UNTITLED art fair

Hey friends,

I’m in Houston this week for Untitled Art Fair—the very first time they’ve brought the fair here, and it’s about time. For years, I’ve felt that Houston’s art scene is one of the most underrated in the country. From the Museum District to the diverse independent galleries scattered across the city, there’s a depth and richness to the talent showcased here.

Last year, I “stalked” Rajiv Menon over to Untitled Art Fair during Art Basel in Miami. I first heard about him through a friend in L.A. and couldn’t wait to hear him speak about his pop-up shows featuring Southeast Asian diaspora art. His talk was inspiring - listen here - and so was the fair itself. Out of all the fairs I visited that week, Untitled stood out the most. The curation felt fresh, daring, and boundary-pushing. I was especially drawn to the work of diaspora artists and the galleries championing their voices. This was the kind of art that doesn’t just decorate walls but sparks questions and lingers in the mind. I left that experience feeling like I’d witnessed something important.

Here are some of the pieces that really stood out to me:

Vigo Gallery

Ibrahim El Salahi

Silkscreen on Belgian linen



Catherine Clark Gallery

Acrylic Textile Thread on Amate Paper

Ronchini London

Thomas Allen

Leroy Neiman Center for Print Studies Columbia University

Shirin Neshat

$52k

--no image, my bad--

Bill Arnie Exhibitions

Kinderhook NY

Rajah Ali Sayed

Yossi Milo Gallery

New York

Hassan Hajjaj from Morocco

Cohju Kyoto Japan

Shinya Azuma

Oil on Canvas

$18k

Stems Gallery Brussels & Paris

Pauline Gurrier

Wool Tapestry Traditional Handmade Technique Oak Framing

Cari freedman gallery

Studio Lenca

Rajiv Memon Contemporary presents I-pop

Galerie Michael Janssen

Berlin

Gulnar Mukazhanova

Homework Miami Florida

Ilsse Peredo

(Artist on the left)

Pablo’s Birthday

New York

Kelly Lynn Jones

Acrylic, Oil, Oil stick on Canvas

Here's some additional notes from the talks I went to:

Untitled podcast Thursday Dec 5 2 pm Museums and Institutions Fostering Inclusivity

Now that there are these spaces for diaspora or immigrant communities how do you expand or market the exposure to showcase the art and culture to other communities - empathy is important. The public needs to be curious to come in.

We want to reclaim our culture and identity and show it off proudly but how do we keep it from being tokenized? How do we proudly present yet don’t go down the rabbit hole of being a warrior only. How do we balance with the more diplomatic role of an ambassadors?

Untitled Podcast 4 pm

Encounters in Art and fashion between India and the west

Going to spaces in the west only shows ancient art not the contemporaries. A lot of emerging artists in India but hard to get their work out in an international level

And that's all for now! Hope you catch Untitled in Houston or Miami! I know I'm excited to walk through the Houston fair.

Best,

Aasiyah