See where the city’s art offerings can take you this month with our top picks for openings and events for March 2016.
Also in March 2016
Jump into spring and out of winter with our guide to the city’s museum, gallery, and art space offerings this month.
Top 10 March Art Openings & Events in Houston
- Artist Charles Ray’s Thoughts on Sculpure Talk at The Menil Collection | Friday, March 4 | FREE – Enjoy a sculpture-based lecture in the Menil foyer that will offer a rare opportunity to hear from a contemporary artist who has made significant contributions to the medium. Ray will play on the themes of subject matter as a formal element; sculpture with holes; bronze; as well as the work of Rodin, Degas, and Matisse. Co-organized with Kunstmuseum Basel, seating is limited for the talk, but two additional lectures will also take place in the spring for Thoughts on Sculpture at The Menil Collection. 7pm to 8pm.
- FotoFest 2016 Biennial: Kathryn Rabinow Photography Opening at The Jung Center | Saturday, March 5 | FREE – As a self-taught photographer, Rabinow makes use of spontaneity in her approach to digital photo manipulation. Through this approach she creates each of her signature abstract pieces through a unique evolutionary process. In Abstract/Random/Concrete/Sequential, her upcoming photography exhibition, Rabinow finds her latest work rooted in the theory that our experiences with art are shaped by the ways in which our minds first register information and then process it. The exhibit is on view through Wednesday, March 30, 2016. Opening reception Saturday, March 5 at 7pm.
- FotoFest 2016 Biennial: Sebastien Boncy Photography Opening at Lone Star College North Harris | Thursday, March 10 | FREE – Held in conjunction with the FotoFest 2016 Biennial, the Fine Arts Gallery of Lone Star College’s North Harris location will showcase currents works by Houston photographer Sebastien Boncy. With an eye for framing what could be missed moment for most of us, much of Boncy’s work is often of places that lack classic beauty. Get a look at his work and see how the often dismissed can become beautiful. The exhibit is on view through Friday, April 8, 2016. Opening reception on Thursday, March 10 at 1pm.
- Henri Cartier Bresson Photographs Opening at The Menil Collection | Friday, March 11 to Sunday, July 24 | FREE – Considered to be a founding father of contemporary street photography, Bresson did much to advance the movement dedicated to capturing life in the public sphere. In Life Is Once, Forever approximately 50 photographs by Bresson from the museum’s collection will be used to look at the photographer’s pioneering career and focus on humanity. Born into a wealthy Parisian family of textile manufacturers, Bresson was a self-taught photographer with a penchant for documenting events of significance as well as individuals. 11am to 7pm Wednesday to Sunday.
- Standpoints Photography Exhibition Opening at Lawndale Art Center | Friday, March 11 to Saturday, April 16 | FREE – In Standpoints the work of three lens-based artists will be brought together to work off of specific sub-cultures and events. Taken together, their work alludes to the photographers own respective perspectives that live in relation to shared cultural experiences. For instance Jeremiah Ariaz’s series is set in Germany where American Western stories will be reenacted by performers in Native American dress with theatrical stage productions of as told by a popular German fiction writer. Sandy Carson plays on the relationship between rock bands, their fans, and the photographer at music festivals. David Politzer utilizes vacationing families’ footage from the Grand Canyon to create video collages of reactions to seeing the natural wonder. 6pm to 8:30pm opening reception; 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday; Noon to 5pm Saturday.
- Caroline Roberts’ Painting & Photography Exhibition Opening at Lawndale Art Center | Friday, March 11 to Saturday, April 16 | FREE – In All Things Are Reflections of Other Things painting meets camera-less photography. Making use of the history of the photogram, Roberts manipulates the cyanotype process to create a series of layers to create what becomes a painterly surface. The exhibition features works by Roberts on paper as well as fabric that extends throughout the gallery to represent a film-like narrative. 6:30pm to 8:30pm opening reception; 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday; Noon to 5pm Saturday.
- Stop Motion Spring Break Camp at Aurora Picture Show | Monday, March 14 to Friday, March 18 – Calling all youth filmmakers! Children age 8 to 12 are invited to make their own stop-motion animated movie in this APS-hosted camp. Attendees are asked to bring their movie ideas to the workshop where they will be shown how to make stop-motion animated films. The process will include set building, lighting techniques, foley sounds, editing and more. Upon completion camp students will receive a link to their own video for sharing and the finished films will be screened for family and friends. Ages 8 to 12. Tickets start at $275 for Aurora Picture Show members; $325 for non-members. 9am to 2pm.
- Rodrigo Valenzuela Photo Installation Opening at David Shelton Gallery | Friday, March 18 to Saturday, April 16 | FREE – Take in a dazzling photo installation by Chilean artist Rodrigo Valenzuela at the MidMain-located David Shelton Gallery. Valenzuela, whom lives and works dually in Seattle and Houston, will turn the gallery into a home for his large photo prints that showcase his meticulously arranged constructions. Obsessed with ruins and the displacement that comes with urban renewal, Valenzuela spent years working under-the-table construction jobs while paying his way through art school. His large-scale photographs address these experiences both literally and metaphorically. 6pm to 8pm opening reception; 11am to 6pm Tuesday to Saturday.
- Houston Grand Opera Studio Recitals at Rienzi | Friday, March 18 & Sunday, March 20 – Experience the exceptional talents of up-and-coming artists from the Houston Grand Opera Studio with the stunning Museum of Fine Arts Houston owned Rienzi home as a backdrop. The performance will feature a series of works by renowned composers and surprise talents which were hand-selected by HGO Studio members for your entertainment. Tickets start at $40 and can be purchased by phone at the Houston Grand Opera box office at 1-800-626-7372. Ticket purchase includes valet parking and a wine reception. The house opens for tours 45 minutes before each recital. 7:30 to 9pm Friday; 5pm to 7pm Sunday.
- Robert Flaherty Documentary Film Seminar at Aurora Picture Show | Saturday, March 19 – Considered by many to be the father of documentary film, Robert Flaherty directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, Nanook of the North in 1922. Presented by Aurora in conjunction with Margarita de la Vega Hurtado, Houston resident and former Executive Director of the Flaherty Film Seminar, they’ll bring a one-day version of the longstanding Flaherty Film Seminar which began in 1955. Film buffs will enjoy a selection of screenings of previous Flaherty seminars followed by a small group discussion about the films. Tickets start at $20 for Aurora Picture Show members and Rice University students; $35 for non-members. 10am to 5pm.