Menil Fiesta mashup

Art on aisle 12: Artists hijack supermarket for boundary-bending exhibition of paintings

Attention, shoppers. The UH School of Art unveils a new exhibition this week at one of the city's busiest and least-likely venues — the Fiesta megamarket across from Reliant Park.

Conceived by professors Aaron Parazette and Gael Stack, the "Menil/Fiesta" project has become a rite of passage for UH painting majors, a challenge designed to dilute the traditionally-held boundaries of where art can and cannot exist.

Students in their junior year are asked to visit both the Menil Collection and a Fiesta grocery store, gathering images and ideas to form the basis of an original series of paintings.

"We want students to approach these places with an eye for both contrasts and similarities."

"We want students to approach these places with an eye for both contrasts and similarities," Parazette tells CultureMap. "These complex questions of context and commercialism that arise, and each student has to find a way to present them."

Since the project was launched, artistic solutions have ranged from sharp juxtapositions, like donuts atop a Picasso portrait, to abstract fusions common grocery items and iconic modernist tropes (imagine green bell peppers and Barnett Newman "zips").

In celebration of the program's 10th year, the UH School of Art has partnered with Fiesta to display the paintings of an actual grocery store. The exhibition, which includes 21 past and recent works, winds itself above the shelves and end displays of the Fiesta Mart at 8130 Kirby, just south of the Texas Medical Center.

"I couldn't be more pleased with the show," says Parazette, laughing that the store's 22,000 weekly transactions are giving the young painters an audience of a lifetime.

"Museums and galleries are non-competitive spaces for art, which gets all this breathing room. But here, these paintings have to compete with balloon and freezer cases . . . And it's wonderful to see how well the pieces hold up."

The Menil/Fiesta show officially opens Thursday at the Kirby Fiesta with an artists' reception from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the frozen food section. The in-store exhibit remains on view through the end of the nearby Houston Rodeo on March 23.

The exhibit remains on view through Mar. 23.

$UH School of Art hijacks Kirby super-Fiesta for new painting exhibit\ufeff February 2014$

Photo courtesy of Aaron Parazette

The exhibit remains on view through Mar. 23.

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on the bright side

'First-of-its kind' Houston park reveals 6 murals by local artists

Houston artist Ade Odunfa stands in front of his mural "Salt Marsh" at the Hill at Sims.

Photo by Scott Julian, courtesy of Houston Parks Board

"Birth From the Sea" by Ade Odunfa

One of Houston's most innovative green spaces, the Hill at Sims, is edging toward completion as artists put the finishing touches on a series of six beautiful murals. They should be ready when the park has its grand opening on Saturday, May 23.

The project is being led by Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis and the Houston Parks Board. Located in Sunnyside along Sims Bayou, it combines a flooding retention pond with walkways and other infrastructure to create a unique multi-use community space. Adding a series of environmentally-themed murals highlights the project's dedication to empowering nature around Sunnyside.

“When we bring art, resilience, and opportunity together in one place, we create something that can serve and inspire future generations for decades to come," said Ellis in an emailed statement. "The Hill at Sims is a community-oriented, first-of-its-kind green space in the neighborhood I grew up in. These murals honor Sunnyside, celebrate the natural world, and help turn public space into something people feel proud to protect.”

The murals include “Impression of Nature” by Emily Ding, “Step Into the Wild” by Carlos Alberto, “Birth from the Sea," a reproduction of a John Biggers’ mural by Ade Odunfa, "The Heron and the Fish” by Ana Marietta, “Rêverie” by Amy Sol inspired by Claude Debussy’s 1890 solo piano piece, and “Salt Marsh”, another Biggers reproduction by Bimbo Adenugba.

Houston is a major mural and street art city, with an increasing number of spaces using murals to showcase local talent as well as bring a sense of identity to locations like the Hill at Sims. The green space offers both a massive natural setting in a neighborhood that has traditionally been underserved in park acreage with an elevated point to view the whole city, a rare treat in a place as flat as Houston. Thanks to the Bayou Greenways Project, a 150-mile series of trails that connects parks across Houston, people can walk or bike to the Hills at Sims if they choose to.

"Our goal is for every person who visits this park to feel that Hill at Sims truly represents the Sunnyside community. Public art is a powerful and joyful way to evoke feelings of connection and stewardship in public settings,” said Justin Schultz, President and CEO, Houston Parks Board, in an emailed statement. “Houston Parks Board is proud to support Commissioner Ellis to bring Sunnyside residents a transformative, multi-benefit greenspace that captures the spirit of Houston: turning our climate challenges into vibrant community assets.”

The total cost of Hill at Sims is $28.3 million. Funding comes from Precinct One ($18.8 million), The Brown Foundation ($7.5 million), with an additional $2 million from public federal and state funds secured by State Representative Alma Allen and Congressman Al Green. When complete, it will feature a 1.6 mile basin loop trail, water access pier, a parking lot, a 2,000-square-foot open air pavilion with restrooms, flexible lawn space for active programming, and picnic pavilions.

parks visual-art hills at sims anderson