Transformations

The recycle artist: Scaroina creates mystery — and local fans — by usingwhatever's available

Composición #025 (2012), acrylic, oil, charcoal, black gesso, spray paint,synthetic polymer, found fabric, and archival newsprint on canvas, 68 inchdiameter.
Photo by Julie Knutson
The exhibition also features several smaller works that display Scaroina'scharacteristic layering.
Photo by Julie Knutson
Composición #019 (2012), acrylic, oil, charcoal, synthetic polymer, and archivalnewsprint on canvas, 60 x 30 inches.
Photo by Julie Knutson
Composición #028, at center, underwent numerous transformations, visible in itsvestigial pops of yellow, black, and red.
Photo by Julie Knutson

“I use found fabrics, muslin, linen, anything I can get my hands on, really,” the genial, Dominican-born Alfredo Scaroina explains on a gallery tour of his exhibition Taming Matter/Domando la Materia, currently on view in the main space of the Deborah Colton Gallery.

“I try to utilize reclaimed materials,” he continues. “I hate wasting material, it’s a pet peeve. Nothing is wasted in the studio — it’s all incorporated into the work.”

Everything from sand to metal dust reclaimed from steel workshops to newspaper treated with archival solvents contribute to the layers and texture Scaroina achieves on canvas.

This depth doesn’t simply result from material, but also from process.

“I try to utilize reclaimed materials,” Scaroina says. “I hate wasting material, it’s a pet peeve. Nothing is wasted in the studio — it’s all incorporated into the work.”

“I staple the canvas to the wall and it begins a direct dialogue with the nothing that is there. The work keeps developing and developing. This piece [pointing to Composición #028] had at least five or six different transformations.

"From being bright yellow to being black, to white, to multi-colored to being what it is there.”

These transformations result from Scaroina’s own shifting emotions and relationship to the work, with the layered surface of the canvas mapping his negotiations and alterations of form, the frustrations and satisfactions of the creative process.

Scaroina’s style reflects the influence of a range of 20th-century painters. His abstracted glyphs and scribbles call to mind the works of Cy Twombly, while his incorporation of materials like newsprint and tiered compositions summon visions of Robert Rauschenberg’s “combines.”

His work has found an admirer in Houston collector and Colton Gallery partner Lester Marks, who counts works from Chuck Close, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Louise Bourgeois in his highly-regarded trove of postwar art. In a recent email, Marks noted that he owns more works of Scaroina’s hand than of any other artist, explaining that he is drawn “to the beautiful and complex mysteries he [Alfredo] is able to establish on canvas.”

Scaroina’s paintings — along with works by Roberto del Rio, Michael Macedo-Meazell, Becky Soria, Tania Marmolejo and Marjon F. Aucoin — are on view at the Deborah Colton Gallery through August 18 as a part of ArtHouston 2012. The Museo de Arte Moderno in Santo Domingo will also host a solo exhibition of Scaroina’s work in 2013.

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Concert News

Rapper Nelly brings an all-star hip hop party to Houston on 2025 tour

Photo courtesy of Nelly

Nelly will tour in 2025.

Rapper Nelly will celebrate a big anniversary with the massive Where The Party At Tour in 2025, which will include a stop at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands on Thursday, September 4.

The tour is in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Nelly's debut studio album, Country Grammar. He'll be joined by a series of special guests, including Ja Rule on all U.S. dates.

Other special guests on the tour (though not necessarily in the U.S.) will include Eve, St. Lunatics, Fabolous, Jermaine Dupri, and Chingy.

The 54-city worldwide tour will start with international dates in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and multiple European countries before kicking off its U.S. leg on July 23 in Bristow, Virginia.

In addition to Houston, the tour will also go to Dallas on September 5.

Country Grammar started Nelly's career in a big way, going to No. 1. He followed that up four more top 3 albums thanks to hits like "Hot in Herre," "Dilemma," and "Ride wit Me."

The tour will take fans on a journey through Nelly’s career, including those chart-topping hits and more.

Tickets will be available starting with various presales beginning on Tuesday, December 10 starting at 10 AM, including the Citi Entertainment Program.

The general on-sale for all countries will begin on Friday, December 13 at 10 a at RealNelly.com.

WHERE THE PARTY AT 2025 TOUR U.S. DATES

Wed Jul 23 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
Fri Jul 25 - Virginia Beach, VA - Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
Sat Jul 26 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
Sun Jul 27 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
Thu Jul 31 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
Fri Aug 01 - Buffalo, NY - Darien Lake Amphitheater
Sat Aug 02 - Hartford, CT - Xfinity Theatre
Sun Aug 03 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center
Tue Aug 05 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
Wed Aug 06 - Bethlehem, PA - Musikfest
Fri Aug 08 - Oshkosh, QI - Crossroads 41 Festival
Sat Aug 09 - Clarkston, MI - Pine Knob Music Theatre
Sun Aug 10 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
Wed Aug 13 - Tinley Park, IL - Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Thu Aug 14 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
Sat Aug 16 - Greenwood Village, CO - Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
Fri Aug 22 - Concord, CA - Toyota Pavilion at Concord
Sat Aug 23 - Los Angeles, CA - Intuit Dome
Wed Aug 27 - Chula Vista, CA - North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Thu Aug 28 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Thu Sep 04 - Houston, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
Fri Sep 05 - Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion
Sat Sep 06 - Oklahoma City, OK - Zoo Amphitheatre
Tue Sep 09 - West Palm Beach, FL - iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Fri Sep 12 - Atlanta, GA - Lakewood Amphitheatre
Sat Sep 13 - Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park
Sun Sep 14 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
Tue Sep 16 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater
Thu Sep 18 - Birmingham, AL - Coca-Cola Amphitheater
Fri Sep 19 - North Little Rock, AR - Simmons Bank Arena

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