Sculpture Month Houston - A Sneak Peak Review

By Joe Mancuso

By Adela Andea

So, today I took a preview tour of the Sculpture Month Houston exhibit at the Silos at Sawyer Yards. If you haven't had the opportunity to see an exhibit at this space yet, now's your chance! The preview opened last night as part of Houston Art Fair, and the full opening, with additional pieces, will take place on October 15th (put it in your diary!).

A quick background of the Silos to set the scene.. Inside the old Success Rice factory, (which was built in the 50s and abandoned in the 70s), lies an approximately 9,000 sq ft "Honeycomb" area at the base of 83' rice silos. The space is spectacular, creepy, and completely turns the traditional white-washed gallery aesthetic on its head. The space is different, and therefore presents a challenge, even Sculpture Month Houston's founder Volker Eisele said that it "takes guts" to exhibit there - it's certainly not for the faint hearted.

This is the perfect setting for the series of quirky and thought-provoking installations that make up one part Houston Sculpture Month, As soon as you enter the exhibit (if you can call it an exhibit, it's really an all-around immersive experience/interactive/installation hybrid) the experience begins.  You are greeted by Wei Hong's installation, served Mulberry tea and asked to pose for a photo. Your cup will later become part of the installation, and your photo will used in another animated art piece.

For me, there are a few real highlights. Ed Wilson's piece - suspended from the very top of the interior of the 83' silo it resides in - is the show-stealer. As it gently moves with the rotation of the earth you can forget about everything else and be totally mesmerized - I could watch it all day.  Other highlights include Sharon Kopriva's addition - an unsettling collection of distorted human-like forms made from found objects and rope, suspended over a sculpted fire; Joe Mancuso's installation that casts spectacular shadows on the concrete floor of its silo; and the gorgeous work of Adela Andea (seriously, it's gorgeous).

To borrow from SMH's own website, Sculpture Month Houston is a citywide event that celebrates and showcases sculpture throughout Houston. The campaign is hosted in numerous galleries and venues throughout the city from October 15 through November 19, 2016. Houston last celebrated sculpture 16 years ago with Sculpture 2000. In presenting Sculpture Month Houston, organizers Volker Eisele, Sean Rudolph and Antarctica Black (directors and manager of Rudolph Blume Fine Art / ArtScan Gallery), alongside Tommy Gregory (artist and curator of the City of Houston’s Art Collection at the Houston Airport System), look to provide a current survey of the Houston sculpture scene.

While we're on the subject, this coming weekend is a total knock out for Houston's art scene. Just to name a few, you have Texas Contemporary at the George R. Brown Foundation Center, Houston Art Fair at Silver St. and the Fall Biannual opening at Sawyer Yards, so get your culture on this weekend kids!

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By Ed Wilson