The Big Reveal

Top artists named to Houston Fine Art Fair's first-ever Hall of Fame

When coming up with a Hall of Fame list for this fall's Houston Fine Art Fair, curator Patricia Covo Johnson had the difficult task of narrowing the honorees down to fewer than 20.

Not that she’s complaining, though. A wealth of talent is always a good thing.

“It’s exciting to have a Hall of Fame. I immediately thought of 60 artists to be in it, but a group exhibition can be messy or confusing, so I limited it to works on paper,” Johnson said.

Johnson, co-author of Contemporary Art in Texas and Houston Chronicle arts editor from 1981- 2007, looked to artists who lived in Houston, created and showed works in Houston and are connected to the region to make up the list for the newest feature of the Houston Fine Art Fair, which is in its fourth year.

“It’s amazing to show these pieces that have been hidden from the public,” Johnson said. “All of the artists have had some impact on the city.”

A focal point of the art fair, at NRG Center Sept. 18 - 21, will showcase the Hall of Fame artists' works in central monochromatic shades that unite the exhibition. Organizers say this is the first time such a full-scale exhibition acknowledging Houston’s local art history has been created.

“It’s amazing to show these pieces that have been hidden from the public,” Johnson said. “All of the artists have had some impact on the city.”

The exhibit is especially exciting since many of the pieces have not been seen in public for the past 20 to 30 years and span the 1970s to 2000s, Johnson said.

The 2014 HFAF Hall of Fame Artists are John Alexander, John Biggers, Michael Galbreth, Jack Massing, Karin Broker, Mel Chin, Joseph Havel, Terrell James, Luis Jimenez, Lucas Johnson, George Krause, Sharon Kopriva, Jesse Lott, Jim Love, Suzanne Bloom, Ed Hill and James Surls.

The list of artists was unveiled at a Thursday night launch party for the Houston Fine Art Fair at the Asia Society Texas Center. The fair's opening night preview party on Sept. 18 will benefit the center.

The fall art fair, which brings more than 80 galleries from around the world to Houston, will honor Houston Museum of Fine Arts photography curator Anne Wilkes Tucker with the 2014 Lifetime Achievement award.

The fair is also spotlighting New Orleans through a special show floor focused on New Orleans-based galleries. New Orleans Museum of Art Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Miranda Lash will lead educational panel discussions along with other New Orleans art colleagues.

Sharon Kopriva, who has been named to the Houston Fine Art Fair Hall of Fame, left, is pictured with Deborah Colton and Gus Kopriva in this 2011 photo.

News_Art of Conversation_November 2011_Sharon Kopriva_Deborah Colton_Gus Kopriva

Photo by Herb Hochman

Sharon Kopriva, who has been named to the Houston Fine Art Fair Hall of Fame, left, is pictured with Deborah Colton and Gus Kopriva in this 2011 photo.

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Israel's first astronaut

Houston museum honors Israeli astronaut who died in space shuttle tragedy

Astronaut Ilan Ramon in an orange jumpsuit at NASA

Photo courtesy of NASA

Payload specialist Ilan Ramon was the first Israeli in space.

On February 1, 2003, the world watched in horror as the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry, killing its crew and scattering debris over East Texas. On board was the first Israeli-born astronaut, Ilan Ramon. Now, Holocaust Museum Houston honors his enduring legacy of promoting space travel with a new exhibit that runs through August 3.

“It’s this intimate portrait of a life that possibly wouldn’t have existed because his mother and grandmother survived concentration camps," Trevor Boyd, associate director of collections and exhibitions, said during a sneak preview. "Our mission is all about the Holocaust and the aftermath, about how people have resilience, and what we can do after a terrible tragedy. He always had the sense of how huge being an astronaut was for Israel and Jews all over the world.”

Ramon grew up in Israel, becoming an ace pilot and, in 1997, a payload specialist with NASA for shuttle missions. The next year, he, his wife, and children moved to Houston to prepare for a possible shuttle mission to study asteroids. Eventually, he was selected for Columbia, the first Jewish person and Israeli to leave Earth.

“He really understood what it meant to be the first Jew in space," said Boyd. "He brought items with him, including a mezuzah and a Torah scroll kept in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by Professor Yehoyachin Yosef. Yosef asked Ramon to take it into space with him.”

One of the more amusing displays in the exhibit is a set of kosher space meals. Though Ramon did not keep kosher in his everyday life, he felt it was important to represent the practice while on the mission. He worked with NASA to develop special meals, though like most space food in the early 2000s it was of dubious quality. The meal packets did not survive the disintegration, but the exhibit recreates the boxes including Ramon's handwritten notes on each. A pack of chicken and black beans simply reads "no."

By far, the most moving part of the exhibit is Ramon's diary from the mission. A lifelong diarist, Ramon kept detailed notes of his life right until the end. Some of the pages of his mission log book were recovered from the wreckage. They show Ramon's endless optimism for the power of space travel and his awe at being lucky enough to experience it.

That message of optimism powers the Ramon Foundation, which partnered with the museum to present the exhibit. Founded by Ramon's widow, Rona, it continues to promote space travel education in Israel.

“They told us, 'we don’t want this to be a story of tragedy,'" said Boyd about the Foundation's help crafting the exhibit. "He followed his dream and made it, and anyone can.”

holocaust museum houston museums space nasa