it's on

Houston's two dueling art fairs finalize 2012 dates; one touting big changes anda dynamic new staff

Noted collector Marshal Lightman, artist Donald Sultan, and HEG president RickFriedman
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
On the floor at Texas Contemporary 2011 with Walter Robinson's Zero Sum Game(courtesy Catharine Clark Gallery).
Photo by Tyler Rudick
Max Fishko and Jeffrey Wainhause of ArtMKT, organizers of Texas Contemporary.

After successful inaugural runs in 2011, both the Houston Fine Art Fair (HFAF) and the Texas Contemporary Art Fair will return to Houston in 2012 — but not without some major changes.

Many in the Houston art community hoped to see a resolution between the dueling fairs, resulting in a larger combined event or two annual shows in different seasons. Unfortunately, as the legal battle continues between the production companies, the schedule will be identical to last year, with two fairs occurring only a month apart.

Still, don't expect a repeat performance from either show.

Organizers for each event have stressed efforts to up the ante, particularly the Houston Fine Art Fair. Booth space has yet to be offered for either show, but by the summer a full roster of participants should be available.

Many in the art community hoped to see the dueling fairs merge into a larger combined event or host two annual shows in different seasons. But as the legal battle continues, the schedule will be identical to last year. Still, don't expect a repeat performance from either show.

Houston Fine Art Fair: Sept. 14 to 16, 2012

The biggest change for the HFAF will be its relocation from the George R. Brown, which hosted the show in 2011, to the Reliant Center — a slightly larger exhibition space but further from many of the city's popular restaurants and hotels, not to mention the Museum District.

John Harris of the Houston First Corporation, which organizes events at the George R. Brown, said that while his organization offered several dates for the fair, they were unable to secure the times requested by HFAF organizers.

"We're stepping up the game this year," Rick Friedman, president of HFAF parent company Hamptons Expo Group, tells CultureMap, noting that Reliant offers more wall space in the booths as well as additional room for installation pieces and non-profit areas.

"At the moment, we're in the process of hiring new programming staff," he says. "We're planning something more like Art Basel Miami — a major show that attracts an international crowd."

Fran Kaufman, who served as director for the HEG Group's 2011 fairs, says she will take on a slightly smaller role at the 2012 Houston show as a creative consultant while she focuses more time towards her New York-based art advisory firm.

New to the staff line-up is former ArtForum promotions manager Ruth Fruehauf, who will head the fair's sales team. Also joining the team are show advisors Melissa Grobmyer and Janet Hobby, whose Houston agency MKG Art Management will oversee audience development, programming and special events, as well as the show's overall look and feel.

"At the moment, we're in the process of hiring new programming staff," Friedman explained. "We're planning something more like Art Basel Miami, a major show that attracts an international crowd."

"Our goal is to make this a citywide event," Grobmyer says. "Ultimately, we want to grow the fair into the leading art platform in this part of the county."

Proceeds from sales at the fair's opening night preview gala will benefit the Glassell School at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston for the second year in a row.

Texas Contemporary Art Fair: Oct. 19 to 21, 2012

Fair director Max Fishko vowed to return to Houston, even as gallery owners packed up their booths at the first Texas Contemporary show, which focused almost entirely on living artists, with an extra nod to those based in Texas.

"Enough people came to the events this October to let us know it went well," he tells CultureMap. "I think we ended up making a very clear statement about who we are as a contemporary art fair."

Fishko says his production company, artMRKT, plans for an even broader range of exhibitors for the 2012 event and will have a better sense of programming once the participating galleries are finalized by the spring. A host committee will be announced shortly.

"Judging from the excitement among gallery owners and attendees, I can't imagine anyone not wanting to return," says Patrick Reynolds, director of the Inman Gallery. "We're definitely planning to come back next year."

Like the HFAF, Texas Contemporary also will stage an opening night benefit preview with proceeds, once again, going to Contemporary Art Museum Houston.

"We love our relationship with Texas Contemporary," says CAMH director Bill Arning. "They treat us very well, and we're looking forward to round two."

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Movie Review

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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