Each week we’re pleased to turn the spotlight on enterprising Houstonians with “My Top 5,” discovering their top five favorite places, activities and things to do in Houston in the process. This week we hear from nationally celebrated, Houston-based contemporary artist Trenton Doyle Hancock, whose new commission “Destination Mound Town” just debuted inside the train tunnel at Hermann Park.
My Top 5 Things to Do in Houston
by Trenton Doyle Hancock
- Half Price Books – I’m an artist who is constantly absorbing and responding to a variety of visual sources. A lot of these source materials are of a printed nature, such as posters, package designs, illustrations and especially books. When I go to Half Price Books (which is once every few months), I usually leave with an armload of inspiration to take back to my studio.
- Sand Dollar Thrift Shop – When I’m at a thrift shop, I am in heaven. I love the idea that I have no idea what I’m going to find. Houston has some of the most bountiful and unique thrift shops in the country. One of my favorites is Sand Dollar in the Heights area.
- Trader’s Village Flea Market – What do you get when you cross a garage sale with a carnival? You might end up with something like Trader’s Village. All I can say is that it is a full and total experience. Aside from being a flea market the size of a small town, it also actually has a carnival in the middle of it with rides and the whole bit. Sometimes there are live bands playing as well.
- Jarro Café – This place is one of my new favorites for Mexican food. There’s an assortment of six different, brightly colored delicious salsas that come with the meal. A treat for the eyes and the belly!
- Korean Noodle House – Easily the best Korean food in Houston. The atmosphere is almost like eating in someone’s home – a home with the freshest kimchi on every table!
About Trenton Doyle Hancock
Nationally renowned contemporary artist, Trenton Doyle Hancock moved to Houston in 2000 for the CORE residency program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and 14 years later, he still calls Houston home. Born in Oklahoma City and raised in Paris, Texas, Hancock is known for energetic, whimsical work in bright colors and dense compositions. His artworks are amalgamations of playful and fanciful subjects, with an aesthetic that recalls the art movements of Surrealism and Pop Art. His most recent project, Destination Mound Town, is one of nine art installations celebrating Hermann Park’s centennial year. It transforms the interior walls of the park’s train tunnel into a fantastical landscape populated with creatures both real and imagined. A permanent commission, Destination Mound Town contributes to Hancock’s ongoing narrative in his artwork of the Mounds, a group of mythical half-animal, half-plant characters. Hancock’s artwork can be found in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Dallas Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
