Writer and editor, with more than two decade's experience covering music, arts and culture.
Eye-Catching New MFAH Show Tackles Racism, Creativity — and 35 Years of One South African Artist's Work
Without a doubt, "In Praise of Shadows" is the most provocative and historically acute exhibition the MFAH has hosted since the controversial 2022 retrospective, Philip Guston Now.
Austin Electric-Guitar Phenom Eric Johnson Unplugs for a Journey to Self-Realization on New Album ‘EJ’
Cover story for the February 2017 issue of Acoustic Guitar. My profile of guitarist Eric Johnson.
New Show Features El Franco’s ‘Visual Stories’, Inspired by DJ Screw and H-Town’s Musical History
The variety and sheer number of works on display by El Franco at HMAAC speaks to the richness of Southern life and culture, and all of its crazy, grim and beautiful contradictions, as painting after painting venerates individuals who might not otherwise appear on canvas in a museum.
Creating and Measuring Surgical Conscience
“If you want to know why a patient has a surgical site infection, look no further than the time a nurse couldn’t vocalize that something got contaminated,” said Danielle Quintana, clinical assistant professor at the Gessner College of Nursing. “Until these numbers are zero, there’s more work to do.”
Mark Francis celebrates Houston’s Fifth Ward with his very personal art
“My target audience for this work is Black people,” says Francis, 39, who grew up Alief. “That’s not to say my only audience is Black people. If you are open, you can figuratively see yourself in a person who looks nothing like you but has characteristics
that mirror some of your own.”
Tabled So Curators Could Add ‘Perspectives’ Following George Floyd's Murder, this Poignant Show Is Up at MFAH
FOR THE AMERICAN artist Philip Guston, born Phillip Goldstein in 1913 to Jewish parents who fled the pogroms in the Ukraine for the relative safety of Canada and later settled in Los Angeles, abstraction was one of many visual languages he pulled from over the course of a lifetime of creating his intensely autobiographical, and often socially conscious art. That lifetime of work is beautifully presented in Philip Guston Now, which opened Sunday at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and is on view through Jan. 15, 2023. It’s the first retrospective of Guston’s work in more than 20 years.
Photographer Ming Smith, Whose Work Is the Subject of Multiple Exhibits this Month, Talks Music and Moxie
I was delighted to discover Ming Smith grew up in my hometown of Columbus, OH. I got to talk to her about her childhood, her time at Howard University, and eventual move to New York where she realized her creative calling.
Isaac Mizrahi Speaks Out on Creativity and Mental Health: Meet the Fashion Icon at Jung Center Benefit
This was most definitely one of the most interesting and enjoyable interviews I've done for Houston CityBook: Fashion designer, writer, and cabaret singer Isaac Mizrahi
‘The Polish Duo’ Debuts This Weekend: 'Not Just Sausage and Kolaches,’ Says Violinist of Her Native Land
POLISH-BORN HOUSTON violinist Dominika Dancewicz is on a mission. A highly respected instrumentalist, educator, and founding member of the Axiom Quartet, Dancewicz is also a strong advocate for the culture of her native country. “It’s not just sausage and kolaches,” says Dancewicz.
In Praise of Young Poets
A behind-the-scenes look at Meta-Four, Houston's premier poetry slam competition team.
In New Book, Houston Doctor Explores ‘What’s Missing in American Medicine’ — and What One Local Hospital Is Doing Right
It was an honor to speak to Dr. Ricardo Nuila about his new book "The People's Hospital," which recounts the journey of five desperately ill uninsured or underinsured patients he met as a physician at Ben Taub hospital.
Will Gary Numan Wear Mascara to the Apocalypse?
My interview with Gary Numan, a true pioneer in the genre of electronic, New Wave, and industrial music. One of my favorite pieces I've written.
‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Full Metal Jacket’ Star Showcases Powerful Photos at New Houston Gallery
". . . with a head of gray hair pulled back with a bandana, Modine exudes the confidence of a man unafraid to show his feelings — and willing to stand tall in the face of adversity, including mankind’s propensity for violence, something that was very much on his mind when he received the script for Full Metal Jacket."
Rebuffing Hustle Culture, This Busy Mom and Soprano Is Singing Her Way Through the Holiday Season
Life as an artist can feel like a juggling act, requiring the ability to stretch and bend to the demands of making art while maintaining one’s physical and mental health. It’s a challenge Houston-born and -raised soprano Julia Fox knows well. A married mom to a three-year-old boy, the classical singer strives for a holistic approach to her career, and believes it’s best to let her work speak for itself.
Amid ‘Riots and Scandals,’ Symphony Bassoonist Is Ready for ‘The Rite of Spring’
One of the many famous musical moments in The Rite of Spring is the opening bassoon melody, based on a Lithuanian wedding song, and one of the hardest solos ever written for the instrument. “It’s a very simple beginning to a very long, complicated piece,” says principal bassoonist Rian Craypo. “We bassoonists spend years learning how to play it, and play it well, and it’s literally over in fifteen seconds!”