Keys to the Door: Artist Christina Karll.
What to Acquire: This charming micro gallery in a historic ’20s-era storefront completes the Midtown Milam art streetscape, a mere block from the heavily trafficked intersection of Main and Elgin. Karll Project sets up a nice visual destination neighboring PG Contemporary (which began in these digs) and New Gallery/Thom Andriola, minutes from the dealers of Isabella Courts. Its owner is the once intensely private artist Christina Karll, who is mostly known to insiders such as Anne Owen-Pontez (a devoted collector of her work) and Gigi Huang, who commissioned her for a series of cherry blossom tree-scapes for the main dining room of Gigi’s Asian Bistro. Before opening this studio/exhibition space, Karll worked at a secluded spot in the country; with the unveiling of Karll Project, that’s all changed. At the new space, opening nights and afternoon gallery talks coincide with New Gallery and PG Contemporary’s schedules and programming. Karll plans to curate exhibitions and showcase artists with whom she shares affinities, as well as bring in guest curators for future endeavors. Her own art, which will also be on display, alternates between delicate cast-bronze bundles of twigs to epic canvases with luminous washes of color resembling Roman wall frescos. “[My] work is infused with personal beliefs expressing a deep spiritual connection with nature,” she says. 3227 1/2 Milam, 281.782.6690; christinakarll.com.
IMAGES:
Karll Project. Photo by Eric Hester.
Christina Karll. Photo by Eric Hester.