True North 2021 sculptures will soon move on to their next destinations. We become so accustomed to seeing them along the esplanade’s park-like setting that it can be a little disconcerting when one-by-one they seemingly vanish into thin air.

A tremendous amount of time and resources are spent creating, constructing, delivering, and installing—then deinstalling—sculptures of this scope. We appreciate all of the artists who have participated in the temporary public sculpture project this year—and going back to 2013! It has been the committee’s honor and privilege to work with each and every one of them.

Cary Reeder | “Treeodesic Dome” | 400 block

Miami native and longtime Heightsite Cary Reeder—a full-time Winter Street Studios artist and teacher for Art League Houston—worked more than a decade as a graphic artist and typesetter and received her fine art training at The Glassell School of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Inspired by the beautiful tree-filled Heights neighborhood, and an ode to the crepe myrtle in particular, Reeder’s “Treeodesic Dome” is made of brightly-colored, hand-cut translucent vinyl on triangular plexiglass panels attached to a galvanized steel, geodesic structure. Natural daylight casts its colorful shadows upon the interior and surrounding terrain, and the dome glows softly at night by solar lighting. Reeder says, “I love this media because it mimics stained glass, interacting with light and creating spontaneous color mixtures.” “Treeodesic Dome” is offered for sale by the artist at $12,000 [+instl].

Danville Chadbourne | 600 block
(1) THE ACCIDENTAL SURROGATE OF THE LITERAL PROGENY (2018-20) [blue]
(2) THE PERSISTENT ECHO OF THE HAUNTED NIGHT (2013-20) [blue hand]
(3) THE PRESUMPTUOUS GROWTH OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS (2013-19) [yellow]

Born in Bryan, Texas, Danville Chadbourne received his BFA from Sam Houston State University and M.F.A. from Texas Tech University. After teaching college-level studio art and art history for 17 years, he left academia to work full time from his studio in San Antonio.

With his True North 2021 installation, Chadbourne forms a triptych installation from three individual works made of stoneware and stone. Anthropological perception is a key issue in his work, Chadbourne says he is “concerned with the intellectual speculation we make regarding other cultures, especially primitive or ancient ones, based on our observation of their artifacts.” Offered for sale by the artist at (1) “The Accidental” $9,000; (2) “The Persistent” $9,000; (3) “The Presumptuous” $8,000 [+instl].

Jamie Spinello | “Allochory” | 800 block

Jamie Spinello was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. She received her BFA in both graphic design and painting from the University of Southern Mississippi and M.F.A. in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. Spinello’s home and studio are in Austin where she works in aluminum, bronze, silver, ceramics, and glass.

Made of aluminum, Spinello’s True North 2021 sculpture “Allochory”—named for a method of seed dispersal—was inspired by the triadic seed pod of the Red Yucca, a native plant of Central and West Texas. Spinello says “I created this sculpture as homage to humans dedicated to the proliferation of native Texas plants in our cityscapes and home gardens.” “Allochory” is offered for sale by the artist at $14,000 [+instl].

William Cannings | “Stacked Pillows” | 900 block

William Cannings, a native of Nantwich, England, received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and M.F.A. from Syracuse University. He is Associate Professor of Sculpture at Texas Tech University.

Cannings’ sculpture “Stacked Pillows” is engineered to imperceptibly tack with the wind. The work is created from forms of flat steel, welded together with the precision of fine stitch work. The forms are then pneumatically inflated—like a rubber tire—producing a dynamic and fresh metamorphosis from 2D pattern to 3D form. Through the artist’s process, the hard permanence of steel is wondrously transformed into a softer, gentler conformation, embracing the qualities of fabric—pillowing, folding, stretching. The resulting, seemingly pliable silhouette is meticulously addressed with layer upon layer of automotive lacquer finishes, rendering its subtleties more apparent. “Stacked Pillows” is offered for sale by the artist at $35,000 [+instl].

Bill Peck | “Searching for Balance” | 1200 block

Bill Peck’s interest in sculpture began at an early age when he began welding at his father’s fabricating company—finding inspiration in its piles of discarded metal. After college, the Army, and running the family business for a while, he started his own fabrication and design business in Houston, creating custom metal furniture, light fixtures, and decorative art for leading designers and architects. A lifelong interest in sculpture and classes at The Glassell School of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Peck now fully devotes his time to sculpture. Made of steel and finished with automotive paint, Peck’s True North 2021 sculpture “Searching for Balance” is a snapshot of the complexity of balancing a family’s daily home/work life—depicted through the medium of a beloved childhood playground apparatus—the seesaw. “Searching for Balance” is offered for sale by the artist at $12,000 [+instl].

Anthony Suber | “Ancestor” | 1300 block

A Texas native and HSPVA graduate, Anthony Suber received a BFA from University of Houston and an M.F.A. from Houston Baptist University. With a 20+year studio practice, he is also Instructor of Fine Arts at The Kinkaid School, one of the founders of The Black Man Project and on the advisory boards of Diverse Works and Art League Houston.

Suber’s sculpture “Ancestor”—imagined in the artist’s own space of “Afrofuturism” or “ancient future”—is that of a time-traveling ancestor watching the artist’s life through the lens, or mask, of that mystical bird—the Cardinal. Made of steel rebar and patinaed wood, “Ancestor” is offered for sale by the artist at $11,000 [+instl].

Julia Ousley | “Onward and Upward” | 1600 block

Julia Ousley knew at an early age she wanted to be an artist, though her path there was long and winding. She first sought the more practical and “expected” path with a B.S. from Baylor University and a career in the medical field. An M.Arch from University of Texas next steered her into the “practical art” of architecture. Returning to school once again—finally seeking her lifelong calling—Ousley received her M.F.A. from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, and now has studios in Dallas and New York City.

Ousley explains that “‘Onward and Upward’ represents ‘everyman’ on a pedestal, rather than the single hero figure.” “The themes I most often explore are of the human body, the human condition and nature or the built environment. I am particularly interested in that place where they intersect, and my work is frequently marked with architectural as well as human symbols and signifiers.” “Onward and Upward” price upon request.

David Adickes | “Three Colorful Friendly Trees” | 1800 block

David Adickes has been a vital part of the Houston art scene for over 65 years. A native of Huntsville, Texas, he moved to Houston upon his completion of two years of art studies at the Atelier Fernand Leger in Paris. By the end of that year (1951), Adickes had garnered a first-place finish and a one-man show at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. A working artist, a professor of art, and once even a Houston nightclub proprietor—the Love Street Light Circus and Feel Good Machine (1967)—his biggest career break came in 1983 with the unveiling of “The Virtuoso,” Adickes’ first monumental public sculpture. He later completed the renowned 76-foot statue of Sam Houston in Huntsville and the years that followed saw his name become synonymous with monumental sculpture with works such as “The Beatles” and “Charlie Chaplin,” not to mention the ambitious presidents’ busts project (each 15-18’ tall, their poignant journey written about in The New York Times Magazine, 2019).

“Three Colorful Friendly Trees,” is in Adickes’ iconic style of cast concrete over steel armature and acrylic paint. The sculpture is offered for sale by the artist at $9,500 [+instl].

Sculpture inquiries: boulevardart@houstonheights.org