Redbud Arts Center presents "Sardonic Short Stories," a solo exhibition by Houston-based artist Dave Clark.

The exhibition introduces a new body of sculptural work that moves fluidly between reality and imagination. Clark’s work reads like fragments of a lucid dream, semi-surreal, humorous, and subtly disquieting. Drawing from personal memory and lived experience, he merges fantastical imagery with familiar objects, producing compositions that are both playful and off-kilter.

These sculptural “short stories” reflect the instability and unpredictability of contemporary life, balancing absurdity with an underlying sense of resilience. Using materials such as ceramic, wood, foam, and plastic, Clark transforms surfaces to resemble worn industrial textures—aged steel, crumbling brick, and weathered facades.

These carefully constructed illusions deepen the dreamlike atmosphere of the work, suggesting both the passage of time and the fragmented quality of memory. The result is a body of work that moves between cynicism and humor while ultimately pointing toward adaptation and endurance.

Following the opening reception, the exhibit will be on display through June 27.