Houston’s Buzzy Art Fair Returns With a Bigger Lineup — Your Early Preview Of Untitled Art, Houston

The second edition of the vaunted and buzzy international fair dubbed Untitled Art, Houston is set to unfurl on Thursday, October 1 through Saturday, October 4 at George R. Brown Convention Center with an even bigger art roster. The Untitled fair’s continued presence in Houston is due to three key players: founder Jeff Lawson, executive director Clara Andrade Pereira and Houston fair director Michael Slenske.

They bring the bold goal of forging an ambitious global fair to mirror Houston’s world class museum and gallery system, as well as its rich artistic talent pool. The sister fair Untitled Art, Miami Beach is always one of the de rigueur stops every December on the international art fair circuit, where those in the know flock before Art Basel begins.

The 2026 edition of Untitled Art, Houston, promises to build upon the success of year one, which reported robust sales — most notably, a $415,000 Carlos Cruz-Diez canvas acquired from the booth of Latin American powerhouse Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino. Not surprisingly, that gallery is one of 17 Texas dealers returning for year two.

Many of the 2025 fair’s most notable sales stayed in town, including Reynier Leyva Novo’s Special Project Solid Void #1 installation acquired by the POST’s Kirby Liu, again from Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino, and John Alexander’s six-figure Life on a Merry-Go-Round, brought to Untitled by McClain Gallery. Alexander’s darkly satirical work now holds court over the bar at Hotel Daphne in Houston.

The initial list of Untitled dealers coming to Houston is up by nearly 10 percent over 2025. The current roster lands at 95 art dealers long and ranges across five continents. The fair’s programming is on a full-court press to persuade art goers from the region — Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, New Orleans and beyond — to head to Houston come October.

Look for increased experiences over the course of a packed six-day VIP week, which will amplify Houston’s profile among elevated art circles, promoting the Bayou City nationally and internationally as the culture capital of the South.

The Art Dealer Lineup

While dealers are putting the final flourishes on booth planning and most artist lineups are still being determined, it’s not too early to track these international and national headliners of import headed to Untitled. Among the newcomers are Anton Kern Gallery of New York City, home to talents ranging from Araki and Nicole Eisenman to David Shrigley, bringing the Tate-collected Marepe to Houston, a Duchampian talent from Brazil known for his readymades and nod to street culture. Also comming are Hollis Taggart of New York City, which cuts a broad swath in American art, including representing the estates of Audrey Flack and Knox Martinl and Night Gallery of Los Angeles, rolling out a solo for CAMH-exhibited artist/activist Tomashi Jackson.

More dealers to look forward to?

Try Richard Saltoun Gallery (London, Rome, New York City), which recently mounted the museum-level exhibition “Scandalous: Women in Surrealism”; Madrid and Menorca-based Albarrán Bourdais with its emphasis on artists working at the confluence of public art and architecture, including Iván Argote of The High Line’s pigeon fame, who will be the subject of the gallery’s solo booth as well as showcased at this fall’s Dallas Contemporary Gala and in the DC’s September season opener; and leading Brazilian gallerist Nara Roesler, with a half-century pedigree showing historical and contemporary talents from photographer Vik Muniz, who subverts image making via unorthodox materials, to optical/kinetic master Julio Le Parc.

Dual Chicago dealers Kavi Gupta and The Mission Projects are welcome Houston fair additions. Gupta represents Willie Cole, Jessica Stockholder and Mickalene Thomas. The Mission Projects showcases art of the Americas, with a commitment to Latin American contemporary.

Another newcomer, one that champions of women artists is Morgan Lehman Gallery of New York City, whose booth will include the lyrical canvases of Pollock-Krasner Grant recipient Kysa Johnson.

Then pay attention to Houston’s Mitochondria Gallery, with an inaugural Untitled showing for its program presenting artists from Africa and the African diaspora. Houston’s Dimmitt Contemporary Art, a designer fave, also will be making its Untitled deubt.

Returning gallerists encompass the Los Angeles. contingent including Charlie James Gallery and Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, the latter with a doubleheader for Evita Tezeno and June Edmonds; Half Gallery (New York City); Hair + Nails (Minneapolis, New York City); Library Street Collective (Detroit), with its star stable including former Texan Jammie Holmes and Houston’s cool kids Mark Flood and Paul Kremer; and Tern Gallery (Nassau, Bahamas), whose dazzling textile portraits from April Bey stole the show at 2025 Untitled Art, Houston.

Untitled Embraces Emerging Talents

Besides its heritage dealers, Untitled is known for its embrace of emerging gallerists and the avant-garde.

In this category, 23 exhibitors hold court, including Houston’s not-to-be-missed trio of Seven Sisters, F Magazine (owner Adam Marnie also has some curatorial surprises in store with his Houston Artist Market), and Laura (the gallery). Also not to be missed in Nest: Los Angeles’ Megan Mulrooney; London-based Chilli; Austin duo Martha’s and Northern-Southern; Dallas’ Nature of Things programming Art Car protagonists Harrod Blank and Cody Ledvina; the seminal University of Houston School of Art and Public Art UH System; and great photo dealer PDNB Gallery, now of Denton, whose Untitled booth in 2025 for Earlie Hudnall Jr. that we consider the best of show.

Texas’ Best

Then there are the hometown Houston icons, who give Untitled Art, Houston, its armature. In alpha order, get ready for Barbara Davis Gallery, David Shelton Gallery (pairing Rachel Hecker and Jeremy DePrez), Inman Gallery (a solo for JooYoung Choi), McClain Gallery (check out works by Dorothy Hood and Donald Baechler), Moody Gallery (a two-person show for Mary McCleary and Pat Colville), and Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino. Also generating excitement is Revolver Galería, which adds a Houston outpost to its Latin-focused network.

“What make this fair distinct is that it has been developed in close dialogue with the local arts community from the very beginning,” Houston fair director Michael Slenske says in a statement. “As we continue to expand our international reach, we remain committed to. . . highlighting the energy, diversity and spirit of discovery that define the city of Houston itself.”

Untitled Art, Houston, VIP Preview is set for Thursday October 1. Fair days will run Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4 at George R. Brown Convention Center. For more information and tickets, go here.

All images courtesy the artists and their respective Untitled Art, Houston, exhibiting galleries, unless otherwise indicated.