FALL 2016 GALLERY ARTISTS
Carlos Canul Mariana Copello Daryl Gannon Margaret Garrett David Graeve Linda Hofheinz LuĂs Moro Maria Bordelon-Nelson Barbra Riley Rahileh Rokhsari Patricia Sicardi Heidi Spector Christopher Marion Thomas Aron Williams Ignacio Zuloaga
CARLOS CANUL Carlos Canul’s work is deeply immersed in a visual language that evokes mythic narrative. Referencing Surrealism, ancient mythologies, and historic events, Canul’s subjects unfold with drama and mystery. Canul’s creative process begins with drawings and watercolors. The act of painting then invokes the tidal forces of creation, destruction, and restoration, bringing forth the soul and physical vision in each work. The artist challenges himself to develop a dialog between the art and its spectator. His most recent work references the ancient relationship people have with the cosmos. As time moves forward and our physical realms cease to occupy time, universal consciousness continues to link the future with the past. Carlos Canul received a BFA from Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX) in 2000 and an MFA from Houston Baptist University (Houston, TX) in 2015. Canul’s work has been included in group exhibitions at the Latino Cultural Art Center Gallery (Dallas, TX;) Blue Star Contemporary (San Antonio, TX;) the South Florida Art Center (Miami, FL;) and Hilmsen Projekt (Alte Münze, Germany;) among other local and international venues. Canul completed the Molzberger Academy of Art Residency (Hilmsen, Germany,) in 2013 and 2014 and his work has been acquired by esteemed public and private collections. Canul currently lives and works in Houston, TX.
Carlos Canul. Remembering Atlantis. 2015. Oil on canvas. 60” x 72”.
Carlos Canul. Transfigurations. 2015. Oil on canvas. 60” x 72”.
Carlos Canul. Across the Abyss. 2015. Oil on canvas. 60” x 72”.
MARIANA COPELLO Mariana Copello’s work is inspired by music and dynamism. Her first sketch for a sculpture was based on a melody that she translated into lines and shapes, then had fabricated into the finished three-dimensional piece. Each work since has aligned with musical movement and echoes an imaginary musical pentagram through repetition of rectilinear form. Copello locates her art in the Neo-minimalist field, inspired by the Golden Ratio and exploiting the emotional power of color. She uses the intrinsic visual vibration of color to reinforce the rhythm set by the form itself. Each piece has its own “timbre.” Mariana Copello was born and raised in Venezuela. Having lived in many different countries since, Copello’s perception of art is at its richest when she is communicating through the universal languages of vision and rhythm. She is now based out of Houston with studios both in Houston and Miami, FL. In 2014, Copello was awarded both in a juried show by prominent local jurors in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and at the Scope Curator’s Voice Art Projects during Art Basel, Miami. Her work has been included in exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Williams Tower Gallery (Houston, TX;) Galleria D’Arte Mentana (Florence, Italy;) and Viloria Blanco Galeria (Maracaibo, Venezuela.)
Mariana Copello. Outdoor installation of Allegro Series I (Yellow). 2015. Painted aluminum. 13” x 8” x 60”.
Mariana Copello. Installation view of Sonidos exhibition, 2016. Left: Geometria Caribe. 2015. Painted fiberglass, Ed. 2/5. 12”, 10”, 8”, 6”, 4” cubes. Right: Chromo-Ritmo I. 2015. Painted aluminum. 18” x 5” x 4” & 24” x 5” x 4”.
Mariana Copello. Allegro Series I (Red). 2015. Painted aluminum. 24” x 7” x 4”.
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 a 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 within a setting filled with 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 the Texas National (2016, Nacogdoches, TX,) the Hunting Prize 2016 and published in the winter 2015 edition of Streetnotes Issue 23.
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”.
Daryl Gannon. Look at Me When I’m Talking to You. 2016. Acrylic on canvas. 24” x 36”.
MARGARET GARRETT Margaret Garrett spent her childhood training to be a dancer. It was her first identity and first 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. Garret 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 line-driven 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 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 Parrish Art Museum, 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). 2015. Acrylic on linen. 57� x 66�.
DAVID GRAEVE Direct action and activism are cornerstones in Graeve’s approach to creating; he synthesizes pieces that respond to physical and social constructs. Innovation of materials, concept and installation is a signature of Graeve’s work. Graeve takes inspiration from revolutionary thinkers Rudolf Steiner and Joseph Beuys with his work consciously grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy with a residue of political and poetic satire. His approach often starts with looking for unexpected avenues to engage the viewer and community. The work allows for unknown outcomes to inform the narrative aspects of a project. By giving an ironic twist to images or subverting a typical narrative, Graeve seeks to inspire and provoke philosophical territories previously unexpected by the viewer. David Graeve grew up in Minnesota and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Houston. He has explored many creative avenues in various art communities ranging between sculpture, installations, lighting design, stage design, commercial music videos, and direct action media stunts for grass roots environmental organizations. He co-founded non-profit arts organization The Soap Factory formerly known as No Name Exhibitions. He has received numerous public commissions, awards, and exhibitions.
David Graeve. Installation view of Lens-Pluralism-Bubbles. 2014. Discovery Green, Houston, TX. November 23, 2013 - February 2, 2014.
David Graeve. Play. 2015. Security mirror, photo, cast clear coats, various pigments. 26” x 26” x 3”.
David Graeve. Conversations with Tina - Intense Enthusiasm - Structure. 2015. Melted glass blocks, auto paint. 39” x 18” x 7”.
LINDA HOFHEINZ Linda Hofheinz’s paintings are a fusion of the every day and the mystical - depicted with rich and sensual realism, with touches of wry humor and humanity. Her work is entrenched in mythology, astronomy, 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 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 exhibitions 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”.
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, show 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. Eclosion. 2016. Mixed media on canvas. 29” x 36”.
Luís Moro. Twilight. 2016. Mixed media on canvas. 26” x 39”.
MARIA BORDELON-NELSON Maria Bordelon-Nelson creates skillful yet unassuming standing forms and wall hung sculptures. Manipulating cage wire, softwoods, and wood veneer, Bordelon-Nelson creates intricate, undulating objects as poignant metaphors for the relationships in her daily life. As visual comparisons of parts to their whole, each piece is a remark on contrast and interconnectedness. The way we relate to our surroundings, each other, and ourselves is punctuated by harmony and movement in her work. By highlighting dominance, surface affinity, adjacencies, textural finishes, and color, Bordelon-Nelson is able to conjure broad inflection as well as specific aspects of the human condition. Maria Bordelon-Nelson earned her BFA from Louisiana Tech University and a Masters in Art History from the University of Saint Thomas. She has exhibited locally at the Visual Arts Alliance, the Glassell School, and Lawndale Art Center. Samara Gallery is proud to present Bordelon-Nelson’s first gallery exhibition scheduled for 2017.
Maria Bordelon-Nelson. Folded Form Gehry. 2013. Wood veneer, cage wire. 24” x 26” x 14”.
Maria Bordelon-Nelson. Hallowed Hammered Boulder. 2015. Wood, nails. 15” x 15” x 15”.
Maria Bordelon-Nelson. Family Portrait. 2015. Wood, veneer, mixed media. Variable dimensions.
BARBRA RILEY Barbara 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. Janus Opens the Gates of Heaven No. 3784. 2011. Archival inkjet print. 32” x 40”.
Barbra Riley. Dreaming. 2014. Archival inkjet print. 28” x 22”.
Barbra Riley. South Texas Ghost Stories: Dance with the Devil. 2014. Archival inkjet print with mixed media. 12” x 12”.
RAHILEH ROKHSARI Rahileh Rokhsari’s paintings focus on the force and subtlety of light within her subjects. By placing carefully rendered figures within surreal environments, Rokhsari creates precarious visions dealing with the balance of vulnerability and strength. Her palette suggests this is a particularly female struggle, hinting at the experience of women as a powerful minority. Her latest work takes a more autobiographical approach, giving glimpses into the anxiety, gravity, and latent opportunity that exists within a society that gives preference to men. Rahileh Rokhsari was born in Iran into a family of artists. After earning a Bachelor of Science in physics, she traveled around Southeast Asia, living for a period in India where she obsessively painted portraits of snake charmers. Rokhsari earned her Masters of Fine Art in painting from Akdeniz University, studying various painting styles and techniques under several accomplished artists. She has exhibited internationally in Iran, Malaysia, Turkey, and stateside at Longworth Gallery (Santa Fe NM,) Monmouth Museum (Middleton, NJ,) and Samara Gallery. Rokhsari lives and works in Turkey.
Rahileh Rokhsari. Untitled III. 2016. Oil on canvas. 23” x 31”.
Rahileh Rokhsari. Untitled II. 2016. Oil on canvas. 39” x 31”.
Rahileh Rokhsari. Submerged II. 2016. Oil on canvas. 23” x 20”.
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, 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”.
CHRISTOPHER MARION THOMAS Christopher Marion Thomas’ work is a spirited fusion of three life-long passions: painting, art history, and theology. His work explores multilayered imagery, intriguing juxtapositions, and spiritual depth. Thomas is deft with a range of materials, layering oil paint, assemblage, and found objects to best articulate his subject. His paintings and sculpture vary in scale between expressive life-sized pieces to intimate hand-held objects. Thomas combines texture, gesture, and materiality, approaching a painting first as an object. With this formalist approach in mind, Thomas juxtaposes the sublime with kitsch, hip hop, and pop culture. His work marries formal craftsmanship with psychological depth and contemporary social commentary. After 18 years as a practicing self-taught artist, Christopher Marion Thomas earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, making Thomas the first person in his family to graduate from college. In addition to his fine art career, Thomas is an accomplished illustrator, author, and and commercial artist. His work was chosen for the 2003 National Black History calendar for Sears, with images of his work reproduced on television and print advertisements nation-wide. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the National Black Fine Art Exposition, the Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, as well as a solo exhibition at Bert Long Gallery/ Houston Museum of African American Culture.
Christopher Marion Thomas. No Weapon Formed. 2016. Oil, collage on panel, framed. 24� x 24�.
Christopher Marion Thomas. Through the Fire. 2016. Oil on panel. 48” x 48”.
Christopher Marion Thomas. Annunciation/Mary. 2016. Oil on panel, framed. 22� x 22�.
ARON WILLIAMS Inspired by the connectedness inherent in all aspects of the world, Williams’ work involves visual and physical depth. His creative process allows him to visualize the “ties that bind,” elevating the viewing experience to a multidimensional encounter with the work. Williams combines traditional and non-traditional materials to establish a relationship between the familiar and the unfamiliar. Rope, twine, and burlap hold metaphorical significance as binding elements. Layering over a substrate of construction debris and plywood, Williams creates tangible depth and texture by including latex caulking and paint. In the relief of his work, one notes the character of gravity; each material exists on a plane of weightlessness. Formally, the rope and twine act as lines of tension, pulled taught and dependent on the fragments that support it. The work presents evidence of pulling, hanging, and binding, resulting in the awareness of one’s own movement, posture, and spatial relationship to the piece. Aron Williams lives and works in Dallas. His work has been exhibited widely throughout Texas and locally at G Gallery, Deborah Colton Gallery, and Houston City Hall. He has participated in projects with the Texas French Alliance for the Arts, the Pan Art Fair, and Artennae during Art Basel Miami 2010. Williams studied painting at Texas State University (San Marcos, TX.)
Aron Williams. Endless City. 2016. Mixed media, wood, yarn, paint. 44” x 49”.
Installation view of Aron Williams’ Common Thread exhibition, 2016. Left: #1. 2016. Acrylic, latex caulk, burlap, twine, plywood, birch. 60” x 48”. Center: Endless City. 2016. Mixed media, wood, yarn, paint. 44” x 49”. Right: Construct 1. 2016. Acrylic, latex caulk, twine, rope, burlap on birch. 48” x 60”.
Aron Williams. Between the Lines II. 2016. Twine, burlap, acrylic on birch. 48” x 44”.
IGNACIO ZULOAGA Ignacio Zuloaga makes abstract and figurative paintings varied in scale. Immediately delightful in their warm, intense color palette, Zuloaga’s paintings prove with equal haste that passion and energy exist between the artist and his materials. While the elongated, distorted figures in some paintings are reminiscent of late 19th century Expressionism, his work that is absent of people has a clear inspiration in the American action painting that came decades later. To Zuloaga, these two distinct styles are seamlessly part of contemporary painting. His gesture and energy is a condition of the spirit, and the true subject of his work is painting itself. Zuloaga’s paintings are some of the most quintessentially Latin American work happening to date. Vibrant, baroque colors, dynamic diagonal lines, impasto strokes and whimsical perspective all combine into a fiery creative process— and viewing experience. Zuloaga’s work exists in the space where talent meets spontaneity. Ignacio Zuloaga currently maintains a studio and gallery in the famed “La Barra” area of Uruguay, where he has been a professional artist for over 40 years. His father’s family ran a furniture design business, and the young Ignacio had constant access to his uncles’ art supplies, nurturing his life as a self-taught artist. Throughout his career, Zuloaga has presented celebrates solo and group exhibitions in Uruguay, Brazil, the US, and the UAE. His work has been acquired by many respected collections, including the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Ignacio Zuloaga. Abstrato. 2015. Oil on canvas. 39” x 29”.
Ignacio Zuloaga. Museo. 2015. Oil on canvas. 40” x 61”.
Ignacio Zuloaga. Museo 2. 2015. Oil on canvas. 79” x 59”.
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 3911 Main Street Houston, TX 77002 gallery: 713.999.1009 mobile: 713.499.9260 email: camille@samaragallery.com www.samaragallery.com
Samara Gallery is located on the street level of Isabella Court, an historic property between Downtown Houston and the Museum District.
Produced by Samara Gallery. Images credit to the artists and Dee Zunker. Front and back cover images: Frecuencia Geometrica, (details) 2016 Painted metal, 17 x 11 x 8 inches, each by Mariana Copello Text by Hilary Hunt.
Š November 2016.