beauty pagent reject 2006

Houston Press Best of
2005: Arts & Entertainment

Best Artist

Jason Villegas is the Iron Chef of local artists. Put that man in a room with some random materials, and you can bet he'll walk out with something interesting in his hand. For his "Beast Taxidermy" show at Commerce Street Artists Warehouse, he used cardboard, felt and tape to create a surreal menagerie of animals, including a giant humpback whale and little birdies mounted on the wall like mammals. And his pieces at the last two installments of the "Buffalo Bayou ArtPark Xmas Tree Show" slouched below those of the other artists, but in a good way: Villegas removed the spines of fake trees, creating a lumpy mass of Christmas cheer. And that's just the beginning of this guy's output over the last few years. Now Villegas is on his way to Rutgers to get his master's degree. Let's just hope he comes back.

Ultrabastard Salesman Dragon Brand

EDUCATION : 2003 - BFA Sculpture, University of Houston, TX. - - CURATORIAL PROJECTS : - 2003 - Domestic Twilight Fantasy, Art League Houston, TX - 2003 - Lovely Spank , CSAW Houston, TX.

RECENT EXHIBITIONS - 2004 - Young Republic, Dramos Studios Houston, TX. - Brothers, Fresh up Club, Austin, TX. - New American Talent 19, ArtHouse, Austin, TX. - Brave New World , McClain Gallery. Houston, TX. - Stray Show , Plush Gallery , Chicago, IL. - 5 X 7, ArtHouse, Austin, TX. - 2003 -Animals, Art Car Museum, Houston, TX. - Fashionistas 3 , Poissant Gallery , Houston, TX. - Xmas Tree Show , Buffalo Bayou Art Park , Houston, TX. - Romantic Poverty & Hunger Pains, Montgomery College Conroe, TX (solo). - Trailer Park , Lot 6, Deer Park, TX. - The Big Show Lawndale Art Center Houston, TX. - Dallas vs. Houston, Plush Gallery , Dallas, TX. - U of H Student Exhibition, Blaffer Gallery ,Houston, TX. - 2003 Hello My Name is, One Ten Studios, Houston, TX. - Domestic Bliss, Raw Space, Houston, TX. - Space, CSAW, Houston, TX. - 2002 - Slide Jam, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, TX. - U of H Student Exhibition, Blaffer Gallery, Houston, TX. - Xmas Tree Show , Buffalo Bayou Art Park Houston, TX. - U of H Juried Sculpture Exhibition, CSAW, Houston, TX. - The Big Show, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX. - Raw Space Group Show, Raw Space, Houston, TX. - Alter Ego Fire Station #3 Houston, TX.

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