In brief: Just a short update this morning due to the Memorial Day holiday, but it’s warranted due to the extreme heat over inland parts of the metro area. After today we’ll see somewhat cooler weather and a return of some modest rain chances later this week.
Monday
Today will be sunny and hot, with much of the area seeing high temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s. This will be the region’s hottest weather since late September of last year, and it will feel sweltering outside. Please take heat precautions if you are outdoors from the late morning to late afternoon hours. There is a slight chance of showers, and possibly a few thunderstorms, during the overnight hours as a boundary slides toward the Houston region. However the most likely scenario is that a capping inversion remains solidly in place, preventing the development of any storms. Lows tonight will be around 80 degrees.
Today will be very warm across the Houston metro area. (National Weather Service)
Tuesday
A partly to mostly sunny day with highs in the low-90s. Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning will see another chance for some storms, but once again they’ll be battling against a capping inversion. I’d peg the chance of showers and thunderstorms Tuesday night at about 20 percent, but we’ll need to fine tune this in tomorrow’s forecast.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
These will be partly sunny days with highs in the upper 80s to 90 degrees. Each of these days will see a decent chance of rain, perhaps on the order of 40 percent or so, in the absence of high pressure. However, I don’t have a great handle on the details or the timing. Showers will be most likely along and north of Interstate 10, where accumulations of 1 inch or more are possible.
Saturday and Sunday
Rain chances will linger into the weekend, with highs likely in the upper 80s to 90 degrees. At this point both days should see at least partly sunny skies, with Sunday having the greater chance of being mostly rain free.
Over the weekend of May 16 – May 19, thousands of visitors poured into The Palmer Events Center to view work from 60 local, national, and international galleries for the launch of the Affordable Art Fair Austin, the city’s first international art fair. The first Affordable Art Fair debuted in London’s Battersea Park in 1999 and has since grown to 17 cities globally, with its affordability parameters set to include works between $100 – $10,000. Austin is one of Affordable Art Fair’s three new launches in 2024 (the other two openings are in Berlin and Brisbane). While the launch may be one small step for Affordable Art Fair’s expansive programming, it’s a giant leap for Austin’s evolving art market. Expectedly, the newborn limb has yet to find its stylistic footing, but a few notable trends emerged: abundant abstraction, limned landscapes, and the occasional (read: inevitable) cowboy.
Affordable Art Fair launched in Austin May 16 – May 19 at the Palmer Events Center. Photo courtesy the Affordable Art Fair
Abstraction’s universality makes it a safe bet for galleries gauging a new market and collector base. As I began navigating the maze of booths, it was quickly evident that the non-representational impulse was adopted by many participants — especially those exhibiting in Austin for the first time. Installed side-by-side in Galerie Duret’s booth (Paris, France & Brussels, Belgium) the undulating curvatures of Anna Kruhelska’s sculptural wall installations produced dynamic shadow play in contrast to Simone Christen’s painted pools of diluted blue, like dye drops magnified under a microscope, that offered stilling meditation. I found the earthy counterpart to Galerie Duret’s cool-toned fluidity at Shibori PTY LTD (Sydney, Australia). Striations of rich reds, deep browns, and orange-yellow caught my eye, leading me to their booth in the corner. At first glance, the work seemed deceptively flat, like a hyper-detailed photograph of Australia’s famous Banded Iron Formations. The works actually comprised hand-dyed textiles layered into shadow boxes of non-reflective glass. The cushy relief produced a topographical quality, reprising the geographical allusion initially brought to mind, like a vignette of a natural landmark — another prevalent subject among participating galleries.
From left: works by Anna Kruhelska and Simeone Christen on view in Galerie Duret’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
Works by Karen Davis and Pepa Martin on view in Shibori PTY LTD’s booth at Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
Perhaps it was the vast and varied landscape of Texas itself that inspired galleries to exhibit numerous representations of the natural world. Kristin Moore’s precisely painted compositions of Ruscha-esque Texas roadside scenes were offset by, again, strong abstraction in Dimmitt Contemporary’s booth (Houston, TX & Austin, TX). Fremin Gallery (New York, NY) had a similar installation inclination in displaying Thannyo De Freitas’ floating forests in oil alongside Alex Voinea’s splashy streams of color. Other booths featured a fusion of abstraction and landscape, similar to Karen Davis and Pepa Martin’s work on view in Shibori’s booth, such as Marie Laforey’s haptic aerial moss assemblages and Isabella Menin’s photographically manipulated floral compositions in Muriel Guépin Gallery’s booth (New York, NY).
From left: Works by Kristin Moore, Luke Diiorio, Ruth Borgenicht, and Michelle Weddle on view in Dimmitt Contemporary’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
From left: Works by Alex Voinea and Thannyo De Freitas on view in Fremin Gallery’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo courtesy Affordable Art Fair Austin
Of the wide range of subjects and styles on view, none was more befitting for Austin’s branch of Affordable Art Fair than the Neo-Western. After all, it wouldn’t be a proper Texas art fair without a proper Texas cowboy. Just through the fair’s entrance, Michael Gorman’s Giacometti-mannered cowboys and their steeds sprawled across Axiom Contemporary’s (Philadelphia, PA) two-artist booth, offering Austin up as the Western Art Capital within Affordable Art Fair’s kingdom. Austin’s own B Shawn Cox exhibited his sultry lenticulars that superimpose burlesque showgirls over cinema’s all-time-favorite cowboys in Davis Gallery’s booth (Austin, TX). However, the most defining component of Affordable Art Fair Austin was not a stylistic identity constructed from the exhibited work, but the significance of the fair opening in Austin as the city itself emerges onto the international art scene.
From left: Works by Michael Gorman and Max-Steven Grossman on view in Axiom Contemporary’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo courtesy Affordable Art Fair Austin
“The [selection] process began two different times, once four years ago, and then another two years ago, which is when we then decided to launch Austin as our next U.S. location. Post-Pandemic we took another look at Austin after the boom in real estate took place with people moving from each coast, but there were many factors that went into it,” said Cori Teague, Fair Director of Affordable Art Fair Austin. “We have a business development team who looks at every statistic you could imagine on who we are as a city. With Austin’s recent evolution and lack of an art fair of its kind, we just knew it was time.”
Affordable Art Fair Austin director Cori Teaque. Photo courtesy Affordable Art Fair Austin
Over the course of the weekend, the Affordable Art Fair featured two panel discussions, two print workshops led by Flatbed Press, and a Director’s Tour. Jill McLennon (of McLennon Pen Co. Gallery who featured a solo booth by Austin-based artist Andy Coolquitt) led the panel discussion Art Advisors and Arts Initiatives Within Austin with Penny Aaron, Nick Campbell, Keli Hogsett, and Amanda Kadinov. “I think everyone in the Austin art scene is hopeful and optimistic about the upward swing that is happening right now; all the growth we are seeing. The art fair coming here is one of those major signals,” McLennon commented. “Our discussion highlighted some of the initiatives these art advisors have been doing in order to progress the art scene in Austin.”
Andy Coolquit’s solo exhibition in McLennon Pen Co.’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
As for what to expect from the forthcoming iterations of the Affordable Art Fair in Austin, Cori Teague is keeping her finger on the pulse of the city’s humming creative hub to incorporate into the fair’s future programming: “I’m excited to evolve different programs throughout the year to continue to build a community of art collectors and enthusiasts, and I want the fair to grow as an event that everyone gets excited to attend every year. Austin can expect new curations, new galleries, bigger installations, exciting events, and more!”
Installation view of the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
Muriel Guépin Gallery’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
Dimmitt Contemporary’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
Installation shot of the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino.
The Blanton Museum of Art in Austin has announced the winners of its annual Bake-Off.
Earlier this year the museum opened a call for submissions for its fifth annual culinary competition. As in previous years, participants were invited to draw inspiration from the Blanton’s permanent collection. Submissions were accepted in three categories: Under 18 (for young bakers), Adult Amateur, and Adult Professional (people who make baked goods and pastries for a living).
Beginning on May 17, World Baking Day, the public voted online for the best entries in each category. Winners were announced via social media; they are: Tiffanie Huang, Karen Saenz, and Mitzi Avila.
A layer cake by Tiffanie Huang and Lygia Clark’s “Planes on Modulated Surface (study).”
In the Under 18 category, Tiffanie Huang’s layer cake inspired by Lygia Clark’s Planes on Modulated Surface (study) was selected as the winner. When sliced, the chocolate peppermint cake layered with vanilla sponge cake reveals the same composition as Ms. Clark’s study. On CBS Austin, Maggie Fucile, a museum educator at the Blanton, noted, “I love seeing that Tiffanie pulled from the Clark piece; our Latin American collection is well-known at the Blanton and it’s very cool to see a young baker pulling from such an important artist.”
A carrot cake by Karen Saenz and Peter Paul Rubens’ “Head of a Young Man.”
Karen Saenz’s three-layer carrot cake with a food color-painted fondant won the Adult Amateur category. Ms. Saenz drew inspiration from Peter Paul Rubens’ Head of a Young Man, a study that is currently on view at the Blanton. In the Adult Professional category, Mitzi Avila won with her blueberry daisy cake roll with cream cheese and a perforated white chocolate sculpture. This is the second time in a row Ms. Avila has won the competition. Her creation this year was inspired by outdoor elements at the Blanton, including Kay Rosen’s HI mural and “Petals,” the outdoor canopies, which serve as sunshades and rain collectors, by Snøhetta.
A blueberry daisy cake roll by Mitzi Avila, Kay Rosen’s “HI,” and “Petals” designed by Snøhetta.
Learn more about the Blanton’s annual event via its website.
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In brief: Summer’s here, and through Memorial Day you will find little to no relief in the area. From there, the weather pattern may get a little more unsettled next week, but nothing stands out that we can hang our hat on just yet.
NOAA’s hurricane outlook has been published since 1999, and this is the most active one they’ve issued. (NOAA)
For those struggling with continued poor air quality thanks to the haze and smoke from agricultural fires in Central America and Mexico, I don’t think we will see much relief this weekend. I am hopeful we get a shift in wind next week though.
Yesterday’s low temperature at Hobby Airport was 80 degrees, the third time already we’ve failed to drop below that mark this year. We’ve already tied for the earliest first 80 degree morning on record at Hobby this year, on May 21st, matching the previous record set in 2022. We are running about a month and a half ahead of normal, for whatever “normal” is worth anymore. Today will be the seventh morning where the low temperature has failed to drop below 78 degrees, which sets a new record at Hobby for the most before June 1st. We should add at least three or four more days to that before we get a wee bit of relief next week just before the calendar changes.
Anyway, I write all this to say that this is not a normal start to summer. It’s hitting strong and fast. And don’t be shocked to see a heat advisory this weekend. Practice heat safety this weekend. Yeah, it’s Houston and it’s always hot in summer. But we are not yet acclimated to these temperatures for the season, so heat illness can come on quick and unexpectedly. Some of us are still cleaning up from last week or even still without power. Check on those folks, keep your pets cool, and look before you lock.
Today through Sunday
The front portion of the holiday weekend looks partly to mostly sunny and hot. Expect highs in the mid-90s and lows near 80, or essentially normal weather for late July, not late May.
National Weather Service “Heat Risk” maps show pockets of “extreme” heat on Sunday very near the Houston area, becoming more widespread south of San Antonio. (NOAA NWS)
I would not be entirely floored to see an isolated thunderstorm roll through areas north of Houston, perhaps as close as The Woodlands or Magnolia. Most people will not see one, but if you do, it could rain hard for a short time, with lightning, gusty winds, or even some hail. Again, this is most likely to be isolated and north of Highway 105, but perhaps as close as Montgomery or northern Harris County.
Memorial Day
This should be the hottest day of the stretch. Expect mid to upper 90s and a mix of sun and clouds with just a slight chance of a late shower or storm north and west.
Monday’s high temperature will push into the middle or upper-90s. Maximum heat precautions should be taken. (Pivotal Weather)
Sunday and Monday’s heat will border on “extreme” levels, so maximum heat precautions should be taken here.
Rest of next week
Things start to change a bit next week. Temperatures will shift to become a little “less hot,” which means more like low-90s than mid-90s. Nighttime lows may drift back more into the mid-70s. A series of disturbances may try to erode away the northeast portion of the ridge of high pressure over Texas, so that could be just enough to fire back up some thunderstorms after Monday. I don’t even want to begin to speculate on timing or details or any of that. Just know that the stagnant pattern of this weekend may change a bit next week.
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