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Project Row Houses Unveils Round 49: penumbras: sacred geometries
Artist Round explores the ideology of sacred geometries to form structures and landscapes that allude to the body, intent and consciousness
HOUSTON – Mar. 7, 2019 – Project Row Houses (PRH) will unveil its latest Artist Round, Round 49: penumbras: sacred geometries, on Saturday, March 16 at the Art Houses located at 2505 – 2517 Holman St. Round 49 is co-curated by PRH Curator and Programs Director Ryan N. Dennis and cultural practitioner william cordova. The Round explores the ideology of sacred geometries to form structures and landscapes that allude to the body, intent and consciousness.
Round 49 was curated in connection with the Latino Art Now! Conference, and the installations will bring attention to Houston’s Afro-Latino diaspora. The conference, organized by the Inter-University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR) and the Smithsonian Latino Center, will take place at the University of Houston from April 4-6 and explores themes similar to those of Round 49. Round 49 Art Houses will serve as one of the venues for Latino Art Now!’s Spring of Latino Art events.
“Round 49: penumbras: sacred geometries was envisioned to uplift dialogue around Houston’s Afro-Latino diaspora,” said Dennis. “As the only exhibit concentrated on Afro-Latin culture and art, william and I knew it was a perspective that could not be left out of the conversation. Our hope is that Round 49 will elevate the multitudes of rich texture and broad perspective within Afro-Latino heritage.”
Round 49 exhibiting artists include:
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Yanira Collado’s (Dominican Republic) work is rooted in the synthesis of African fractals, slave quilts and geometric concepts. Her work produces and highlights the complexity of abstraction as a non-western narrative rooted in African tradition.
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Leticia Contreras (Afromexican) is an artist who reframes the unframed through photography, performance and site-specific installation capturing the felt essence of our presence in temporal structures and abandoned vessels.
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Aramis O’Reilly (Cuba) creates alternative landscapes that relate to color based systems of communication and the harmony of the spheres; an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies.
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Charo Oquet (Dominican Republic) is a performance artist whose installation based work draws from the intersection of sacred geometries and constellational patterns originating in Veve symbols and Taíno cosmograms.
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Onajide Shabaka (US) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice includes story-telling through short narrative films and expansive installations whose materials are drawn from organic matter.
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Juana Valdes (Cuba) is a research-based artist whose travels bridge geographic moments that speak on the economy of labor, aesthetics and resistance in the Caribbean.
In conjunction with Round 49, MacArthur genius grant recipient Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Born will utilize one of the Art Houses for their installation titled Sitting on a Man’s Head. Okpokwasili and Born have created a dynamic “public song,” engaging PRH’s site, local artists and the Houston community. Their installation will be activated during the CounterCurrent Festival as an immersive live experience. Performances will take place on Friday, April 12 and on Saturday, April 13.
To support neighborhood and economic development, PRH will also host a family-friendly market from 4 to 7 p.m. that showcases a variety of goods and services from Third Ward vendors. From 2:30 to 4 p.m., guests have the opportunity to hear from the artists about their individual practices and the inspiration behind their installation during Artists’ Talks.
Round 49 will be on view from Saturday, March 16 through Sunday, June 9, 2019. Art Houses are open Wednesday – Sunday, 12 – 5 p.m.
