Different Voices Matter — Guest Curator Brings New Perspectives to The Woodlands’ Beloved Ardest Gallery

Sometimes a guest star makes all the difference. “Perspectives,” a group art show celebrating the rich diversity of human experience, is showing through March 1 at The Woodlands’ Ardest Gallery with a guest twist. Ardest owner Julie Verville invited Bisong Art Gallery founder Carla Bisong to guest curate this exhibition.

“I like to reach out to guest jurors,” Verville says. “It’s a different set of eyes. Because my style and what I would choose for myself personally is going to be different. For a juried show, each show we pick a specific theme so that we’re eliciting different groups of artists that are submitting, many for the first time.

This Ardest show features the work of several artists who are showing their work in a gallery for the first time, and some familiar names as well.

Verville and Bisong met to talk about prospective themes for the show, and “Perspective” was the one that Bisong found most interesting.

“I can look at art all day long, and when it’s a show, I don’t view it as a contest, because art is so subjective,” Bisong says. “It’s so many different perspectives and I love the theme. When I’m looking at art, I think of the word perspective. Many times, I’m just going off of feelings. It’s not that some pieces are better. It’s just all different.”

Bisong emphasizes that gallery goers’ own life paths means that they will meet the art in a different place than she does.

“Sometimes you just have a little bit more of a connection, but it may just be where I am right now in my life,” Bisong says.”But if I maybe had judged a show five years ago, it may have been three different pieces that I chose.” 

The work that Bisong chose for first place in the exhibit comes from Houston artist Eric Coan.  

The piece titled “A Significant and Beautiful Moment of My Life” came to life during COVID, following the death of his father.  

“In 2020, during the peak of the epidemic, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” Coan says. “We could barely see him while he was sick, and he passed away three weeks after his diagnosis. My mom, sister, three daughters and I drove 24 hours nonstop to Los Angeles, California, where my brother lives.

“There wasn’t anywhere to stay during the drive because of the lockdown, so we were exhausted when we arrived. We stayed in an Airbnb in Venice with all of us. We were all dealing with a lot, and my brother and I got into a big fight, which triggered other issues. 

“I walked down to the beach by myself to think things over when suddenly, my wife and girls showed up and sat with me. It was a very dark time, but it turned into a beautiful moment and the best night of our trip. It was a huge turning point for all of us during that moment in our lives.” 

Second and third place were awarded to two pieces from Doug LaRue.

Other participating artists include Alba Rocio, Christopher Prazak, Cindy Shung, Claire Cusack, Ericka Alonso, Gozde Kaya, Kristine McCool, Lanre Buraimo, Malti Lee, Melanie R. Martinez, Nicole Durham, Patti Gary and William Bartlett.

Carla Bisong is the Houston Art Gallery Association (HAGA) president and has been recognized by Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who presented her with an official document recognizing her as Houston’s longest-running Black woman commercial gallery owner.

Ardest Gallery is located at 25200 Grogan’s Park Drive in The Woodlands. Regular hours for the gallery run from 10 am to 2 pm Wednesdays through Saturdays.