Earlier this month, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston shared exciting redevelopment plans with the community, including a brand new modern and contemporary art building and impressive additions to the institution’s permanent collection. In the upcoming years, the museum’s 14-acre campus will become home to seven major site-specific commissions by internationally recognized artists El Anatsui, Byung Hoon Choi, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Olafur Eliasson, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Cristina Iglesias and Ai Weiwei. Kinzelman Art is honored to have collaborated with two of these distinguished, globally recognized artists, and are thrilled to know that the Houston community will soon be enriched further through their works that will be featured at the MFAH.
KAC x EL ANATSUI
El Anatsui's site-specific commission in the Energy Corridor, Houston, TX
In 2007, Julie Kinzelman worked with Nigerian artist El Anatsui to complete his very first site-specific commission in the United States. Stretching 27 feet high, the impressively scaled sculpture is constructed of thousands of folded and crumpled bottle tops bound together. The piece was specifically designed for our client, a multinational energy corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Anatsui alongside his artwork during a visit to Houston.
Anatsui is now internationally recognized for his alluring assemblages of found, recycled materials that ultimately transform the environment for which they hang. His work is a direct representation of his African roots, while also referencing the environment, mass consumption and waste.
KAC x OLAFUR ELIASSON
In 2016, Kinzelman Art kicked off a three year project working closely with Berlin-based artist Olafur Eliasson. In tandem with his esteemed studio of engineers and architects, Eliasson created a two-part, site-specific sculpture for Texas A&M’s new Zachry Engineering Education Complex. Eliasson’s concept for the commission was to invite viewers to consider mathematically how a cube can transform into a sphere.
Olafur Eliasson's site-specific sculpture at Texas A&M University
Eliasson’s sculpture, “How to Build a Sphere out of Cubes,” includes two brushed and polished stainless steel sculptures situated at the outer ends of the elliptical lawn engaging in formal dialogue with one another. The iconic artwork attracts students and visitors and serves as a desired meeting point on campus. You can learn more about this artwork, and KAC's project with Texas A&M here.
"The Breathing Moon" installed in the lobby space at Park District, Dallas.
KAC also prominently featured Eliasson’s sculpture, “The Breathing Moon”, in the newly completed sophisticated lobby of Park District, Dallas. This sculpture is comprised of 24 crystal spheres to infer phases of the moon. Similar to Eliasson's sculpture at TAMU, and much of his work, the mirrored surfaces encourage interaction with an ever changing appearance dependent on the viewer's movements and the surrounding space.
"The Breathing Moon" Detail Image.
PARK DISTRICT DALLAS
At the heart of the Dallas Arts District, a new mixed-use development recently unveiled their art collection at a public event last month. In collaboration with Trammell Crow Company, Kinzelman Art Consulting acquired 4 works of art for the lobby of their 900,000+ square foot office tower. Among these pieces are a wall-based sculpture by Olafur Eliasson, two site-specific commissions by Billy Childish and a 16 foot painting by Jennifer Bartlett.
Olafur Eliasson wall-based sculpture at Park District, Dallas.
The lobby's sleek open space is punctuated with a pristine Eliasson sculpture titled "The Breathing Moon." Eliasson's work examines consciousness and cultural conditions, and how they define human interaction and perception of the world around us. Nearby is Jennifer Bartlett's dynamic sky painting, consisting of a dense crosshatching that creates texture amid vibrant colors that illuminate the clouds in the composition.
Jennifer Bartlett painting at Park District, Dallas.
Two paintings commissioned by British artist Billy Childish are also included in the collection. In his emotive oil and charcoal paintings, Childish skillfully illustrates his signature fluid and gestural painting technique.
Billy Childish painting at Park District, Dallas.
ORRICK, HOUSTON
KAC recently completed a collection for LA-based law firm, Orrick's new Downtown, Houston office space. The space houses a diverse list of artists, both national and internationally represented, and includes works on paper, paintings and wall-based sculptural works.
Graham Caldwell installation and detail images at Orrick.
Among Orrick's collection are works by Matt Kleberg, Alex Katz, Katy Stone, Evan Robarts, Linda Martinello and others.
Evan Robarts and Matt Kleberg pieces at Orrick.
Ruello's commissions installed at 500 w 2nd.
Kinzelman Art Consulting partnered with Trammell Crow Company and CBRE on their new skyscraper located in Downtown, Austin. In close proximity to Austin's beloved Lady Bird Lake, the striking 500 West 2nd Street space, designed by Gensler, holds an impressive collection of tenants. The project goal was to activate the lobby with boldly infused color, and reflect Austin’s iconic flare.
Esparza's wall-based sculpture in the lobby space.
"Art brings a new set of rules and compositions that juxtapose with architecture in ways that are unexpected and can be serendipitous. This building and lobby were conceived as hierarchic, one leading to the other and vice versa where momentary interruptions in the order allow for the individual to contemplate and enjoy being transported by the art."
- Tom Marsden, Associate, Gensler
Esparza detail image.
El Paso-based artist Adrian Esparza, represented in Dallas by Cris Worley Fine Art, was selected to address the largest wall with his signature sarape artwork. This impressively sized piece, scaled specifically for the vertical wall, offers a visual push-pull effect with bold contrasting colors. The unique material usage in Esparza's work forms a natural dialogue across the lobby, where Erin Curtis’s equally active cut and layered painting is installed. Although indicative of Curtis's body of work, this piece in particular is intended to mimic the rapid growth and vibrant spirit of Austin, TX, where Curtis also resides.
Curtis's cut and layered painting in the lobby space.
The collection continues around the corner with two large-scale paintings by Houston-based artist Robert Ruello, represented by Inman Gallery. These are Ruello’s largest works to date, functioning as murals to tenants entering the building through the garage elevators. Ruello digitally renders his compositions, then carefully transfers them onto canvas using tracing paper and various densities of paint and flashe. This technique informs a unique visual language transitioning between moments of bold expression and negative space. The building's collection upstairs includes works on paper by Nicola Lopez and Ross Bleckner, and a site-specific installation by Paul Fleming.
KAC admiring Ruello's painting.
" KAC was wonderful to work with and made the entire process of selecting, commissioning and installing each piece at 500 W 2nd Street stress free for the ownership team. The art has completed our lobby and activated the borders of the space while staying true with the original design intent. Our tenants enjoy the pop of color and the energy it brings to their daily life. "
-Kristi English, Development Manager, Trammell Crow Company
When the Australian mining company, BHP announced their plans to construct a 600,000 square foot sky scraper designed by Pickard Chilton of New Haven, Connecticut along the bustling Post Oak Boulevard in Houston, Kinzelman Art was honored to be selected to place a prominent work of art within the refined lobby. On behalf of BHP and in partnership with Gensler, KAC led the process of selecting New York based artist, Sharon Louden, represented by Morgan Lehman Gallery to create a site-specific sculpture suspended from the 30 foot high lobby ceiling.
Louden's site-specific installation
Louden's ongoing exploration of compelling materials such as large swaths of mirror-polished aluminum set the stage for a dynamic, yet refined installation. The cascading sculpture creates a fluid composition that one could relate to the mining industry and natural geological formations. Among the multi-faceted aspects of the overall work of art is its ability to physically reflect the surrounding environment and changing light as well as the movement of pedestrians below.
installation image
CLICK HERE to watch Glasstire's artist interview.
Ground view of Louden's installation
This project was completed in collaboration with representatives of BHP, Pickard Chilton, Gensler, Harvey Builders, Cushman & Wakefield, Morgan Lehman Gallery, and TYart Museum Quality Services.
BHP building in Post Oak, Houston
In KAC’s latest Interview, Houston-based painter and professor Bradley Kerl shares an inside look into what originally focused his creative journey towards painting, where his body of work is headed and exciting news about his growing family.
Kerl's work at Texas Contemporary Art Fair, 2016.
Kerl's site-specific still life set at Gensler, Houston.
KAC announces a solo exhibition with Houston artist Hillevi Baar on view at Gensler Houston. The inspired creator of intricate installation-based works, Baar views herself as not only an artist but also as a facilitator who assists her medium of Mylar to reside in it's intended and natural state. Her active interplay with medium explores variations in form, often derived from interactions observed between wind, water, plant life and shadow play.
"Float" by Baar in Gensler's reception
Baar’s experimentation with Mylar is particularly evident in "Float," a site-specific installation created for Gensler’s reception. This elegant suspended sculpture investigates the balance between meticulous strategizing and spontaneous on-site manipulation in response to the environment. Baar began creating this piece by carefully scoring the Mylar to intentionally mimic the linear forms throughout Gensler’s space.
"Wild Flowers" by Baar in Gensler's Conference Corridor
References to nature are also seen in "Wild Flowers," a wave-like form installed along Gensler's Conference Corridor comprised of Mylar and steel pins resembling delicate branches. These complex elements seem to grow from the wall, fusing into one fluid shape that gently sways with the flow of foot traffic. These slight movements expose individualized drawings hidden between the intricate layers.
Detail of "Wild Flowers"
This interactive component allows the viewer to experience the piece in its entirety, while also inviting the study of each self-contained drawing. Conversely, "Unraveled" in the Coffee Corridor beckons the viewer to quietly approach the finely cut and tapering suspended Mylar sheet to fully experience the highly detailed graphite drawings within.
"Unraveled" by Baar in Gensler's Coffee Corridor
Detail of "Unraveled"
Baar is continuously experimenting with the dimensionality and boundaries of medium to transform the environments of numerous corporate and private spaces. This exhibition was curated by Kinzelman Art Consulting on behalf of Gensler.
Mokha Laget, "Southern Wing"
Kinzelman Art Consulting is celebrating the completion of a two-story geometrical wall mural, Color Field, commissioned by artist Mokha Laget, represented locally with Gallery Sonja Roesch. Although Laget was undoubtedly influenced by her time as Gene Davis’s studio assistant, her work is deeply rooted in her own distinct exploration of color composition and shape precision. KAC took advantage of Laget’s four day Houston visit to discuss her artistic process, cultural influences and life balance.
KAC: The painting commissioned for Johnson Law Group is part of a larger body of work. What was the catalyst for this series of forms and have they always been a part of your visual dialogue?
ML: The image for this commission originated from several drawings based on mosaics. The idea was to scale up the tessellation to a monumental scale for the architectural space. Last year I took a trip to Morocco and stopped in the historical ruins of an old Roman town. 2000 years later the mosaics were virtually intact, and the geometry is still universal. I made a series of works based on those patterns but exploded the rigid predictability so that the motifs began floating in space. I then integrated the idea of perceptual ambiguity so that depending on where you stand, the elements of the piece appear at once to come forward or recede to invisible vanishing points. Much of my work plays on perceptual ambiguity.
Mapping out "Southern Wing", credit: Mokha Laget
KAC: This painting is much more complex than meets the eye and the completed work will be the result of multiple steps and extreme attention to detail. Will you please describe the process that goes into a wall painting like this?
ML: As with all of my paintings, the preparation sketch is a small pencil drawing on graph paper. From these I select a specific configuration to further develop. Color, however, is never planned in advance. In the case of a mural, I create a more detailed sketch and envision several color schemes that can change at the last minute. For this project, I wrote software code to create a computer representation and refine the color selection. I work with an engineer who takes my program and generates what looks like pages of numbers but is actually a series of mathematical equations to generate coordinates that allow us to modify or laser plot the image in the correct scale onsite.
Mokha Laget, "Gene's Jubilee" on 8th St. NW in Washington DC, credit: Mokha Laget
KAC: What is the largest painting you've completed to date?
ML: In 2007 I was commissioned by the Washington DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities to create a 450’ x 50’ street painting on 8th St NW. It was part of a citywide Color School revival. I called it Gene’s Jubilee as a nod to Gene Davis, a Washington Color School painter. I worked as his studio assistant for 4 years and when he died suddenly, I was asked to design the first street painting below the National Museum of American Art where his memorial exhibition was. That was in 1987 then I reprised a different color scheme for the 2007 painting. You had to be on a rooftop or in a helicopter to see the whole thing.
Work in progress of "Sourthn Wing", credit: Bill Dolson
KAC: You've stated that you gather creative material from your travels. Are you gathering ethereal data such as light, awareness and emotion or physical data like architectural shapes and design form and color? How do you document your discoveries?
ML: I have moved around my whole life. Travel is lifeblood; it connects the planet. Humans are not so different worldwide but their cultures and creations are. Every place I visit gives me ideas, whether it is an exotic land or my own back yard. I try to note them in my notebook every morning. They become a kind of library to draw from. I may be interested in the obscure historical use of red in India vs. Japan, or the plain shadows cast on a corrugated shelter in Africa. Light sources are tremendously important in my work, going back to my early years growing up near the Sahara. Ultimately what I paint is the sense of place, real or imagined.
Mokha Laget, "Southern Wing"
KAC: Will you speak to how your secondary role as a simultaneous French interpreter informs your work and provides balance in your life as an artist?
ML: I’ve been fortunate to have a skill, which allowed me to work as another kind of bridge builder around the world. As a simultaneous interpreter, I am engaged in quasi performance art. In art you often work alone but in language you are compelled to interact with the world and those in it. I greatly value my privacy as an artist, but I never wanted to spend my life in studio isolation. It’s important to live in your time, experience it, and strive to understand it.
KAC: What might we find in the corner of your studio?
ML: …Old maritime and aviation maps, Franco-Prussian war manuscripts, a yellow toy Citroen DS, a rusted civil war canon ball…
Mokha Laget is represented in Houston, Texas by Gallery Sonja Roesch and in Santa Fe, New Mexico by Peyton Wright Gallery.
Trammell Crow's Energy Center 5
Kinzelman Art is proud to announce the completion of two site-specific commissions created for Trammell Crow's Energy Center 5 building lobby located in the Houston Energy Corridor. In May 2016 we installed these unique works of art by artists, Val Britton and Ara Peterson enhancing the elegance of the interiors and infusing energy into the lobby.
"Many of my colleagues are not familiar with the dynamics and environments of the art world, therefore it can certainly be intimidating to approach, but working with Julie and her team, we found that the process was very inviting and approachable. The two artists that were selected were highly vetted, and we all feel we selected two representative pieces that are spot on for the opportunity." - Cody Armbrister, Senior Managing Director, CBRE
Ara Peterson, "Travertine Wavepack" and Val Britton, "Continental Collision"
Click here to view the video: Val Britton and Ara Peterson Site- Specific Installations.
Vitol
With more than 40 offices worldwide, international energy trading company, Vitol, has one of its largest operations in the Upper Kirby neighborhood of Houston, Texas. Kinzelman Art organized the relocation and exhibition of Vitol's art collection, (as managed by Kinzelman Art since 2010), to Vitol's new award winning offices designed by interior architecture firm, PDR Corporation. Successfully working in tandem with one another, the modern art collection and the sophisticated interior architecture expands one's experience of the typical corporate environment by creating a progressive, museum-like work place environment.
"We have an appreciation and understanding of the unique role that art can have in the workplace. Over the years, Julie and her team have been instrumental in the selection of new pieces to add to our collection. Our new work space was designed to intentionally highlight certain works, so proper selection and placement was critical. Kinzelman Art made that process very simple and the end result is better than what we had initially envisioned." -Scott Adams, HR and Administration, Vitol
Christian Eckart, "Hexagonal Perturbation"
Terry Winters, "Picture Cell", Rusty Scruby, "Family" and "Blue Bucket", and Hana Hillerova, "Houston Can You Hear Me?"
Corporate Collection Project
Kinzelman Art is celebrating the completion of a 4-year, comprehensive art management initiative for a corporate client collection. Managing this collection has been a significant opportunity for Kinzelman Art, and we are proud of our dedicated efforts and achievements through this ambitious undertaking. KAC is honored to have been selected to expertly lead this outstanding collection.
Chermayeff and Geismar, Red "O" Tower
Soo Sunny Park, Capturing Light
Hughes Landing Project
Recognized by the Houston Business Journal as the 2016 recipient of the Landmark Award in mixed-use development, Hughes Landing is a 66-acre master planned community located in The Woodlands that features numerous works of public art throughout. Continuing the collecting philosophy of The Woodlands, Hughes Landing retained Kinzelman Art Consulting to procure and commission several public works of art for select locations to further enhance the community.
Yvonne Domenge, Wind Waves
We were thrilled to add to the magnetism of Hughes Landing via the placement of invigorating works of art by such artists as Mexico City based Yvonne Domenge, and Washington State artist Julie Speidel. We find that the overall success is seeing these public works of art serve to unify the community through an artful experience.
Jason Martin, 2015, mixed media on aluminum (ultramarine blue) at Galerie Forsblom
With an impressive roster of 140 galleries from around the world, EXPO Chicago has delivered a vast selection of world class contemporary art. We are spending the weekend in the windy city to explore the many high-caliber art works and art programs on view. After our first day at the fair, a number of works have already caught our eye.
Wall installation by Teresita Fernández, Ghost Vines (Yellow Gold), 2015, brass at Anthony Meier Fine Arts
Impressive biographical works by McArthur Binion, Sketch VII and VIII (Looking for Grey): For: Three Movements of Sunlight, 2013, laser print collage, oil paint stick, and Staonal crayon on panel, at Kavi Gupta Gallery
Detail: McArthur Binion, Sketch VIII (Looking for Grey): For: Three Movements of Sunlight, 2013, laser print collage, oil paint stick, and Staonal crayon on panel, at Kavi Gupta Gallery
Laurel Sparks (works on canvas) and Christopher Chiappa (stools and eggs) at Kate Werble Gallery
Christy Matson, Rays in Tan/Yellow, 2013, cotton, linen, tencil at Volume
Detail: Christy Matson, Rays in Tan/Yellow, 2013, cotton, linen, tencil at Volume Gallery
Cordy Ryman wall installation at Galerie Zürcher
Sebastiaan Bremer, acrylic paint and ink on vintage lithograph at Hales Gallery
Kinzelman Art Consulting recently organized a temporary exhibition with Houston based artist Natasha Bowdoin at HOK Architect’s crisp and beautiful new space. Bowdoin’s The Daisy Argument Revised is a striking and dynamic spray of feathered elements that recall the aquatic flora of her native Maine. She has installed many iterations of this layered cut paper piece over the years, the first being in 2010.
Professor of Painting and Drawing at Rice University, Bowdoin is known for her painstakingly detailed cut paper installations and collages. Process and content are equally important to Bowdoin in her work. She spends hours hand-cutting the paper elements in direct and visceral response to the even more labor-intensive drawings and transcriptions of significant literary texts. Here the artist has fluidly recorded the text of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and portions of Through the Looking-Glass throughout the abstract composition of the piece.
Natasha Bowdoin’s The Daisy Argument Revised will be on view at HOK through mid-December, 2015.
During the installation process, where Natasha intuitively attached individual elements to HOK’s feature reception wall, KAC’s Adrienne Johnson had a conversation with the artist about the piece and about her work in general.
Q: What was the first text you transcribed?
A: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Before, when I first started to use writing in my work it was much more fragmentary. I would transcribe clips of overheard conversation, portions of remembered song lyrics, and bits of my own stream of conscious writing: things that were floating around the studio as I worked. My work is now made up of other authors’ texts. I was drawn to the idea of using others’ writing as a kind of found, raw material, in that it introduced an element into the work and process that wasn’t personal to me and wasn’t something I could predict. This particular piece includes transcriptions of the entirety of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and a portion of Through the Looking-Glass.
Q: How long does it take you to make a piece like this, in its original iteration?
A: This piece in my mind will never be finished. Firstly, I want to complete the transcription of Carroll’s second Alice book. As I mentioned before, I have only partially completed Through the Looking-Glass. Secondly, while at some point the drawings and component parts will be complete, I see this piece staying in flux and transition, resisting any one finite form. The piece is intuitively recombined in each new space it comes to inhabit, never going together the same way twice. Each installation is to a certain extent improvisational. Drawings for a particular installation are usually in the making for several years, as I tend to work on a lot of different pieces at once. If I sat down and focused solely on one installation alone it would come together faster but I like splitting my attention across different works and projects in the studio, in the hopes that different pieces might influence one another in a way I can’t predict.
Q: Is it your intention that viewers read your works?
A: I hope people are neither prevented from reading the work nor feel obligated to. I’m not particularly interested in using text as a means to directly articulate a message or illustrate a meaning. There is a tradition of text in art, established especially in certain kinds of artistic investigation that really took off in the 1960s, that focuses on text as a device for communication or a signifier of meaning. I’m more interested in and inspired by artists like León Ferrari, Robert Smithson, and Mira Schendel, who I think were really interested in the abstract potential of text. People can look for meaning in my drawings, but the structure defies any sense of logic. I don’t give anyone a specific place to begin. Text I think isn’t always straightforward, obvious, or transparent. I like channeling this room for flexibility, ambiguity, and a text’s potential.
Q: Will you tell me about the inspiration for the forms themselves?
A: A lot of the pattern I gravitate towards as source material is nature based. I’m fascinated with how humans over time have tried to depict and document the world around them. With this piece, I’ve had people tell me that they are reminded of life under the sea, seaweed and sea fans for instance. These weren’t forms I intentionally had in mind but I guess it’s impossible for me to get away from where I grew up. The natural surroundings of my home state of Maine and elements of my upbringing I think work their way into my work subconsciously.
Originally this piece was kept in a palette of black, white, and yellow in that I was thinking of the color of type in a book, and of Alice’s blond hair. Eventually I began to add more and more color in an attempt to reference the wackiness and the vibrancy of Carroll’s Wonderland.
Another reason the work remains in flux is that in a way it’s meant to mirror Alice’s own experience. As she travels through Wonderland she is constantly shrinking or expanding to make her way through the space. There’s a lack of fixed boundary to her own body as she continues on her adventure. This piece is meant to evoke that sense of boundarylessness I find so appealing.
See the installation time-lapse video here:
KAC had the privilege of commissioning Korean artist Soo Sunny Park to compose an impressive site-specific installation in a corporate reception in The Woodlands. Capturing Light is made up of 22 individual panels and 12,000 dichroic acrylic tiles that scatter ever-changing patterns of refracted light through the space. We thoroughly enjoyed working with Park throughout the entire process from developing the initial concept, to creating digital and physical models. After months of careful collaboration and planning, it is wonderful to see this beautiful installation come to life and transform the surrounding environment.
Special thanks to CYNTHIA-REEVES, New York and TYart Art Handling.
See our time-lapse video of the week-long installation:
We braved the frigid New York temperatures to explore what this spring's New York art fairs had to offer. Below are a few of our highlights from The Armory Show, SCOPE, art on paper, VOLTA, and Pulse. While we were in Chelsea, we also made a stop at Morgan Lehman Gallery to check out their current Aaron Wexler show.
Charles Clary at Kenise Barnes Fine Art, found at the art on paper art fair
Detail of Charles Clary at Kenise Barnes Fine Art, found at the art on paper art fair
Gianluca Franzese at K. Imperial Fine Art, found at the art on paper art fair
Sipho Mabona's origami series at AUREUS Contemporary, found at the SCOPE art fair
Detail of Sipho Mabona's origami series at AUREUS Contemporary, found at the SCOPE art fair
Kate Casanova at Instinct Art Gallery, found at the SCOPE art fair
A drawer of Aaron Wexlers at Morgan Lehman Gallery
James Surls and Adrienne Johnson
James Surls flourishes in Houston! We were excited to have the opportunity to work with this Texas art icon on his site-specific suspended work that measures an impressive 14’ x 25’ x 19”. Surls’ Nature’s Language resides in and enhances a corporate lobby in the Woodlands.
TYart Art Handling expertly installing the sculpture
