Oddball Dog Art You Just Have to See

Stylish Furniture Gets the Canine Treatment

By Catherine D. Anspon // Jul 29, 2015

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"Eames Low," 2015, juxtaposes a beloved Weimaraner with a vibrantly hued Eames chair. The NYC-based talent's national touring exhibition — "Artists Including Me: William Wegman" — touches down this October at the San Jose Museum of Art in California.

The Pop-feeling "Yellow Two Green," 2015, summarizes the promise of summer — what more can you ask for than a good dog and a nice Eames chair?

More than an exhibition, an icon appears this summer at Texas Gallery: in the drolly titled “William Wegman: Good Dogs on Nice Furniture.” The preferred and most identifiable subjects of this laconic, internationally shown lensman are his pet Weimaraners, beginning with Man Ray, the canine who started it all in the 1970s. He first exhibited at Texas Gallery in 1972, and regular Wegman shows have been de rigueur ever since at this pioneering Houston art space. Gallerists Fredericka Hunter and Ian Glennie have done much to acquaint hometown audiences with the complex, quirky humor and oddball take on life proposed by the artist — a point of view that goes far beyond his regal chocolate and gray Weimaraners.

In the carefully composed "Left Right Black White," 2015, Wegman's classic canine strikes an unerring pose. — In the carefully composed “Left Right Black White,” 2015, Wegman’s classic canine strikes an unerring pose.

Yet, we’ll always have Fay Ray and her followers. Classic Wegman is very much in evidence vis-à-vis this go-round, which also serves up a good-natured skewering on the lure of mid-century design, as home furnishings by Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson appear in Wegman’s lens. The result is a delightful new body of work, all completed in 2015, that is equal parts surreal and endearing. (Current canines Flo and Topper star.)

And there’s more Wegman coming down the pike. Glasstire‘s spring benefit, “Off Road,” will feature the artist in conversation (date and place TBD); 2016 will also see the publication of a monograph on his collage-based postcard paintings, yet another captivating chapter in the saga of Wegman World.

Exhibition through August 15, at Texas Gallery, Houston.