May 15, 2009 8 p.m.–12 a.m. Where New World Museum 5230 Center Street Honorees Leonardo Drew and Claudia Schmuckli
In Memoriam Early this year we lost a close friend, donor, advisory board member, and University of Houston alumnus —Jerome Robinson. An ever-present example of great strength with a splash of humor, Jerome will be missed around the museum. The Jerome and Minnette Robinson Scholarship Endowment, Jerome Robinson begun in 2001, will be awarded each year in perpetuity to one student who shows both academic achievement and exceptional ability as a museum docent.
Tickets Individuals $250 Underwriters $1,000, $2,500, and $5,000 A limited number of tickets to the after-party will be available for $50. After-hours tickets are for 10 p.m.–12 a.m. only.
Your Hosts Judy and Scott Nyquist • Patrick Drew • Karen and Steve Farber • Ryan Gordon • Michelle Aviña and Steven Hempel • José Solis Dinner, Silent Auction, and Dancing to the Sounds of DJ Drew and Siákara
This year’s recipient, Julia Wallace, has been involved with the museum’s educational programs for several years. She has made exemplary contributions to the tour program by informing audiences of all ages about the emerging artists exhibited within the galleries. She is currently pursuing a B.F.A. degree in painting, with a double minor in art history and English.
Auction Artists and donors include, but are not limited to: Armandos • Melissa Borrell • The Center for Land Use Interpretation • Leonardo Drew • Mariquita Masterson • Josephine Meckseper • Peel Gallery Shop • Tootsies • Jon Pylypchuk • Michael Reafsnyder • Jim Richards • Tupelo Grease Co. • Patrick Wilson
Surf the Internet and Give to Blaffer! Simply by surfing the internet using GoodSearch and shopping online with GoodShop, you can direct a portion of your purchase to the museum. Just enter “Blaffer Gallery” in the “Who Do You Search For?” and “Who Do You Support?” search windows at www.goodsearch.com.
Sponsors
Details Call 713.743.9537 or email seconaway@uh.edu
M A G A Z I N E
Join RenGen Remix: Blaffer Gallery’s 2009 Gala on Facebook!
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B laf f e r Par tn e rs LEAD SPONSORS The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation Houston Endowment, Inc. PROGRAM PARTNERS Baker Hughes Foundation The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation The Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation Marita and JB Fairbanks Harpo Foundation Institute of Museum and Library Services John P. McGovern Foundation Linda Pace Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Jane Blaffer Owen Louisa Stude Sarofim Sikkema Jenkins & Co. Dorothy Carsey Sumner Ellen and Steve Susman Travelers Foundation The Visionary Initiatives Fund Vicky and Don Eastveld, Miranda and Dan Wainberg, Founding Members DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE Allen Bennett MD The Michael & Rebecca Cemo Foundation Sallie Morian and Michael Clark Red Claw LLC Shirley and Don Rose Chris and Don Sanders DIRECTOR’S PARTNERS Anonymous Katy and Michael Casey CenterPoint Energy Consulate General of France Linda and Simon Eyles Karen and Stephan Farber Gastonia and Gordon Goodman Claudia and David Hatcher Kinder Morgan Foundation Gretchen and Andrew McFarland Nancy and Robert Martin Guillermo Nicolas Judy and Scott Nyquist Minnette Robinson, in honor of the late Jerome Robinson Lisa and Russell Sherrill Stephen W. and Marilyn R. Miles Foundation Texas Commission on the Arts The TOBY Fund Vinson & Elkins LLP All efforts are made to be accurate. If you identify incorrect information, please contact the Office of External Affairs at 713.743.9537.
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VISIONARY PARTNERS Anonymous Donor Emily Baker and Gerardo Amelio Mary Criner Blake The Brown Foundation Buck Family Foundation Kristen and David Buck Dr. Fran Sicola Cardwell Tammy and Bob Casey, III Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany The Fifth Floor Foundation Victor B. Flatt Flemish Government Jo and Jim Furr Ryan Gordon Dorene and Frank Herzog Ann Jackson Mary Johnston Karen and Eric Pulaski Philanthropic Fund Mr. and Mrs. I. H. Kempner, III Lester Marks and Penelope Gonzalez Marks Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. The Mitsui USA Foundation Morgan Family Fund Meg and Nelson Murray Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Murray Occidental Energy Marketing, Inc. Morgan Dunn O’Connor Jennifer Smith and Peter Ragauss Veronica Reed Richard Stodder Charitable Foundation Karen and Scott Rozzell Wilhelmina R. Smith Stanford and Joan Alexander Foundation Hillary Stratton Cynthia Toles E. Wayne Wood Mr. and Mrs. Michael Zilkha FOUNDING PARTNERS Toni and Jeffery Beauchamp Sheila Coogan Susie and Sanford Criner Dr. Roger Eichhorn Krista and Michael Dumas Marion Barthelme-Fort and Jeff Fort Terrie Sultan and Christopher French Global Impact for UBS Foundation Christopher C. Hill Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapters Leslie Hull David Jameson Anne and Lee Leonard Katherine and David Lucke Cabrina and Steven Owsley Edna and Drew Robins Beverly and Howard Robinson Scott Sparvero Texas State Bank
Kelley and Harper Trammell UBS Financial Services, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Ronald B. Walker Joanne and Derby Wilson THE MARTHA MEIER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT FUND Andrew T. Anton Lavinia and Stephen Boyd Mary Ann and Robert Brezina Linda Buchanan Peggy and Thomas Caskey Grayson Cecil Michael Chmiel Sallie Morian and Michael Clark Mabeth and Kenneth Coleman Nancy and Bert Corkill Joan K. Bruchas and H. Philip Cowdin Dean DeVoss Dianne and Robert Edmonson Jennifer Fichter Carol and Dave Fleming Michael France Cathy Coers and Jay Frank Edward Gomulka Caroline Caskey Goodner Paul D. Grossbard Amir Halevy Warren Haley Tissy and Rusty Hardin Helene and Tod Harding Adana and Chris Haynes Marilyn Hermance Bonnie Hibbert Julia Jervis and O.L. Kirkpatrick Billie Koetter Jim Kollaer Shirley A. Kopecky William Lewis Linda and David Lynn Gundula McCandless Terry S. Mahaffey Marsha Amdur Malev Pat Malone Marie Mansour-Partridge Martha Meier Family Estate Clark Martin Nancy and Robert Martin Emily Miller Betty Moody Nancy and Lucian Morrison National School of Public Relations Association Nolan-Rankin Galleries, Inc. Monica and Mark Oathout Marilyn O’Connor and Don Gill Custom Homes Janet and Tony Parisi Ada Perry Terri and David Peterson Earline Jones and Mike Prescott Peggy Vineyard and Jim Pruitt Sally and Norman Reynolds Norma and Davis Richardson David W. Roark
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❑ Community Partner $35+
Please complete and mail to:
Membership Office Blaffer Gallery, The Art Museum of the University of Houston 120 Fine Arts Building • Houston, TX 77204-4018
9HHAA00730⁄4041⁄H0097⁄C0717⁄NA⁄41311-42904
❑ Corporate or Director’s Partner $2,500+ ❑ Corporate or Director’s Circle $5,000+ For more information call 713.743.9528 or visit us online at www.blaffergallery.org
Entrance 16 Cullen Boulevard
From I-45 South
Location
Parking
Blaffer Gallery is located in the Fine Arts Building on the University of Houston’s central campus, Entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard, near the intersection of Cullen and Elgin.
Reserved parking for museum visitors is along the front of parking lot 16B directly across from the Fine Arts Building. Visitors parking in the reserved area should check in at the museum’s front desk.
Directions
To Do w
ntown
Hous ton
Elgin Avenue
Blaffer Gallery
From Downtown and points North:
45 From I-45 North
Take I-45 South toward Galveston. Exit #44C Cullen Boulevard. Turn right onto Cullen. Pass through the light at Elgin. Turn left into Entrance 16. From points South: Take I-45 North towards Downtown. Exit #44A Elgin-Lockwood⁄Cullen Boulevard and continue on feeder road. Turn left onto Cullen Boulevard. Turn left into Entrance 16.
Front Cover :
xhibitions
For information call
Hours Open Tuesday – Saturday. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed on Sundays, Mondays, and University holidays. All exhibitions and related programs are free and open to the public. The museum is ADA compliant.
Leonardo Drew Number 28, 1992 Rust, canvas 132 x 256 x 156 inches Marc and Livia Straus Family Collection Photo © Carlo Fei
713.743.9530 or visit us online at www.blaffergallery.org
Existed: Leonardo Drew May 16–August 1, 2009 Josephine Meckseper September 12–November 14, 2009 Jon Pylypchuk September 12–November 14, 2009 2009 School of Art Annual Student Exhibition December 5–19, 2009 Tomás Saraceno January 16–March 27, 2010
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Houston, TX Permit No. 5910