Chuy Benitez, The Line, from the series Pasatiempos de la Frontera, 2003

Native Sons, is a new exhibit created by FotoFest and takes an ironic, often humorous look at contemporary life in the Lone Star State. It is the second exhibition of the Inter-Biennial series, TALENT IN TEXAS, focusing on Texas-based artists and their work.

The exhibition presents very diverse photo-based work by six emerging Texas artists in Houston, Dallas and Austin. The Houston-based artists are Chuy Benitez, Young-Min Kang and Brian Piana. Max Kazemzadeh works in Dallas and Denton. Sterling Allen and David Woody are based in Austin. While their works are all photo-related, they run the gamut from traditional photography to drawing and painting, installation and digital production.

Native Sons opens Thursday, October 12, 2006, 6 – 9pm at FotoFest Headquarters in Vine Street Studios, Downtown Houston. The exhibit continues through November 18, 2006. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm; Saturday, noon – 6pm. The exhibition will be accompanied by two artist talks, featuring the six artists.

“It’s part of FotoFest’s mission to look at art locally and globally. We think a focus on things close to home gives us new perspectives and hopefully places Texas artists on an international stage,” say co-curators Jennifer Ward and Vinod Hopson. “We are interested in what is going on around us. We have watched several of the artists in this show for years and have followed their development.”

Ms. Ward, co-curator of the first TALENT IN TEXAS show Home and Garden, presented in 2004, is a native Texan whose Czech roots lie in cities like Shiner, San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country. Mr. Hopson, a self-described Yankee now working at DiverseWorks Artspace, was born and raised in New Jersey before moving to Texas in 1996. Together they bring an insider and outsider view to the exhibition. “It is our shared vision and love for the state and its people that inspires this show,” they note.

>> Native Sons Press Release

David Woody, Airmen, San Antonio, Texas, 2005		Young-Min Kang, George, 2006

Native Sons is sponsored by:

The City of Houston through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County
The Wortham Foundation
Margaret Regan and Fletcher Thorne-Thomsen Jr.
FotoFest Board of Directors

Spacetaker
Tito's Vodka
Larry Albert

The list of FotoFest’s institutional funders and special funders for this exhibit is available here

Sterling Allen, Untitled (girl drinkers), 2006		Max Kazemzadeh, Controlling the Wild West, 2006