Dish-Houston

“Deux Amis -- Amenez s’il vous plaît votre chéquier,” (Two Friends -- Bring your check book please), a joint art exhibition featuring contemporary artist Justin Garcia and internationally renowned artist David Adickes closed Sunday, Nov. 11 as a resounding success.  

Visitors to the opening and closing receptions agreed that the two artists’ works – both focusing on architecture and travels -- were bold, vivid and complementary.

“We have enormous respect for each other’s work,” Garcia said. “We see eye-to-eye on a lot of the same things, which with artists, doesn’t happen often."

Adickes’ art career as both painter and sculpture spans six decades. The artist is well known for his grand-scale concrete sculptures of famous musicians, heroes and U.S. presidents. His paintings feature groups of figures, landscapes and still lifes.

Justin Garcia (left) and David Adickes (right). Photo courtesy of Cadence EnterpriseGarcia began painting murals at the age of 12 and developed his talent through the years to create his own signature style. His paintings combine oils, acrylics and textures on canvas to create evocative art. For the Deux Amis exhibit, Garcia completed a series of paintings inspired by Adickes’ sculptures, including the four statues, “A Tribute to American Statemenship,” located at the Main St. exit from I-10.

Garcia is represented by Wade Wilson Art, and his works have been exhibited in several galleries, as well as installed in numerous corporate and private collections.

For more information about David Adickes, CLICK HERE For more information about Justin Garcia, CLICK HERE.

Cirque du Soliel has been gracing Houston with it's breathtaking shows almost annually and now tickets are about to go on sale for it's latest show QUIDAM which will open at the Toyota Center in March for only 8 shows. From March 6 -  March 10, 2013. 

Exclusive ticket offers for Quidam are now available online exclusively to Cirque Club members through November 15. Cirque Club membership is free and benefits includes access to advance tickets, special offers and exclusive behind the scenes information. To join CLICK HERE

Tickets for the general public will be available starting  November 16 online HERE, by phone at 1 866-446-8849 or in person at the Toyota Center Box Office.

Quidam had its world premiere in Montreal under the Big Top in April 1996. Since that time, the production has toured on five continents and been experienced by millions of people. In December 2010, Quidam embarked on a new journey, performing the same captivating production, but now in arenas throughout North America. The international cast features 52 world-class acrobats, musicians, singers and characters.

Young Zoé is bored; her parents, distant and apathetic, ignore her. Her life has lost all meaning. Seeking to fill the void of her existence, she slides into an imaginary world—the world of Quidam—where she meets characters who encourage her to free her soul! 

Quidam: a nameless passer-by, a solitary figure lingering on a street corner, a person rushing past and swallowed by the crowd. It could be anyone, anybody. Someone coming or going at the heart of our anonymous society. A member of the crowd, one of the silent majority. The one who cries out, sings and dreams within us all. This is the "quidam" whom this show allows to speak. This is the place that beckons - a place for dreaming and genuine relations where all quidams, by proclaiming their individuality, can finally emerge from anonymity.

To learn more about Quidam, Cirque du Soliel or to buy tickets CLICK HERE!

Opening November 11, 2012 and on view through February 10, 2013 is the Ewan Gibbs: Arlington National Cemetery at the Lower Brown Corridor, Caroline Wiess Law Building, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

This exhibition of drawings and photographs opens on Veterans Day and recognizes the impact of a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. British artist Ewan Gibbs (born 1973) trained his expert eye on the iconic site to create a series of 16 drawings based on photographs taken during previous visits. The exhibition also presents 36 photographs from the MFAH collection by artists who served as inspiration to Gibbs.

On display together, the drawings and photographs underscore Gibbs’s interest in visual perception, specifically the role the human eye plays in viewing and processing visual material.

This exhibition was conceptualized by the late MFAH curator Barry Walker. The exhibition is organized by Yasufumi Nakamori, MFAH -associate curator for photography; and Rebecca Dunham, MFAH curatorial assistant for prints and drawings.

Generous funding for this exhibition and its accompanying catalogue is provided by the following donors in memory of Barry Walker: John Blackmon and John Roberson; Jeanne and Michael Klein; Lora Reynolds and Quincy Lee; Scurlock Foundation; Lynn Goode and Harrison Williams; Lea Weingarten; and Kelty and Rogers Crain.

Additional support is provided by Amanda and Glenn Fuhrman and Tassy and Mitch Beasley.

Sadly a very funny show finds it's end at The Alley. Santaland Diaries plays along with Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas,which runs on the Hubbard Stage during the Holiday season. David Sedaris' The Santaland Diaries runs downstairs on the Neuhaus Stage. This is the last holiday season that the Alley Theatre will produce this show, directed by David Cromer, who won the MacArthur Genius Award and Obie Award for Best Director. Cromer's critically acclaimed production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, ran for over a year on Broadway and most recently he directed  Sweet Bird of Youth, now running at the Goodman Theater in Chicago.  This past summer, David Cromer appeared in the premiere episode of Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom on HBO.  Alley Artist Todd Waite reprises his role as "Crumpet the Elf" in the outlandish, and true, chronicles of David Sedaris' experience as a worker in Macy's SantaLand display.

A compact, one-character comedy, The Santaland Diaries  is a hilarious cult classic featuring comic encounters during the height of the holiday crunch. NPR humorist and best-selling author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris has become one of America's pre-eminent humor writers. Recommended for mature audiences due to language and subject matter.   

The Santaland Diaries, by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello and directed by David Cromer , begins previews Saturday, November 24, opens Thursday, November 29 and runs through Sunday, December 30 on the Neuhaus Stage.

Todd Waite (Crumpet) is in his 12th season as an Alley Company Artist. Most recently seen in Death of a Salesman as Uncle Ben and November as Archer Brown, he has appeared in over 60 productions including four Christmas seasons of the one-man show The Santaland Diaries.

To purchace tickets CLICK HERE

Hey DISHIES! We are still running the Deserving DISHIE Contest!! CLICK HERE for detail on how you can enter your deserving friend!

Below is one of our fav entries so far but they don't want to win the prizes so enter your deserving DISHIE friend today!! - Blessings and Love -xo

"SHE NEVER LEFT MY SIDE"
By Michael Segal, MSW

"PUUUSH...PUUUSH," I called out to my friend, but it appeared that there was no use in trying anymore.  My car was stuck in the mud and I was on a double date.  Being a 16 year old boy, I wanted to make a good impression on my pretty and intelligent date. However, hearing the motor rev with the car still stuck in the mud did not earn "brownie points" for my friend or me in the eyes of our dates.

We continued to push and push, but there was no getting my car "unstuck" from the mud.  Sharon, my date, was revving the car's engine while Jeff and I were pushing and pushing.  Finally, I said, "Enough!"
Embarrassed, I approached Sharon as she sat behind the wheel of my mother's red station wagon.  Before I could speak I noticed the gear on the car: IT WAS SET ON "NEUTRAL!" I set the gear to "drive," instructed Sharon to wait until I gave her the signal to press down on the accelerator, and then went back to help Jeff push the car out of the mud.

That was our first date.  Even though it resulted in my getting mud on my slacks, Sharon caused me to have love in my heart.  I was "stung" by the Love Bug.
  
Sharon and I dated seriously throughout high school.  I went away to college as Sharon was finishing her senior year in high school.  Our love, which was blooming, was only matched in size by our long-distance telephone bills.  (This was prior to the years of cell phones.)
 
The next year, Sharon joined me at the University of Texas.  We were so happy.  We thought we were at the top of the world.  We thought our lives were set.  That was true until that eventful evening when in a split second our lives changed forever.
 
On February 18, 1981, we were studying at the library of the University. It was late and Sharon told me that she had to return to her dormitory to go to sleep.  We slid into my car and headed toward her dorm, but, unfortunately, my gas gauge was registering "empty."  I pulled into a nearby convenience store, borrowed $2 from Sharon, and walked into the store to pay for the gas.

Things do not always work out as one plans them.  Unfortunately, the store was in the midst of a robbery, and one of the thieves forced me into the cooler.  He followed me, pushed me to the floor, and calmly shot me in the back of the head -- execution style!

The story does not end there.  Yes, the criminal thought I was dead; thus eliminating any witness to the crime.  However, when the thieves left the store, I still had a faint pulse. 

 
Very few people believed I would remain alive much longer.  That is why the police transferred my case to the Homicide division. That is also why the neurosurgeon when he was awakened at his home to see me at the hospital came quickly but returned home as he believed an operation would be futile.
 
However, when the doctor returned to the hospital in the morning, he was shocked to see that I was still alive.  He told my parents that an operation was necessary, but he added that he would be surprised if I survived the surgery.
 
I fooled all of the medical experts and survived the surgery.  However, the surgeon warned my parents that even though I was still breathing I would probably never be able to communicate with anyone or understand anyone who was attempting to communicate with me.  Basically, the surgeon stated, I would be "a vegetable."

Hearing those words, my father told Sharon, "Get on with your life." Sharon quickly replied, "Mike is my life."
 
Even though we were not yet married, Sharon believed in the vows, "in sickness and in health."  She dropped out of college for one semester to be with me at the Rehabilitation Hospital in Houston where I was eventually transferred.  Sharon was spending her time with her "drooling boyfriend in the hospital" while other college freshmen were spending their time at parties.
 
Eventually, Sharon returned to Austin to continue her college education. Once again we had enormous phone bills.

My goal was to also return to Austin, to the University of Texas, to be with Sharon.  Eighteen months after no one thought I would survive, I accomplished that goal.  One of the primary reasons was ... Sharon; my love, who refused to give up or give in.

Four years after returning to college I graduated.  For me, that meant I could finally propose to Sharon, my light at the end of the dark tunnel. She was the one who would always encourage me to look forward and not to focus on the past.

On a beautiful day in May, Sharon and I exchanged vows and were married. We were meant to be together.  We had dated for nine long and eventful years, but I realized at the wedding that it was worth everything. Sharon was truly my soulmate.

We have been married for many years and we have a beautiful daughter, Shawn.  We have experienced so much -- some bad, but more, much more, good.

This is not merely a "love letter" to my wife.  Rather, it is the story of a girl's overcoming everyone's "rational" thoughts to stay behind with her critically injured boyfriend.  To me that shows what kind of
woman Sharon is--a beauty both inside and out.  Further, it shows the lesson of never giving up on one's dreams.  I give Sharon all the credit for my recovery--not me.  I don't know where I would be without her--definitely not where I am today.

Sharon, I love you so very much.