Artists of Houston Ballet in Stanton Welch’s Nutcracker. Photo by Amitava Sarkar.
#10: LILY COX-RICHARD AT ARTPACE
SAN ANTONIO—Houston sculptor and former MFAH Core Fellow Lily Cox-Richard thinks about landscape and how we value it, as she looks to entropy, history, natural resources, sustainability, and stewardship in Salv. as part 2016 Fall International Artist in Residence exhibition through Dec. 31 at Artpace.
Lily Cox-Richard, Old Copper Futures: 951 lbs. of #2 scrap copper from Revolution Recovery, New Castle, DE, 2016
Copper, concrete, blanket
42 x 26 x 39 inches
Originally commissioned and produced by Artpace San Antonio
Photo by Adam Schreiber.
#9: REQUIEM FOR TESLA AT RUDE MECHS
AUSTIN—Rude Mechs presents Requiem for Tesla, through Dec. 18 at The Off Center. Tesla is a semi-biographical, sci-fi homage to genius inventor Nikola Tesla, written by Kirk Lynn, directed by Shawn Sides, featuring Hayley Armstrong, Robert S. Fisher, Matt Frazier, Michael Kranes, and Lana Lesley, with Graham Reynolds on percussion/keyboards and Blair Bovbjerg on theramin. Originally conceived in 2001 and revamped in 2003, this new version will include the 2001 production design with the 2003 script.
Requiem for Tesla 2016, created by Rude Mechs, featured l to r: Hayley Armstrong, Lana Lesley and Michael Kranes Photo by Bret Brookshire.
#8: TRINITY RIVER PROJECT AT LILIANA BLOCH
DALLAS—Liliana Bloch Gallery’s latest exhibition tackles the tricky relationship Dallas has with the Trinity River. The Trinity River Project, through Dec. 30, brings the work of LA-based artist Marcos Lutyens and the writing of Laray Polk to meditate – at times literally – on what this body of water means to the city.
Marcos Lutyens, Trinity River Project: Ten Inductions, 2016, Sketchbook, Paintings, Courtesy Liliana Bloch Gallery.
#7: JESSICA LANG DANCE AT TITAS
DALLAS—TITAS Presents brings Jessica Lang Dance, in one of Lang’s newest works, Tesseracts of Time, with set design by Steven Holl, who is designing the new MFAH campus, Dec. 10 at Winspear Opera House. The piece was commissioned in part by Society for the Performing Arts, along with the Harris Theater and the Chicago Architecture Biennial, and will also be coming to Houston through Society for the Performing Arts on May 20 at Wortham Center.
Jessica Lang Dance in Tesseracts of Time. Photo by Todd Rosenburg.
#6: MONIKA SOSNOWSKA AT THE AUSTIN CONTEMPORARY
AUSTIN—The Contemporary Austin presents the work of Monika Sosnowska in Habitat, through Feb. 26. In her practice, the Polish artist uses heavy materials like steel and concrete making them look light and graceful, exploring the visual effects of material.
Monika Sosnowska: Still Life, Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw. Artwork © Monika Sosnowska. Courtesy the artist; Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw; The Modern Institute, Glasgow; Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne; kurimanzutto, Mexico City; and Hauser & Wirth. Photograph by Bartosz Górka.
#5: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE AT HGO
HOUSTON—Houston Grand Opera presents It’s a Wonderful Life, from the creative team of composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, Dec. 2-17 at Wortham Center. Heggie and Scheer, the team behind The Dallas Opera production of Moby-Dick, have a distinct talent for transforming an American classic into opera, and this one should provide a marvelous alternative to the usual holiday offerings.
William Burden as George Bailey; center, Andrea Carroll as Mary Hatch; HGO Chorus in HGO’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life. Photo by Karen Almond.
#4: CULTURE HOLE
DALLAS—Last year, artist and musician Gregory Ruppe launched a new project, Culture Hole, in an underground space in The Power Station. With the help of New York transplant Avi Varma, Ruppe launches a new project in the space, Live From the Culture Hole, focused on one-night-only evenings exploring the art of sound. The first iteration at 10 p.m. Dec. 10 features Bruce Blay.
#3: HOUSTON BALLET’S NEW NUTCRACKER
HOUSTON— Houston Ballet presents Stanton Welch’s flashy new Nutcracker, through Dec. 27 at Wortham Center. Welch has re-imagined the story to give Clara a central role in a lavish production that will entertain the whole family. With sets by Tim Goodchild, expect an over the top holiday experience, and lots of snow!
Artists of Houston Ballet in Stanton Welch’s Nutcracker. Photo by Amitava Sarkar.
#2: DEGAS AT THE MFAH
HOUSTON—The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston snagged the only U.S. presentation of Degas: A New Vision, through Jan. 16. The exhibition includes familiar and lesser known works that span the artist’s career and draw from six dozen museums and at least 10 private collections.
Edgar Degas, A Cotton Office in New Orleans, 1873, oil on canvas. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pau. © RMN-Grand Palais / Michéle Bellot / Madeleine Coursaget.
#1: SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER CHOIR
SAN ANTONIO—San Antonio Chamber Choir presents A Baltic Christmas, with holiday and solstice music of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Dec. 10 at Immaculate Conception Chapel at Oblate School of Theology, Dec. 11 at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.
