Remembering Four Fallen Titans of the Houston Art World — David Adickes, H.J. Bott, Ibsen Espada and Henry Hunt Leave Unique Legacies

As Untitled Art fair earns national and international kudos for its inaugural Houston fair — one that added energy and acclaim to the Bayou City’s fall art season — it’s time to reflect upon why the fair came to Space City, and pay tribute to four departed art greats who played leading roles in shaping the history of the city’s visual scene.

Untitled’s director — the noted Los Angeles-based writer and curator Michael Slenske, — was drawn to Houston by the rich history and depth of its museums, galleries, nonprofits, and artists. With this in mind, let’s remember a quartet whose recent deaths leave behind something more profound than sadness.

The creative lives of artists David Adickes, Ibsen Espada, H.J. Bott, and patron Henry Hunt serve as inspiration for Houston’s close-knit art community — a unique place driven more by hometown stars and longstanding relationships than a frenzied, billionaire-focused art market.

All four men were iconoclasts whose personalities allowed them to become elemental spokes in Houston’s spinning art universe.

Pop King + Chronicler of Presidents: David Adickes

Of the four, David Adickes is perhaps best known. That’s no surprise for the Pop sculptor of mammoth presidential heads, a 67-feet-tall Sam Houston roadside attraction en route to Dallas, an outsized violin virtuosi holding court at Lyric Centre, and the We Love Houston sign.

The latter really says it all about its maker’s joie de vivre. It, along with Be Someone, stands as official slogans for Houston.

Yes, there are other sides to the career of the nearly 100-year-old artist — as painter of prairie-style cubism and best seller to the River Oaks set back in the day at the influential DuBose Gallery, and as founder of Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine, inspired by the groovy light shows and hippy vibe of San Francisco’s Fillmore West.

But the delightful Adickes — who could spin a good tale about his illustrious encounters and adventures, from post-war Paris study with Fernand Léger to a road trip that involved Salvador Dalí and British lady hitchhikers — will always be remembered as the talent whose epic dreams aligned in proportions as monumental as his Pop paeans in concrete. (Collectors will often find Adickes’ canvases at Reeves Art + Design and Foltz Fine Art.)

Those who wish to honor the late iconic Adickes are encouraged by his estate to donate to Houston Arts Alliance in his memory. Click here to donate. Please write “In memory of David Adickes” in the “What inspired your donation?” field.

A David Adickes memorial update: The public is invited to “Celebrate the Brilliant Life of David Pryor Adickes at 1 pm this Wednesday, October 15 at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer. A reception immediately follows. Dress code: Bright colors!”

Fresh Paint Star: Ibsen Espada

We next salute the memory of Puerto Rican-raised Ibsen Espada, a Texas painter who was one of the breakout stars of the milestone “Fresh Paint: The Houston School” 40 years ago, followed two years later by the 1987 national touring exhibition “Hispanic Art in the United States: Thirty Contemporary Painters and Sculptors.” With both presented at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Espada forged his own bold yet lyrical gestural abstraction and was an artist’s artist — both respected and collected, a beloved and dynamic figure on the scene. During his 50-year career, he showed at a range of important Houston galleries and art spaces and, within the past decade, at Foltz Fine Art, which represents his estate.

Donations in Espada’s honor can be made to Arts Rescue Mission, ARM here. This Houston-founded nonprofit supports aging artists.

Obsessive Visionary: H.J. Bott

Next, we recall the great H.J. Bott, an idiosyncratic talent whose wide-ranging and brilliant perambulations include painting, sculpture, black-light architectural interventions and a robot opera.

I followed his career for three decades and considered H.J. and his wife Margaret prized friends. His exhibitions at Anya Tish Gallery were never to be missed.

Bott was one of the most original artists working in Texas in the second half of the 20th century. However, despite robust sales and discovery by a younger generation of creatives whom he mentored, Bott’s quirky geometric Displacement-of-Volume principle and its extraordinary translation into wild and varying media — faux fur, chewing gum, Beanie Babies, talking robots, dizzying pin-striped canvases and kids’ Connector sets — have not yet received their appropriate due in Texas and on the national radar. He was Houston’s Alfred Jensen and deserves a show at Dia like Jensen had.

A memorial to Harvey J. Bott is being supported through the Orange Show Electronic Robot Program. Those interested in contributing can mail a check to Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, PO Box 230309, Houston, TX 77223 with H.J. Bott/Electronic Robot Program in the memo.

A Gentleman and a Scholar: Henry Hunt

Finally, it’s time to bid adieu to Henry Hunt — a collector, connoisseur and community connecter who was, in his gentlemanly and understated way, at the center of the Houston art world.

He was the life partner of gifted arts writer Donna Tennant, and their presence amounted to a benediction for any gallery show or artist studio they visited. Hunt’s prowess as a graphic designer, former university gallery director and student of history added to his cultured presence, knowing eye and perfect wit, combining to convey an ineffable elan to every conversation and interaction.

Donations in Hunt’s memory can be made to the Houston Humane Society, the Houston SPCA, Trees for Houston or the charity of your choice.

May Hunt be reunited with Adickes, Bott and Espada in a celestial realm to continue their Houston arts dialogue.