Get a final look at art installations and museum exhibitions—many of them free—before they close in the coming weeks at museums and galleries in Houston.
At galleries and museums across town, this summer has offered Houston audiences a chance to marvel at dazzling works of art, engage with thought-provoking themes, and snap a shareable pic or two.
But these experiences can’t last forever, so we’ve gathered 10 museum exhibitions and art installations that are drawing down in the next three weeks to help you plan your summer goodbyes.
Keep tabs on more exhibitions happening Houston with our guide to ongoing museum exhibits and art installations.
10 Closing Museum Exhibitions in Houston
40th Center Annual at Houston Center for Photography
Celebrating photographers from around the world, this annual juried exhibition at the Montrose center wraps up on Sunday, offering a last look at the work of 25 participating photographic artists as selected by Lisa Volpe, Curator of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Featuring artists from Houston and as far away as Shenzhen, China, the 40th Center Annual is comprised of works that “challenge histories, question social structures, probe memories and remake reality,” according to Volpe.
Through Sunday, August 20 | FREE
JooYoung Choi: Love & Wondervision at Moody Center for the Arts
Closing in late August, the Rice gallery’s summer exhibition invites visitors into the vibrant, colorful world of love and kindness from artist JooYoung Choi.
The multidisciplinary exhibition features work in video, sculpture, painting and a site-specific installation overflowing with characters from Choi’s imaginary universe, exploring themes of identity, belonging, trauma and healing in the face of racism and social division.
Through Saturday, August 26 | FREE
Artists on Site: Series 4 at Asia Society Texas Center
For the past month, Houston artists Tatiana Escallón, Farima Fooladi, Naomi Kuo, and Alexis Pye have been creating artwork in temporary studio spaces at Asia Society Texas Center, offering the public a chance to drop in and learn more about the artists and their process.
If you miss an opportunity to stop by in the remaining weeks of the exhibition, then catch the closing reception on Friday, August 25, where each artist will be on hand to discuss their work alongside live music from Doc Guava, the Chevy Boys and Hasaan Olu.
Through Sunday, August 27 | FREE
El Franco Lee II: Mid-Career Survey at Houston Museum of African American Culture
In his first solo museum exhibition, the Houston-native artist showcases his distinctive style of Urban Mannerist Pop Art through more than 30 works created over the past 16 years.
Well known for his paintings that depict the iconic DJ Screw and the Screwed Up Click (SUC), El Franco’s assemblages gather historical figures and other Black icons in a balanced display that probes the tales and mythologies of America and its social ills.
Through Saturday, September 2 | FREE
Hyperreal: Gray Foy at Menil Drawing Institute
Inspired by Surrealism and Magic Realism, American artist Gray Foy set his talents toward meticulously creating artwork that involved intense concentration and sometimes months to complete a single drawing.
This collection of work, which Foy characterized as “hyper-realism,” explores the artist’s intricate process across his artistic career, from early Surrealist compositions through his later botanical and geographic renderings.
Through Sunday, September 3 | FREE
Pipilotti Rist & William Kentridge at Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Two summer exhibitions come to a close in early September at MFAH.
On view for the second time, Pipilotti Rist’s Pixel Forest and Worry Will Vanish offers an immersive, laid-back experience where visitors weave around strands of twinkling spheres, before finding a comfy seat to relax and watch a mesmerizing dreamscape projected across two massive walls of the Law Building. $21; $16 for ages 13 to 18; free for ages 12 and under.
And in the Beck Building, William Kentridge: In Praise of Shadows surveys the South African artist’s 35-year career, where his work in visual arts, sculpture, film and theater would probe the social and political conditions of the Apartheid era, the nation’s transition to democratic elections, and its present-day realities. Included with general admission, $19; $12 for ages 13 to 18; free for ages 12 and under.
Pipilotti Rist closes on Labor Day, Monday, September 4; William Kentridge closes Sunday, September 10 | Prices Vary
Gabo Martinez & Layla Klinger at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
Based in San Marcos and born in Guanajuato, Mexico, Gabo Martinez channels her Indigenous identity through ceramics and printmaking on display in The Land of Flowers. Utilizing craft materials and motifs with ties to prehispanic cultures, her terracotta vessels and large-scale prints are inscribed with the flower, a deeply significant symbol in the poetic tradition of Nahuatl speakers.
Brooklyn-based fiber artist Layla Klinger explores intimacy, erotic compulsions, and beauty as merit in their contemporary lace creations and larger-than-life electroluminescent installations in Hot House. Displayed in dark rooms, their work uses electroluminescent wire and coding to create light-emitting, bobbin lace installations that showcase dazzling variations in light patterns.
Through Saturday, September 9 | FREE
Sharks! The Meg, the Monsters & the Myths at Houston Museum of Natural Science
Dive in and explore the world of these prehistoric creatures of the sea in HMNS’ floor-spanning exhibition.
Every order of shark known to mankind is represented throughout the exhibit, including a life-sized model of the Megalodon. Plus, guests will have an opportunity to get up-close with live sharks for a hands-on experience while discovering what makes these creatures so unique.
Through Sunday, September 10 | $35; $27 for ages 3 to 11; free for ages 2 and under
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