SPRING 2018 GALLERY ARTISTS
Tracey Adams Cathy Choi Bernard Dunaux Daryl Gannon Margaret Garrett Linda Hofheinz Maryam Lavaf Luís Moro Andrés Paredes Barbra Riley Patricia Sicardi Heidi Spector Georgina Spengler
TRACEY ADAMS Tracey Adams’ work attempts to create environments in which she wishes to find herself. She weaves intention and chance systems to express a form of serenity, stillness, and beauty. Adams begins with a faint concept, but does not strictly control her process, and thus is constantly surprised and delighted by the outcomes. Working diaristically, Adams’ practice is informed by the intersection of her interests in music, science, mathematics, and art. Because of her background as a musician and conductor, Adams’ method strongly engages a sense of performance, musical metaphors, and serial systems. Having spent years as a student under John Cage, Adams is part of a legacy of artists influenced by his theories on time, line, silence, and chance. Tracey Adams is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2015,) and her work has been published in Authentic Visual Voices (Catherine Nash, 2013,) and Embracing Encaustic (Linda Womack, 2015.) Adams has had solo exhibitions at the Monterey Museum of Art, the Fresno Museum of Art, and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. Her work belongs to public and private collections world-wide; Adams studied painting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and earned her Master’s at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Tracey Adams. Lumenis 37. 2017. Encaustic, collage on panel. 24” x 24”.
Tracey Adams. (R)evolution 2. 2014. Encaustic, collage on panel. 40” x 40”.
Tracey Adams. (R)evolution 14. 2014. Encaustic, collage on panel. 40” x 40”.
CATHY CHOI Cathy Choi uses materials that necessitate quick decisions and intuitive response. Resin, Mylar, and artist’s pigments carry their own unpredictability, but Choi’s skilled manipulation and carefully determined parameters help point the work toward notions of purity, spirituality, and beauty. Like seeing one’s reflection in a pond, there is a compression of image, material, color, and content. Choi is interested in the deep virtual space that develops between the layers of material, compounded by the introduction of the viewer’s fleeting reflection. From many angles, Choi’s work produces myriad perceptive combinations of surface, color, and luminosity. Cathy Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Her works have been nationally and internationally exhibited at the Hunterdon Art Museum (Clinton, NJ,) Margaret Thatcher Projects (New York,) UMASS Herter Gallery (Amherst, MA) D.U.M.B.O. Arts Center (Brooklyn, NY,) and Galerie Karrer (Zurich, CH.) She received her BFA from University of Washington, Seattle, and her MFA from American University in Washington, DC.
Cathy Choi. M1806. 2018. Pigment, resin on mylar. 17” x 24”.
Cathy Choi. M1803. 2018. Pigment, resin on mylar. 31” x 26”.
Cathy Choi. M1709. 2017. Pigment, resin on mylar. 31” x 26”.
BERNARD DUNAUX Bernard Dunaux is interested in moments when emotion overpowers logic. His subjects are varied and serve solely as a starting point for emotive composition. Contemporary yet timeless, Dunaux’s work focuses on the formal resolution between materiality, color, and scale. The act of painting itself, a gesture which can be a meditative practice or an energetic frenzy, dictates the artist’s course of action. That Dunaux is unwilling to adhere to any one school of thought is shown in the refined, refreshingly contemporary, yet classic nature of his work. In Dunaux’s latest compositions, the multi-layered ground becomes a visual archive of the process. Born in Sydney, Australia, Dunaux moved to the Untied States after completing his formal art studies in Paris, France. He has been featured in a number of US and international exhibitions as well as in several publications, including Luxe Magazine, Elle Decor, and the fourth edition of the book International Contemporary Masters. Dunaux is currently working from his studio in Los Angeles, CA.
Bernard Dunaux. ColorScape Red. 2016. Acrylic, resin on framed canvas. 60” x 44”.
Bernard Dunaux. Installation view of ColorScape Series, 2016, acrylic and resin on canvas.
Bernard Dunaux. Dragonfly I. 2015. Photo on metal. 22” x 30”.
DARYL GANNON Daryl Gannon is fascinated with exploring the potential of childhood. his work is about connecting with those profound moments of youthful exuberance, when one’s future has endless possibilities. There is a positive, progressive motif in the approach of a child, and an acceptance of the notion that anything could happen next, and probably will. Gannon’s work depicts his children’s toys, sometimes alone but often placed with each other. The encounters take place against a backdrop of drawings previously made by his daughter. This collaboration often drives the titles of his work. In other situations, his daughter’s doodles can act as a positive distraction from the more concrete forms, such as a stack of Jenga blocks or Lego bricks about to fall. Daryl Gannon earned his Bachelor of Arts from Chelsea College of Art in London, UK. Gannon has been living in Houston and working as an artist and arts educator since 2007. His work has been included in group exhibitions at Stephen F. Austin University and the Katy Contemporary Art Museum. Gannon was a finalist for the Hunting Art Prize 2016 and was published in the Winter 2015 edition of Streetnotes Issue 23.
Daryl Gannon. Look at Me When I’m Talking to You. 2016. Acrylic on canvas. 24” x 36”.
Daryl Gannon. Do One. 2014. Acrylic on canvas. 9” x 12”.
Daryl Gannon. I Walked with You Once Upon a Dream. 2015. Acrylic on canvas. 18” x 24”.
MARGARET GARRETT Margaret Garrett spent her childhood training to be a dancer. It was her first identity and mode of expression as an artist, both facts that inform her paintings to this day. When she begins working on a new piece, she sees the paper or canvas as an empty stage and the line as movement; texture, form, and color are all different manifestations of motion and energy. Her excitement in finding a true or honest line, one that is both formal and expressive, has increasingly lead her to more involvement with drawing in her paintings. Garrett works in ongoing series, exploring ideas on paper until she finds one that she wants to pursue further. She began the “Tuning Fields” series in 2008, working with linedriven layers of color and rhythm to create loose yet formal fields of motion that are abstract and at the same time evocative of shapes and patterns found in nature. Born in North Carolina and raised in Pennsylvania, Margaret Garrett currently lives and maintains a studio on Shelter Island, New York. Garrett’s work is held in the collections of the Parrish Art Museum, Guild Hall Museum, and in numerous private and corporate collections in the United Kingdom and throughout the United States. Her work has been exhibited in museums, galleries, and art fairs, including the Heckscher Museum, Danese/ Corey, the Armory Show, Art Miami, and Texas Contemporary.
Margaret Garrett. Tuning Fields 172. 2010. Acrylic on paper. 26” x 40”.
Margaret Garrett. Topsy Turvy (Choros 4). 2015. Acrylic on linen. 74” x 60”.
Margaret Garrett. Contradance (Choros 9). 2010. Acrylic on linen. 57� x 66�.
LINDA HOFHEINZ Linda Hofheinz’s paintings are a fusion of the everyday and the mystical - depicted with rich and sensuous realism, with touches of wry humor and humanity. Her work is entrenched in mythology, anatomy, music, poetry, and romanticism. Constellations play an important role in her art, as does the moon and the sun. Hofheinz’s paintings are a contemporary reflection on an ancient theme. The artist combines many diverse cultural elements to reinterpret images first “seen” in the patterns of the stars eons ago and lightyears away. A constant in her work is the spiritual dimension of realms unseen and realities waiting to manifest. Linda Hofheinz can usually be found in her Houston studio researching any number of topics including the Flemish masters, stories of saints and sinners, fashion magazines, modern and ancient poetry, calligraphy, and human anatomy. Hofheinz has received high praise for her solo exhibitions at Deborah Colton Gallery, G Gallery, and The Jung Center (Houston, TX.) Her work has been exhibited in group shows at the Fort Russell Building (Marfa, TX,) Shift Gallery (Seattle, WA,) Arlington Museum of Art (Arlington, TX,) and Museo de la Nacion (Lima, Peru.)
Linda Hofheinz. Flora. 2016. Acrylic on panel. 12” x 16”.
Linda Hofheinz. Cygnus. 2011. Mixed media on canvas and wood. 54” x 44.5”.
Linda Hofheinz. Rara Avis. 2016. Mixed media on panel. 30” x 24”.
MARYAM LAVAF Maryam Lavaf’s practice begins with one of the oldest muses in art history: the landscape. Instances of outdoor minutia - a leaf, a raindrop, a shadow cast - inspire Lavaf’s paintings and ceramics, which are meditations on singular moments, allowed to develop life and rhythm on the canvas and in the clay. Highly personal and yet universal, Lavaf stylizes themes that have enamored philosophers, artists, and poets for centuries. Mankind’s relationship to nature is deep and contingent. As with the history of painting, each generation continues to find the same primordial infatuation with the earth and cosmos, and Lavaf’s work conveys an emotional response to the ecstasy of nature. Maryam Lavaf was born in Tehran, Iran and currently lives and works in Houston, TX. She received her B.A. in painting from Azad University (Tehran, Iran,) and studied advanced painting and ceramics at the Glassell School of Art (Houston, TX.) Lavaf has participated in group exhibitions in Iran and has had numerous solo exhibitions in Texas galleries including Regina Gallery, Visual Arts Alliance, and the Jung Center.
Maryam Lavaf Untitled, 2017 Acrylic on canvas 60” x 20”
Maryam Lavaf. Untitled. 2017. Acrylic on canvas. 36” x 36”.
Maryam Lavaf. Whispers. 2017. Acrylic on canvas. 48” x 72”.
LUIS MORO Luís Moro’s work is concerned with nature, fantasy, and mythology. Curious and semifigurative, the creatures in Moro’s paintings are dense, colorful, and precise. His latest body of work, Elemental Paradises, shows flies, butterflies and bees, in parts tightly rendered yet in other passages Moro allows for natural tendencies of the media to splatter, drip, and dry as they may. Rich with intuition and serenity, the compositions describe a world every bit as complex, solid, and storied as the one around us, but softened by elemental beauty. Moro’s fixation with nature came from his upbringing by a river, as did his concerns about the many fragile ecosystems that surround us. Moro brings a sense of dignity to the flora and fauna in his work, though it is clear that stability and certainty are not guaranteed. Luís Moro was born in Segovia and studied in Madrid, Spain. A life-long traveler, Moro has spent the last four years in Mexico where he has exhibited extensively as well as in Europe and Asia. His most recent solo exhibitions have taken place at the Museo de los Pintores Oaxaqueños in Oaxaca and the Museo de Historia de Tlalpan in Mexico City.
Luís Moro. Octopus. 2016. Silkscreen, oil, acrylic on canvas. 26” x 38”.
Luís Moro. Alas Dobladas. 2016. Silkscreen, oil, and acrylic on canvas. 36” x 32”.
Luís Moro. Venus. 2015. Silkscreen, oil, & acrylic on canvas. 32” x 36”.
ANDRES PAREDES Andrés Paredes contends with the great metaphor of transformation that every human being pursues. Paredes has worked for fifteen years on a body of work that explores the temporality of the Paraná rainforest in his homeland of Misiones, Argentina. Paredes makes two- and three-dimensional work out of paper and wood, often immersive installations. The artist chooses insects that undergo physical metamorphosis, such as butterflies, cicadas and dragonflies. With a clear investment of hours of labor, Paredes renders lacy jungle scenes replete with shadow, line, narrative, and sympathy. The scenes exude a baroque sense of fertility, but the fragility of the materials impart a fugitive condition. By fire or freeze, this delicate ecosystem will be reduced to seeds - cultivating strength and timing a renaissance. Andrés Paredes holds a degree from the School of Arts of the National University of Misiones. In 2017, he formed part of the exhibition The Latin American Experience at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and in 2016, his work represented the Province of Misiones at the Bicentennial of Argentina’s Independence Exhibitions. He lives and works between Misiones and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Andrés Paredes. Happy Child. 2013. Carved and painted paper. 27” x 19”.
AndrÊs Paredes. Golden Fruits. 2017. Carved and painted paper. 21 x 28�.
Andrés Paredes. Climbing. 2017. Carved and painted paper. 20” x 28”.
Barbra Riley Barbra Riley combines the contexts of analog and digital photography together with painting, layering boutique photo processes with digital means and collage to create ethereal new narratives. In her still lifes, she poses traditional Vanitas objects like fruit and urns together with objects that are decidedly incongruent: a cell phone or a fluorescent bulb. Sometimes these tableaus are set against a Tuscan landscape or a South Texas oil field. A rich sense of personal history pervades Riley’s work. It manages to participate in the great conversation of art that has spanned centuries and cultures while maintaining a deeply intimate narrative. To view Riley’s work is to gaze upon an image where time and space have collapsed, leaving openness for thoughtful inquiry. Barbra Riley has been developing curriculum and teaching classes in photography, book arts, design, and water media at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi for over 30 years. Her work has been included in exhibitions at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington DC), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Houston Center for Photography, as well as dozens of universities, galleries, and alternative exhibition spaces. Her pieces are items of pride among many esteemed private and public collections.
Barbra Riley. Wrath. 2014. Archival inkjet print. 20” x 16”.
Barbra Riley. Sloth. 2014. Archival inkjet print. 20 x 16�.
Barbra Riley. Envy. 2014. Archival inkjet print. 20” x 16”.
PATRICIA SICARDI Patricia Sicardi’s most recent paintings are about creating new spaces. Line and form interplay in spaces of silence. Brief mentions of color intimate force, rhythm and interiority. Like the abstract expressionist masters before her, Sicardi uses vast fields of color and forceful brushstrokes, creating intense vibrations of light. To view Sicardi’s work is an visual exercise in freedom and a dance for the spectator. Sicardi has presented solo exhibitions at Gallery Studio Mitti (Milan IT), Fort de Bellegarde (Le Pethus FR), Casa de Cultura (Mexico City MX), and the Crystal Palace Hotel (Barcelona SP.) Her work has been included in group exhibitions, fairs, and museum projects throughout the world and her collector base is international as well. Sicardi lives and works in Spain, where she operates a workshop and gallery, Síart, and holds an international teaching certificate in painting and engraving.
Patricia Sicardi. Untitled. 2015. Mixed media on canvas. 77” x 77”.
Patricia Sicardi. Untitled. 2015. Mixed media on canvas. 76” x 51”.
Patricia Sicardi. Untitled. 2015. Mixed media on canvas. 76” x 51”.
HEIDI SPECTOR While emotional context in Heidi Spector’s work is illusive, her paintings and sculptures revel in themes of musical rhythm, club life from eras past, techno beats, and narcissism. Bold colors are lassoed into control by rigid intervals; evidence of the human hand is obliterated by perfectly rendered lines and mirror-like resin glaze. The feral energy of sock hops, discos, and raves are subjected to Spector’s strict visual parameters. The artist titles her work after pop songs that play in her studio throughout the creative process. Heidi Spector lives and works in Montréal, Canada. She maintains simultaneous exhibition programming with Samara Gallery, Margaret Thatcher Projects (New York,) and Londonbased Cynthia Corbett Gallery. She is scheduled to have her work included in group shows from Los Angeles to Miami during 2016. Her work has been represented at numerous art fairs, including the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, Miami Project, the LA Art Show, and Texas Contemporary.
Heidi Spector. The Church of My Love. 2015. Acrylic, resin on birch cube. 12” x 12” x 12”.
Heidi Spector. My Lover’s Love. 2015. Acrylic, resin on panel. 55” x 27”.
Heidi Spector. Born This Way II. 2015. Acrylic, resin on panel. 12” x 12”.
Georgina Spengler With a color palette culled from European masters and gesture adopted from 20th century early Abstractionists, Georgina Spengler’s paintings participate in two dialogs of art history separated by decades and by oceans. At the base of her inspiration lies a marriage of the romance of landscape painting and the rich significance of poetry. Spengler traverses the limitations of any implied narrative by using a subjective painterly language. Spengler does not set out to depict specifically identifiable scenes, but instead to render a likeness of an interior condition, fleshed out through the memories and experiences of each viewer. Colors layer and occlude in a way that mimics the process of memory, each passage of brushwork affecting what occurs alongside and beneath. Spengler’s landscapes are curiously painted in portrait format, becoming portals that welcome the viewer to reflect. Georgina Spengler studied at the Boston University School of Fine Art and at the Corcoran School of Art. She has an extensive history of solo and group exhibitions throughout Europe and recently, the United States. She was born in Athens, Greece and has been living and working in Rome since 1982.
Georgina Spengler. Drowning in the Voice’s Circles II. 2008. Oil on panel. 55” x 25.5”.
Georgina Spengler. Cisterns and Wells II. 2008. Oil on panel. 55” x 35.5”.
Georgina Spengler. Cisterns and Wells IV. 2009. Oil on panel. 55 x 35.5�.
ABOUT Since Samara Gallery opened its doors in Houston, TX in 2014, it has been devoted to exhibiting contemporary drawing, painting, sculpture, prints and photography. The gallery exhibits work by established and mid-career artists but also prides itself on providing an important voice to emerging local and international artists. By maintaining a venue of artistic intelligence and expression, Samara Gallery creates a strong engagement with local educational institutions, non-profit organizations, private art collectors, and the greater Houston creative community.
CONTACT CAMILLE SAMARA Managing Director 3100 Richmond Avenue, Ste. 104 Houston, TX 77098 gallery: 713.999.1009 mobile: 713.499.9260 email: camille@samaragallery.com www.samaragallery.com
Samara Gallery is located on the street level of 3100 Richmond Avenue in Houston’s Greenway Plaza area.
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Produced by Samara Gallery Image credits to the artists and Dee Zunker. Front and back cover images: Temporary, (details) 2015-2017 Carved and painted paper, dimensions variable by AndrĂŠs Paredes Text by Hilary Hunt. Copyright May 2018.