ARTS PICKS
1. Marcia Kure
Marcia Kure’s “Network” is the sort of piece to which you’ll want to dedicate a fair bit of time. The Menil Drawing Institute commissioned Kure — whose work has been collected by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American Art, the British Museum, the Centre Pompidou and other institutions — to create the piece for its series of ephemeral wall drawings. Kure draws motifs and materials from her native Nigeria to create a broad piece that begs viewers to slowly migrate from one side to the other and back again.
When: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays, through August 2022
Where: Menil Drawing Institute, 1412 W. Main
Details: free; menil.org
Andrew Dansby
2. Kapwani Kiwanga
“The Sand Recalls the Moon’s Shadow” feels like entry into three different worlds. Kapwani Kiwanga — a Canadian native living in Paris — for her first solo exhibition in Houston has created two environments that are both inviting and alien that speak to the nature of her materials and the history they possess. “Maya-Bantu” is a 25-foot sculpture draped in sisal from Tanzania. And “Dune” mixes glass pieces with 50 tons of sand used in hydraulic fracturing. “Vumbi” — the third piece, and not site specific — captures the artist delicately cleaning dustcovered foliage in Tanzania as vehicles pass, stirring up new sediment. Her works evoke a strong sense of place and also an awareness of our relationship to nature.
When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, through Dec. 19
Where: Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University, 6100 Main (near Entrance 8)
Details: free; moody.rice.edu Andrew Dansby
3. ‘A Doll’s House Part 2’
This Tony-nominated play from Lucas Hnath takes place several years after the end of Ibsen’s classic “A Doll’s House,” as the character of Nora Helmer wrestles with 19th-century rules about gender and expectations. In 2017, “ADH Part 2” was nominated for eight Tony Awards and won for best actress in a leading role. Now, 4th Wall Theatre Company is staging a version beginning Oct. 14.
When: Oct. 14-Nov. 6
Where: Studio 101, 1824 Spring, No. 101
Details: $17-$53; 4thwalltheatreco.com
Cary Darling
4. ‘Retrospective’
Chances are, you’ve seen Taft McWhorter’s work around town. His large-scale paintings are features in the lobbies of the JW Marriott and Westin Houston Medical Center. And he’s a favorite of high-end auctions, including the Astros Foundation’s Diamond Dreams gala; McWhorter has helped raise more than $700,000 over the past decade. See his contemporary pieces up close and personal this month at Jack Meier Gallery.
When: Opening reception, 6-9 p.m. Oct. 9, exhibit through Oct. 16
Where: Jack Meier Gallery, 2310 Bissonnet
Details: jackmeiergallery.com Amber Elliott
5. ‘Solipsism’
When the pandemic forced John Slaby to cancel the follow-up to his 2018 show, “The Male Gaze,” he turned inward to create a series of self-portraits, among them “Perpetual Self-Portrait” and “Solipsism,” the title of his exhibition at Archway Gallery. “Pygmalion” captures a journey into hallucinatory madness out of quarantine isolation and “Out! Out!” expresses the artist’s views on mortality. In total, there are 80 works on display.
When: Through Nov. 4
Where: Archway Gallery, 2305 Dunlavy
Details: archwaygallery.com Amber Elliott