Fine Arts Editor
PaperCity
Can't miss Houston places: Our amazing museums!
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston with two buildings and an encyclopedic collection including exceptional photography holdings and important modern and contemporary Latin American art. I also love the Asian Contemporary from the Chaney Family Collection up now.
The Menil Collection—ancient to contemporary, a haven for surrealism, plus a serene campus, and its exquisite Renzo Piano-designed building.
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (cutting edge!) and the Art Car Museum (has to be experienced; make sure you converse with one of the curators who are probably creating art cars themselves).
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is also a top stop (love the dramatic new Smith Gem Vault). And all these must-see museums are within about eight minutes of each other.
What makes our town special: Houston to me seems like a vortex, many segments and populations coming together and connecting to contribute. There's a surprisingly intimate quality to the city and an openness that welcomes diversity and ideas. An individual's role here is defined by their own passion and drive, rather than money or family. It's a generous place for doers, with an extraordinary strength in science and the arts. And Houston has always been a city about the future, from the space exploration emphasis of the 1960s and 1970s to today's focus on biomedical breakthroughs and the miracles of nanoscience.
People will find me: One on one, deep in conversation at an artist's studio, or in a crowd of 500, covering a ball.
Perfect day: An ideal Saturday — breakfast with a friend at Dry Creek in the Heights; walk along Heights Boulevard and take in the classic Victorian homes; view a couple of art exhibitions and visit with some of my fave gallerists; lunch at Tart Cafe in the 4411 Montrose Gallery Building with an artist pal; get lost in The Menil Collection; home to hop into a cocktail dress for a function at collector Lester Marks' house; late, late night voyage to Not su oh, downtown, with a small group of friends in tow, for coffee, live music, and to encounter some new-to-the-scene painters or sculptors.
Favorites places: To eat — For Tex Mex, Spanish Flowers or 1308 Cantina; for wine and bites, Cova on Kirby; a pleasant power lunch in a sleek setting, Tart Cafe; date night, Tony's or Cafe Annie; Asian, Thai Sticks; late night, Spanish Flowers again or House of Pies on Kirby; sweet tooth, the original Shipley's Donuts on North Main.
To shop: Peel Gallery Shop (fabulous design objects and artist's jewelry), Redbud Gallery and G Gallery for finds on emerging artists, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, 19th Street in the Heights, Deborah Colton Gallery (surrounded by sculptor David Adickes' mammoth presidential heads) for its engaging new media programming.
Best kept secret: Houston is home to the third largest community of working artists in the country, so the energy of our art community is extraordinary — and world class. Culturally, it is one of the richest cities in America, both in performing (theater, ballet, symphony, opera) and visual arts, and this extends from larger institutions to an ever-percolating underground (including faves Lawndale Art Center and the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art).
