Pick Three Plus One

Rock and Roll screen prints at Sig's Lagoon; Anya's Eye; Free Someone at Project Row Houses; and new music from MMC Ensemble.

Welcome to Pick Three Plus One, a twice-a-month public post highlighting stellar gallery and museum exhibits in Houston, TX, plus one other band, book, film, or whatever that has captured my attention.

1. Rock and Roll Screen prints by Carlos Pozo at Sig’s Lagoon

(Rock and roll tribute print by Carlos Pozo, 2011.)

Opening tonight, March 6 at Sig’s Lagoon in midtown is an exhibit of rock and roll-themed screen prints by Carlos Pozo, a.k.a. DJ Hot Rocks. The show features works created between 2011-2024, including the print you see above, which pays tribute to the late great Keith Moon, founding member of and drummer for The Who. The selected colors, targets, and the vertical arrow are all direct references to 1960s-era British “mod” culture and its visual aesthetic. Other prints salute the style and musical genius of Jimi Hendrix, Phil Lynott (who is included as part of Carlos’s recent “blindfold test” for Night and Day), Motorhead, The Stooges, The Clash, Black Sabbath, and others.

At the opening, Carlos will spin a vinyl DJ set from 6 pm to 10 pm. The show will be on view at Sig's through March.

One more note: The opening takes place during MidMain's First Thursday Block Party, featuring live music, specials at local businesses, and complimentary drinks from Saint Arnold Brewing Company. A $10 donation supports local charities. Carlos tells us this month's charity has special meaning for the Sig's Lagoon family: The Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation Supporting Brain Cancer Research and Pediatric Health Initiatives.

2. Anya’s Eye at Anya Tish Gallery

(Anya Tish with William Cannings’ Cubed.)

This is an excerpt from the press release I wrote for this exhibit.

On Friday, March 7, Anya Tish Gallery will herald the spring with Anya’s Eye, a vibrant, sprawling group exhibition featuring more than two dozen of the gallery’s artists, many of whom were discovered early in their careers and have gone on to great acclaim, thanks to the “eye” of Anya Tish. Anya’s Eye celebrates the legacy of Anya Tish, a gallerist, art advisor, and mentor who was deeply devoted to and believed in the artists she shared with the world. Curated with great care and admiration by Anya Tish Gallery director, Dawn Ohmer, who worked closely with Anya for more than five years, the show is an opportunity to “see” what Anya saw in the artists she represented, and experience how enriching and life-changing those encounters were.

Dawn happily describes Anya’s Eye as “purposely overwhelming.” Viewers will delight in a floor-to-ceiling installation of art in multiple mediums, including painting, sculpture, video, and photography, alongside experimental works that stretch materials into new directions, often with unpredictable, yet captivating results.

I met Anya in December 2016. She saw something in me and my writing and introduced me to the work of, and coordinated interviews with, several of the gallery’s talented artists. I enjoyed the challenge of articulating, in plain and engaging language, the range of conceptual ideas infused in the work at Anya Tish Gallery. From Adela Andea’s evocation of her childhood in communist Romania via spooky, subterranean aquatic forms created with LED lights, flex neon, and foam; to HJ Bott’s Displacement of Volume Concepts, his original “single element/module” that generates the complex patterns and shifting shapes in his multidimensional art. Through Anya, I gained a deeper knowledge of and appreciation for art and the people who make it, and for that, I am forever grateful.

3. Free Someone at Project Row Houses

Opening Saturday, March 8 at Project Row Houses is Free Someone, round 58 of PRH’s biannual artist rounds. The group show features works by eight Houston artists who have gained recognition and notoriety by their use of the city’s public spaces as their canvas.

The exhibit’s title refers to the guerilla-art mural BE SOMEONE, two words originally spray painted in 2012 across a train bridge over the 1-10 and I-45 interchange, which over time has become a celebrated Houston landmark. Installed inside of the eight restored shotgun houses along Holman, visitors can explore artwork by GONZO247, Phillip O. Perez (Article), Lee Washington (Theonelee), Erik Del Rio (Colors oner), Iris Karami, Craig “BBC” Long, Chandrika Metivier and DUAL.

Artist “Porch Talks” will begin at 4:30 PM on Saturday, March 8th, 2025, during the Opening + Community Market from 4-7 PM. Free Someone is on view through June 1.

+ One: MMC Ensemble

Houston-based duo MMC Ensemble’s new EP, Lady of the Lake - Special Edition, dropped this week on Bandcamp, and it’s a beauty. MMC’s multidisciplinary blend of music, videos, and other visual ephemera is a collaborative endeavor between husband-wife Markus Cone and Melissa Jean Cone. Markus, a classically trained pianist, holds an MFA in studio art from UH, while Melissa, who sings in both English and Japanese, completed her BFA in art at The Art Institute of Chicago.

The rich, expressive timbre of Melissa’s earthy yet ethereal vocals will grab you immediately, while the inner details of the production (with Ableton Live being the duo’s main jam) are revealed through repeated listenings. I can imagine fans of Billie Eilish, Sade, and Cocteau Twins digging this, but MMC Ensemble has really created their own sonic