MEDIA CONTACTS:
Mary Headrick (mheadrick@crafthouston.org)
Kristen Loden (kloden@crafthouston.org)
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
 713.529.4848 x 107 or 103

TWO FASCINATING EXHIBITIONS CELEBRATE INGENUITY AND ARTISTRY AT HOUSTON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

TRANSFORMATION 5:  CONTEMPORARY WORKS IN FOUND MATERIALS AND TEXAS MASTERS SERIES:  CINDY HICKOK OPEN MARCH 31

(HOUSTON, TX) March 5, 2007—On March 31, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) will present two ingenious exhibitions to engage the viewer’s imagination: Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials and Texas Masters Series:  Cindy Hickok.  The exhibitions will remain on view until June 17.

Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials is a juried exhibition of more than 30 national artists who competed for the Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, a prestigious award that recognizes excellence in the field of contemporary craft, in 2005.  Organized by the Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the show highlights amazing examples of the innovative ways in which artists are transforming found materials into contemporary art.  Jurors selected finalists based on innovation, technique, high-quality execution, and, above all, the degree to which their work challenged and moved viewers beyond their own frames of reference in terms of found materials. 

The winner of the Founder’s Prize was Jim Rose, an artist whose work is inspired by the simple values that characterize Shaker history, lifestyle, and furniture-making techniques.  To him, the reuse of discarded scrap metal “creates a dialogue between past and present; the marks and mars are a record of time.”  Rose’s winning piece, Quilt Cupboard, is an impeccably crafted, Shaker-inspired chest of distressed steel with natural rust patina.  Other selected works include a vast range of found materials, including detergent bottles, pistachio shells, tin cans, staples, filmstrips, cereal boxes, and old linen handkerchiefs, among hundreds of other objects.   

In HCCC’s Texas Masters Series, Houstonian Cindy Hickok, an internationally acclaimed fiber artist, ingeniously borrows from the “Old Masters” to guide the viewer through an amusing and delightful tour of art history.  Using a freehand sewing machine and cotton thread as her paintbrush and paint, Hickok renders incredibly precise images on fabric.  The focus of the show is the Culinary Art Series, which Hickok describes as “an imaginary museum visit at lunchtime, when works of art inspire thoughts of food.”  In 22 small-scale pieces created over a span of four years, Hickok pokes lighthearted fun at herself and master works such as Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, Manet’s Olympia and Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by fancifully pairing classic subjects with contemporary comfort foods—French fries, cookies and milk, and a hot-fudge sundae!

Hickok earned a B.S. in Applied Art from Iowa State University and apprenticed in mosaic at Denwar Ceramics in California.  Her work has been exhibited in museums throughout Europe, Asia and North America, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.  Although she grew up in Iowa, Hickok has lived in Houston for nearly 40 years and has come into her own as a “Texas Master.”  HCCC Executive Director Kristen Loden explained:  ”The Craft Center reserves its Texas Masters Series for Texas artists who have earned significant national or international acclaim and deserve to be recognized by their local communities.  In Cindy Hickok’s case, that local recognition is long overdue, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to organize this exhibition of her splendid work for the enjoyment of the greater Houston community.”  To commemorate the exhibition, HCCC has created a DVD catalogue that includes all of the works in the show and an interview with the artist.

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is dedicated to advancing education about the process, product and history of craft.  The Craft Center provides exhibition, retail and studio spaces to support the work of local and national artists and serves as a resource for artists, educators and the community at large.

Located in the Museum District at 4848 Main Street, the Craft Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am - 5pm, and Sunday Noon - 5pm.  Admission is free.  Parking is available directly behind the facility off Travis Street.  The Craft Center is 1½ blocks south of the Wheeler Avenue MetroRail station on Main Street.  The Craft Center is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance and Texas Commission on the Arts.  For information, call 713/529-4848 or visit www.crafthouston.org.