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    Shelby's Social Diary

    J.J. Watt gets his most unusual honor yet as young professionals Opera party

    Shelby Hodge
    shelby hodge
    Mar 20, 2013 | 8:26 am

    We love it that Houston Grand Opera stepped out of its comfort zone in naming Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt as one of its 2013 Ovation Award recipients, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year recognized for his Justin J. Watt Foundation. The awards are traditionally presented to youthful community leaders with a philanthropic bent, sports figures not so much.

    We were slightly disappointed that Watt didn't make the announcement party held in the Decorative Center showroom of Abrahams Oriental Rugs. The other seven recipients, however, joined the party.

    Taking bows for their philanthropic-minded leadership were Cordúa Restaurants executive chef David Cordúa, St. Luke's Episcopal Health System Young Professionals' Kathleen Flaherty, Houston Young Professionals Society founder Freddy Goerges and Team Bering Omega Services AIDS Walk Houston co-chair Liz Gorman.

    Also, ChildBuilders Nightshift Young Professionals Group co-founder James Phelan, Houston Young People for the Arts membership chair Shavonnah Roberts Schreiber and Blondes vs. Brunettes Alzheimer's Awareness event co-founder Kate Stukenberg.

    The eight will be feted at the Opera Ball Encore party (the late-night, after-party for young opera patrons) on April 13. Leslie Jackson and Marcus Carter will chair that event that starts at 10 p.m., cranks up with DJ Little Martin and breakfast at midnight and rocks on until 2 a.m. Information and reservations are available here.

    The gathering included HGO's Rebecca Koterwas and Kelly Laning, who presented the awards, as well as Lucia and Michael Cordúa, Valerie and Tracy Dieterich, Caroline Starry LeBlanc, Edward Sanchez, Dr. Rolando Maldonado, Claire Cormier Thielke, Ting Bresnahan, James Glassman, Lori Freese and Alex and Astley Blair.

    Caroline Starry LeBlanc, from left, honoree Kate Stukenberg and James Glassman at Houston Grand Opera Ovations Awards announcement party at Abrahams Oriental Rugs.

    377, HGO Ovation Awards announcement and reception_March 2013, Caroline Starry Leblanc, Kate Stukenberg and James Glassman
      
    Photo by © Priscilla Dickson
    Caroline Starry LeBlanc, from left, honoree Kate Stukenberg and James Glassman at Houston Grand Opera Ovations Awards announcement party at Abrahams Oriental Rugs.
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    Hodge Podge

    Houston artist bids farewell, for now, with career-spanning new exhibit

    Craig D. Lindsey
    Jun 18, 2025 | 10:29 am
    Robert Leroy Hodge Sanman Studios
    Courtesy of Robert Leroy Hodge/SANMAN Studios
    The exhibit shows a range of the artist's works.

    Artist Robert Leroy Hodge is saying goodbye to Houston – well, not exactly.

    The Houston-born multidisciplinary artist recently debuted his latest exhibit, Diamonds That Fall from the Treetop, at SANMAN Studios. Known more for his eye-catching, pop-art collages (in 2023, he collaborated with Austin artist Tim Kerr for the No Kings But Us exhibit at Blaffer Art Museum), this mini-retrospective will feature selected works from his two-decade career – including the early stuff.

    “A lot of kids think I only make collages,” Hodge tells CultureMap. “And, also, I'm not making collages anymore like that. So, it's like the end of an era. I show where I started with these portraits and real paintings and drawings and how I kind of got into collage. It's a wide range of things I do, not just collage.”

    Diamonds will also be his last exhibit in Houston, but he’s not moving away. Hodge will cut down on doing local exhibits and focus more on getting his art and his name out there in other parts of the world. He’s out to prove that serious art can come out of this place.

    “When I interact with politicians and people in higher positions, they treat local artists like they're secondary, they're not good enough,” he says. “[They say] ‘They're in Houston because they can't be in New York and LA,’ and that's not the case. I could be anywhere, and I chose Houston.”

    But Hodge wants to be known as an artist from Houston, instead of just in Houston. “There’s nothing wrong with being a local artist in your city, but that’s not what I want,” he says. “I live here, but for me to get to the next space I wanna get to, I need to be showing more in New York, LA, out the country. And it's nothing personal – when you do a lot of stuff here, you just can't keep doing the same thing. You start to feel stagnant.”

    As much as he loves both the city and its art scene, Hodge knows that the visual arts isn’t a high priority around here. “We are an oil-and-gas city,” he says. “And because that's the main way money is being made, arts and culture is not primary. And, then, the new mayor is not really into art. So, it's like it all depends on who loves art and who's in office.”

    Within city limits, Hodge says he will be more of a curator and mentor, helping young artists and working with galleries and studios on creating showcases for those artists and others. He also wants to continue collaborating with fellow art enthusiasts of color, like the folks at SANMAN.

    “I wanted to do it with SANMAN because it's owned by two young Black men,” he says. “They got a staff of Black creatives, and I wanted to really show cohesiveness between Black men.”

    But Hodge isn’t completely hanging up the idea of doing another big solo show in his hometown. “This is the last one for a while,” he says, “unless the Menil calls or something crazy happens.”

    -----

    Diamonds That Fall will be on display through Saturday, July 26.

    Robert Leroy Hodge Sanman Studios
      

    Courtesy of Robert Leroy Hodge/SANMAN Studios

    The exhibit shows a range of the artist's works.

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