Houston Museum’s new exhibit delights in whimsy
Art can be a little intimidating. We’ve all stood in a gallery, nodded our heads at a portrait of an obscure Victorian figurehead or a canvas of splattered paint and pretended to understand what it means to avoid looking like an uneducated fool.
For all the confusion, however, thought-provoking art can be well worth the red face. And the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts is out to prove it.
On July 1, the museum, located in the Bluff View Arts District, unveils its new and untraditional exhibit entitled “Novelties, Whimsies and Oddities, Oh My!” The exhibit is a fun collection of handmade glassware that features a variety of rarely seen pieces from the Houston’s collection.
All of the art speaks to a distinct period of American glass-making culture and history. Novelty pieces are a byproduct of the competition between companies, with extravagant items being forged to attract customers.
The whimsical sculptures are the creative result of leftover glass, and oddities, as the name suggests, are peculiar pieces that were simply too weird and wonderful not to put on display.
Admission is $9. The exhibit will run throughout July.
“Novelties, Whimsies and Oddities, Oh My!”
The Houston Museum of Decorative Arts
210 High St.
(423) 267-7176
thehoustonmuseum.org