Clint Willour's last shows at GAC: New Beginnings, Upwards and Onwards, & Things I See Things I Am

Galveston Arts Center (GAC) is pleased to present a group show entitled New Beginnings: The Shape of Things to Come opening Saturday, August 27th in the downstairs gallery. The Brown Foundation Gallery upstairs will feature sculptor Ariane Roesch with Upwards and Onwards, and the 1878 Gallery upstairs will show Things I see Things I am by Marcos Hdez. All three exhibitions will run through October 2nd. The opening will be from 6:00-9:00 with artist talks beginning at 6:30. New Beginnings will feature seven artists in the downstairs gallery with diverse interpretations of color and form by Ted Larsen, Myke Venable, Mokha Laget, Aldo Chaparro, George Grochocki, Clark Derbes, and Eduardo Portilla. New Mexico artist Ted Larsen paints on wood and integrates salvaged materials, scrap metal, and architectural elements into his minimalist paintings and sculptures. Clark Derbes’ small painted sculptures are carved from wood and are definitively geometric with a subtle pallet of beautifully chosen colors. Houston painter Myke Venable’s minimalist work explores various sized painted canvases intermixed with multiple color combinations. Originally from Eastern Europe and now living in Houston, George Grochocki utilizes reflected light on shaped canvases. Eduardo Portilla is an emerging Salvordorian artist now living and working in Houston. The varying edges, angles, and surfaces of his minimalist work challenge the definitions of sculpture and painting. He states, “The juxtaposition that is established between paintings, sculptures, and allotted space is what further facilitates life into an ordinarily lifeless area.” Moka Laget was born in Algeria and spent her early life in North Africa and France; she now lives in Santa Fe. “As I travel from country to country, I am gathering color, texture and design ideas. What eventually evolves into a piece of art has been influenced by this collage of life.” Laget’s paintings resonate with rich colors and angular shaped forms. Aldo Chaparro is a Peruvian sculptor who lives and works in Mexico City, New York City, Madrid and Lima. His wrapped and organic stainless steel sculptures play with the notion of movement in two and three dimensionality. In Upwards and Onwards, Houston artist Ariane Roesch creates sculptures in variations of ladders that integrate bright colors with lights. “My work questions the physical and psychological structures that make up our everyday, ranging from essential building structures such as electrical wiring, to the basic conduct of how people communicate and behave. Since the human drive is not only to make things work but to constantly better the functionality of an object or system, as well as our selves, it conjures the question of sustainability.” Marcos Hdez, creates minimalist drawings and paintings utilizing tar, sand, asphalt, and drywall sheeting. His sculptural reliefs are predominantly white and grey as if he were drawing three dimensionally. Galveston Arts Center (GAC) is located at 2127 Strand Street in the historic district of downtown Galveston. The galleries and the ArtWorks Museum Store are open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Sunday from 12:00 to 5:00 PM. Admission is free at all times. GAC is the organizer of ArtWalk, which occurs every six weeks in downtown Galveston. The ArtWalk brochure, which lists participating venues, hours, information and map can be downloaded at www.galvestonartscenter.org