VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Canal Street Gallery presents the sculpture exhibit FOUND! The public is invited to view the works at an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, September 23 at 2219 Canal Street, Houston, TX 77003. There will be complimentary valet parking for the reception.

The sculptures featured at Canal Street Gallery’s next show will stretch beyond the usual materials of clay, stone, metal, glass and wood. For the gallery’s exhibit entitled “FOUND!” 18 area artists repurposed commonplace objects and incorporated them into art. The resulting pieces are inspired by scraps of car tires, metal Band-Aid boxes, fossilized birds and Christmas trees wraps.

Gallery director Valentina Atkinson (pictured) said the found object concept made it possible for artists who normally are not sculptors to experiment in three-dimensional work.

“Everyone has something to express artistically, even if they are not aware of it,” she said. “Found objects are easily accessible and can mean something different for everyone. It’s not difficult to draw creative inspiration from objects that have unique personal meaning to an individual.”

Carol Scott, one of the participating artists, enjoys working with found objects. “I like making things out of nothing,” she said. “You develop an eye for something unusual. It’s usually an object that is found at random or deemed worthless by its former owner.” Scott said found object sculpture gathers from other art skills, from welding to painting. “Some objects are beautiful in themselves,” she said.

Maria Hughes, a resident artist at Canal Street, hopes the gallery will repeat the theme in future exhibits. “Some of the artists we will feature have never shown work before,” she said. “We are excited about getting people to explore their own creativity. We would like to do a found object show every year.”

“FOUND!” was curated by artists Gordon Phillipson and Armando Rodriguez. The exhibit will be on view through October 22. Canal Street Gallery will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the duration of the exhibit.