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 Press Release
Celebrating
Diversity Through Art
A Parternship
of JPMorgan Chase and Art League Houston
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Gift of the Spirit
Curated by
Beth Secor
Featuring the work of
Mequitta Ahuja
Ann "Sole Sister" Johnson
El Franco Lee II
Kaneem Smith
Dr. Clarence Talley Sr.
On view:
January 29 - February 27, 2009
Celebrating Black History Month
Opening Reception:
Thursday, January 29, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
JPMorgan Chase
Heritage Hall
712 Main Street
Houston, Texas 77002
For
Immediate Release
Photos and complete biographies
HOUSTON (January 5, 2009) - Art League Houston, in
partnership with JPMorgan Chase, is pleased to announce the opening of
Gift of the Spirit, which takes place at Heritage Hall in the JPMorgan
Chase Building in Downtown Houston, and runs from January 29 - February
27, 2009 as a celebration of Black History Month. This exhibition
is curated by Beth Secor, and features the work of Mequitta Ahuja, Ann
"Sole Sister" Johnson, El Franco Lee II, Kaneem Smith, and
Dr. Clarence Talley Sr. The opening reception for the exhibition
is Thursday January 29, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Heritage Hall in the
JPMorgan Chase building located at 712 Main Street in downtown
Houston.
Gift of the Spirit is the
second in a series of four visual art exhibitions that focus on
cultural heritage month celebrations. Art League Houston is
pleased to be invited to participate in Celebrating Diversity Through
Art, a unique collaboration of JPMorgan Chase and Art League Houston,
which highlights established and emerging artists representative of
diverse communities. This program is fully supported by
JPMorgan Chase.
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About the
Curator and Artists
Curator
Beth Secor is a
Houston-based artist and writer who was born in Houston and grew up in
Wharton, Texas. She attended Texas A & M University, and has
a B.F.A. in printmaking and an M.F.A. in painting from University of Houston.
In February 2009 she will be in a group exhibition at the Museum
in the Docklands, London that commemorates the 200 year anniversary of
the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain. Secor is
represented by Inman Gallery in Houston. She is Partnerships
Coordinator at Art League Houston, an Adjunct Professor of Art at
Houston Community College Central and University of Houston Downtown,
and a writer for the Houston Press.
 Artist Mequitta
Ahuja's work explores the interplay of figure and
ground, the symbolic significance of blackness, and the social
implications of Black hair. She has her B.A. from Hampshire College in
Amherst, Massachusetts and an M.F.A. from University of Illinois in
Chicago. Her solo exhibitions include Lawndale Art Center in
Houston and the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Chicago, with an
upcoming exhibition at BravinLee Programs in New York. In 2009
she will be in group exhibitions at Rossi and Rossi Gallery in Piccadilly,
London, and Gallery OED in Conchin, India. She has also exhibited
at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Cultural Institute of New York,
the Brooklyn Museum, and the Ulrich Museum in Wichita, Kansas, among
others. Mequitta is a former Fellow (2006-2008) of the
prestigious Alfred Glassell Core Program, MFAH, and is the Founding
Director of the Blue Sky Project at Dayton University. Her 2008
awards include a Houston Artadia Prize and the first Meredith and
Cornelia Long Prize.
 Ann 'Sole Sister" Johnson is an artist
and curator, whohas an M.F.A. in printmaking from the Academy of Art
University in San Francsco, an M.A. in Humanities from the University
of Clear Lake, a B.S. in Home Economics from Prairie View A & M
University, and an Associate in Applied Arts in Fashion Merchandising
from Bauder Fashion College in Arlington, Texas. She currently teaches
Merchandising and Design and is an Assistant Visiting Professor of Art
at Prairie View A & M University. Her solo and group
exhibitions include Academy of Art University, Northville Art House in
Northville Michigan, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Project
Row Houses in Houston, and African American Museum of Life and Culture
in Dallas. Her current series, It is the not knowing that burns my soul: The Odyssey of Miss Emma
Jean, explores the life of her paternal grandmother Emma
Jean Henderson Coleman Hurt Mathis, a bi-racial Native American
woman who was married three times to African American men and lived in
the Jim Crow state of Alabama.
 El Franco Lee II is a native
Houstonian, who paints and draws in a style known as "Urban
Mannerist Pop Art" that combines the elongated figures of the
Italian Mannerist style combined with depictions of contemporary urban
events. He studied at the School of Art, Yale University and
received his B.F.A. in painting from the University of Houston in
2007. For the past ten years El Franco has been employed with the
ESPA Corp Architecture in Auto Cad and Design. His solo and group
exhibits have included the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Romo
Gallery, Atlanta Georgia, and Angstrom Gallery in Dallas to name a
few. El Franco Lee II is a 2008 Artadia Award recipient and is
currently a 2008-2009 Lawndale Art Studio Resident.
 Houston-based visual artist Kaneem Smith's work treads
between the realm of fiber arts and of sculpture. She most recently
worked with the Department of Decorative Arts Conservation at the
Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston, and now teaches design and fiber arts
part-time at the Houston Community College, Central Campus. Smith
studied at Baltimore's Maryland Institute, College of Art and at Rice
University before receiving a B.A. in art and art history from Sarah
Lawrence and an M.F.A. from Syracuse University. She has taught at the
University of Houston, Downtown, Appalachian State University in North
Carolina, the University of North Texas and Texas Women's University in
Denton. Among her many accomplishments, awards and residencies, Smith
was a 2008 Visual Arts Grant from the Creative Capital Foundation in
New York.
 Dr. Clarence Talley Sr. is Director
of Art at Prairie View A & M University where he has been on the
faculty since 1975. He is a Fulbright-Hays Scholar and a Phelps-Stoke
Fellow to the Caribbean. His art works have been shown both nationally
and internationally in numerous one-man and group exhibitions most
recently the Houston Collects exhibition at the Museum of Fine Art,
Houston. He is listed in "250 Years of Afro American Art,"
"Who's Who in the South and Southwest," "Who's Who Among
African Americans," "and Who's Who Among America's
Teachers." Dr. Talley has authored four books. He is an ordained
minister and he and his wife of 36 years, Carolyn Ann, reside in
Prairie View, Texas, with their two children, Clarence Jr. and Crystal
Ann.
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About Art League Houston
Art League Houston is one of Houston's longest
operating non-profit visual arts organizations and was the first
alternative art space in Texas. Founded in 1948 and incorporated
as a non-profit organization in 1953, Art League Houston (ALH) was
created to promote the public appreciation of and interest in the
visual arts. During the past 57 years, ALH has provided over 760
exhibitions to the Houston community, showcased the work of nearly
22,200 artists, and instructed over 35,000 students through the Art
League School and Outreach Program.
Our Mission
The mission of Art League Houston is to cultivate awareness,
appreciation, and accessibility of contemporary visual art within the
community for its cultural enrichment. Art League Houston
provides an opportunity for all members of the community to experience
the contemporary visual arts. We achieve our mission through
exhibitions, education and outreach programs.
Celebrating Diversity Through
Art
is supported by JPMorgan Chase.
Art League Houston is supported
principally by
Houston
Endowment Inc., The Brown Foundation, Inc., City of Houston through
Houston Arts Alliance, the estate of William G. Daugherty, Laurie &
Kevin Foxx and Aqua Foxx Productions,
JPMorgan Chase, Target, Art Colony Association/ Bayou City Art
Festivals, Bridgeway Charitable Trust, The Eleanor & Frank Freed
Foundation, Kat Gallagher & Michael Rudelson, John P. McGovern
Foundation, Dare & Larry O'Donnell, Thomas Robinson, Jaleh &
Bruce Sallee, Louisa Stude Sarofim, The Wortham Foundation, Inc. and by
Andrisin Abbey, Tonya Adams & Rick Abernathy, Nora & Bob
Ackerly, Susan & Jack Apple, Applied Diagnostics, Tracey & Drew
Baird, the Ann Bengtson Memorial Fund, Wendy & Andy Bernstein,
Kelli & Eddy Blanton, Leslie & Brad Bucher, Cantoni, Billie
& Marv Chasen, CITI Smith Barney, Chris & Tom Davies, Peggy
& Darrell Delahoussaye, Earth Exchange Corporation, Isaiah Fidler,
Ray C. Fish Foundation, Berthica & Hugh Fitzsimons, Alice C. Boyd
Gano, Michelle & David Gershenson, the Freddy Clyde Gibson Memorial
Fund, Candice & Nick Goodwin, Rob Greenstein, Madeline Haenggi, Ann
& James Harithas, Harris County Department of Education, Dow
Hickam, Richard Humphreys, International Bank of Commerce, Inversion
Coffee House,
Kinder Foundation, Leanna Laster, Gin Ru Lee, Dana LeJune, Mangini/
Lakhia/ Delahoussaye & Associates, P.A., Elena & Kenneth Marks,
Gretchen & Mark Mazziotti, Debbie McNulty, Moody Gallery, Sara
& Bill Morgan, National MS Society Lone Star Chapter, Zamara &
Mark Nitcholas, Crystal & Don Owens, Cara Pauloski, Ethna &
Richard Piazza, Russell H. Pitman, Peggy H. Port, Redbud Gallery, River
Oaks Dental Arts, Michael G. Rudelson & Co., Bob Sanford, Scurlock
Foundation, Tahamia Spain, Susie & Steve Streller/ Charter Custom
Homes, Texas Art Supply, Texas Commission on the Arts, The Oshman
Foundation, The Search Center, Inc., The Woodlands Development Company,
Kathryn Sherman Ttee, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Gayle & Steve
Waldman, Jane Edmond & Randal Weber, Sharon & Stephen Weiss,
Fabené Welch, William Reeves Fine Art LLC, Carol & Fred Williamette
and all of our sponsors, members and volunteers.
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