For those who relish the Eames chairs and starburst clocks of yesteryear, this is your time to shine . . . April is officially Modern Month in Texas.
The preservationists with Houston Mod, Rice Design Alliance, AIA Houston, UH's College of Architecture, the Lawndale Art Center and the popular Houston Modern Market have joined forces to offer a solid month of talks, tours and Tulip Tables.
"Modern design just never goes out of style," says Brian Hoffner, who launched the first annual Modern Market at Winter Street Studios in 2011. "Other looks may come and go, but things like Bauhaus and Brutalism always manage to stick around."
In three short years, the retail market has grown from an opportunity to score a vintage Herman Miller credenza to one of the largest mid-century design happenings in the country — right up there with the grandaddy of them all, Palm Springs Modernism Week.
"We started this as a way to educate Houstonians about the power of architecture and design," Hoffner says. "It's a month meant to show people how life can be enriched with the help of good designers."
Below are some Modern Month programming highlights. For further details and a full schedule, click here.
Art and design
On Saturday at 2 p.m. at William Reeves Fine Art, former Lawndale director Chelby King discussed groundbreaking curator Jermayne MacAgy, who ran the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston in the '50s and '60s. William Reeves also is mounting new show on mid-century modern art in Texas.
For more exhibits, catch Housing Tomorrow at the UH College of Architecture gallery as well as Harry Seidler: Architecture, Art and Collaborative Design at the AIA Houston's ArCH Center.
Shopping
The three-day Modern Market opens with a preview party from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, April 19. The Lawndale Design Fair kicks off the following weekend with a opening night bash scheduled for April 26 from 6 to 9 p.m.
Film
Noted mod historian Alan Hess will host a series of architecture films in the nights leading up to the market, including the celebrated documentary Desert Utopia: Mid-century Architecture in Palm Springs, which will be shown at 7 p.m on Apr. 15 at the River Oaks Theatre.
Lectures
Legendary architecture writer Witold Rybczynski — who penned the classic Home: A Short History of an Idea — speaks at the UH College of Architecture on April 26 at 5:30 p.m.
Tours
Rice Design Alliance's annual home tour takes place April 6 and 7. Historian Jason Smith will lead van tours from the Modern Market on April 20 and 21 to explore the city's best modern architecture. AIA Houston has two walking tours — one of the Museum District on April 13 and another of downtown on April 27.
Still from William Krisel, Architect, which will be sceened at the AIA ArCH Center on April 18 as part of Modern Month.
