VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

After hosting a successful opening reception that saw higher-than-average attendance figures, Blaffer Art Museum begins its fall program of educational events in conjunction with the exhibitions Gabriel Kuri: Nobody needs to know the price of your Saab and Amy Patton.

Kicking off the educational programs is a Brown Bag Gallery Tour on Sept. 8 at noon. The free guided tour of Amy Patton will be led by Wendy Vogel, a critic and curator based in Houston. A complimentary lunch will be provided.

Vogel is currently a critical studies fellow in the Core Program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's Glassell School of Art. She received her Bachelor of Arts from New York University and her Master of Arts from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in New York. She has written for Artforum.com, ArtLies and ...might be good, and she has worked in the curatorial departments at The Museum of Modern Art in New York and Wiels in Brussels, Belgium.

The following week, on Sept. 15 at noon, Jillian Conrad, an assistant professor in the sculpture program at the University of Houston, will lead the Brown Bag Gallery Tour for Gabriel Kuri: Nobody needs to know the price of your Saab. Admission to the tour is free, and lunch will be provided.

Conrad received a Master of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, R.I. and a Bachelor of Arts from St. John's College in Santa Fe, N.M. She has exhibited her work nationally, and she was recently awarded a fellowship in the Core Program at the MFAH's Glassell School of Art.

About Blaffer:
Founded in 1973, Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston was named in honor of the late Sarah Campbell Blaffer, a noted Houston arts patron and collector. Since its inception, the museum has been a vital force in the presentation and promotion of contemporary visual arts in Houston. Blaffer is located in the Fine Arts Building on the University of Houston's central campus, entrance 16 south of Cullen Boulevard. It is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sundays, Mondays, university holidays and during exhibition installations (visit the website or call to confirm). The museum is ADA compliant. For general inquiries, please call 713.743.9521, or visit the museum online at www.blafferartmuseum.org.

Pictured Above:  Amy Patton, detail Production still, 2010. Courtesy the artist, commissioned through a residency at the University of Houston Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts with additional support from Blaffer Art Museum and the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance. Photo: dabfoto creative.