Big Art News!

Big Art News! Fair Game?

by Troy Schulze | Houston magazine | September 2, 2011

With all the talk of Houston having a world-class art scene, it may come as a surprise to learn that the city has never hosted a major international art fair, à la New York City's Armory Show or Miami's Art Basel. But that's about to change when not one, but two major fairs—the Houston Fine Art Fair and Texas Contemporary—make their inaugural runs at Downtown's George R. Brown Convention Center (1001 Avenida De Las Americas).
First up this month is the Houston Fine Art Fair (Sept. 16-18, houstonfineartfair.com), organized by Hamptons Expo Group, which also produces fairs in San Francisco, Aspen and the Hamptons. A preview party is Sept. 15, 6-9PM, with $100 preview tickets including a 3-day fair pass. General admission tickets are $17.
"Houston is home to extraordinary museums," says New York-based HFAF Director Fran Kaufman of the group's decision to expand, "like The Menil Collection and the Museum of Fine Arts. They're both world-renowned and incredibly well respected institutions. And then, of course, there are so many others. So that forms a base for an incredible art community." She also points out that Houston is generally a very arts-interested and arts-supportive city, home to some high-caliber public, private and corporate collections of modern and contemporary, from all over the world—which points to a local collector base with money to spend.
The HFAF presents post-war to contemporary work—in mediums including painting, drawing, print, video, sculpture and photography—from approximately 80 galleries across the U.S., Europe and Latin America, with a special emphasis on the latter. Kaufman thought it just made sense because of Houston's well-known Latin American collections, perhaps most notably that of the Museum of Fine Arts, gathered under the guidance of curator Mari Carmen Ramirez. Kaufman says the HFAF will present both classical and very contemporary Latin American work. "It's a wonderful way to introduce a lot of artists who may not be as well-known here."
At both fairs, visitors will navigate a maze of wall space, browsing the participating galleries' holdings, as well as supplementary exhibits of not-for-sale works by nonprofit institutions. HFAF's gallery roster includes the elite London/New York/Berlin-based Haunch of Venison, New Orleans' edgy Jonathan Ferrara Gallery and San Francisco's global-oriented Frey Norris Contemporary and Modern. Pieces representing the current crop of international fellows in the Museum of Fine Arts' Glassell School Core Program will also be up for grabs, as will work from top local galleries like Moody, Sicardi, Hiram Butler, Anya Tish and Colton & Farb. In addition, there's also an offsite, RSVP-only VIP program—private tours of collectors' homes and corporate collections, as well as a tour of the MFA's current Helmut Newton nudes show led by photography curator Anne Wilkes Tucker.
"There's no bad booth," says gallerist Deborah Colton of HFAF. "I'm very impressed with the layout. [Kaufman] has a curatorial background, and she's really making sure it's going to be a fine fair."
Meanwhile, the Texas Contemporary fair bows next month. Focusing strictly on contemporary art, it promises a totally different atmosphere from the HFAF.
New York-based Max Fishko and Jeffrey Wainhause are the fair organizers under their artMRKT umbrella business, which also presents fairs in San Francisco and the Hamptons. Fishko is the former director of this month's Houston Fine Art Fair. He left the position over creative differences and formed the Texas Contemporary, but the decision to hold the fair a month later wasn't a competitive move; it was simply good sense.
"A good month," says Fishko, "it's comfortable weather, and it's appropriate in terms of other events that are going on, football season, other arts events." Wainhause adds, "It's a better time for the dealers. There are positives and negatives to doing something a month after a different show, but there's a pretty remarkable difference between the two. Our show is going to have a different feel, a different vibe. You’re going to see different art."
Echoing Kaufman in touting Houston's appeal as art market, Fishko and Wainhause further describe what they see as unique about their event. "The work that you're going to find [at Texas Contemporary] is going to be pretty vocal," insists Fishko. "This is about finding art that has something to say, that has a point of view. … This is about getting involved in a conversation that's important. Deciding you want to own one of these objects is your way of participating in this conversation."
The fair's opening-night party Oct. 20 benefits the Houston's Contemporary Arts Museum, and Fishko gushes when he talks about receiving advice and encouragement from CAM Director Bill Arning. And Arning returns the love, noting, "Art fairs are not always the best places to see art, but I got a sense that [Fishko] was going to do something that was going to be very exciting."
Fishko and Wainhause are still finalizing the list of participating galleries, but already they've managed to attract heavy hitters like NYC's Gering & Lopez Gallery, which represents provocative artists like Penthouse illustrator Hajime Sorayama and controversial figurine and doll photographer David Levinthal. San Francisco's Baer Ridgway Gallery will attend; it represents Nao Bustamante, a performance artist and one of the colorful contestants on the first season of Bravo's Work of Art.
Local galleries involved include Texas Gallery and Inman Gallery, as well as a handful of nonprofit institutions, like UH's Blaffer Museum and the Rice Gallery, will present installations intended to enhance the look of the convention center. "I think Houston is really excited that there are shows coming," Wainhause assesses. "I think a lot of people don’t know the difference between the two shows yet, but they will because they're probably going to go to both. It's our job now to make sure we deliver on our promises."