Wednesday, August 25, 6:00-8:00 pm: Opening reception via Zoom. Awards presented at 7pm. Exhibit closes Sunday, September 26

– 37th Juried Open Exhibition | August 25 - September 26, 2021

Nicola Parente’s painting titled “Back to Nature” was selected by Juror Harry Cooper, Ph.D, Senior Curator and Head of Modern Art at the National Gallery of Art - for the Visual Arts Alliance 37th Juried Exhibition. There were 721 artwork entries and 104 selected to be included in the exhibit.

According to Dr Cooper "Looking over the choices I made for prizes and honorable mentions, I see that I was attracted to works that seemed to have a clear, strong conception, and which therefore left me with a memorable image.”

About the Juror: Harry Cooper, Ph.D. - National Gallery of Art - Senior Curator and Head of Modern Art

Harry Cooper is senior curator and head of modern art at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Since joining the Gallery in February 2008, he has organized exhibitions including The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: Selected Works (2009–2010), Stuart Davis: In Full Swing (2016–2017), and Oliver Lee Jackson: Recent Paintings (2019). Cooper also initiated the In the Tower series of focus exhibitions on such artists as Philip Guston, Mark Rothko, and Nam June Paik, and led the reinstallation of the East Building galleries for their reopening in September of 2016.

Before joining the Gallery in February 2008, Cooper served for ten years as the curator of modern art at the Harvard University Art Museums. There he organized a dozen exhibitions, including Frank Stella 1958 (2006), Medardo Rosso: Second Impressions(2003), and Mondrian: The Transatlantic Paintings (2001). Cooper lectured in Harvard's art history department on a wide variety of topics, from Paul Cézanne to abstract expressionism. He has also taught at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and Columbia University, New York.

A native of Bethesda, Maryland, Cooper began his career as a researcher at the Wilson Quarterly of the Smithsonian Institution. From 1985 to 1990 he taught adolescents with learning disabilities in the Washington, DC region. From 1993 to 1995 Cooper worked as an exhibition specialist on the Piet Mondrian retrospective at the National Gallery of Art. He has published numerous articles as well as book reviews and criticism.

Cooper received a PhD in 1997 from Harvard University, an MA in 1992 from Johns Hopkins University, and an AB in American history and literature in 1981 from Harvard University. Cooper also holds a certificate in drawing and painting from the Corcoran Museum School of Art, Washington, DC.

Saturday, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 - two performances - FREE EVENT

– Weaving Northside — Where Visual and Performance Art Meet - by Tami Moschioni, Nicola Parente and Adam Castaneda

Weaving Northside represents the celebration of community in the Near Northside

Weaving Northside Sculpture Unveiling (Art Uniti) and Dance Performance (Pilot Dance Project)

Saturday, November 7, 2020

2 Outdoor Performances: 2:00-2:30 pm AND 5:00-5:30 pm

BakerRipley Leonel Castillo Community Center - 2101 South Street, Houston, TX 77009​​​​​​​ - Outdoor lawn space by front entrance

Mask Required due to Covid. - Seating will be limited and spaced out for social distancing

Click HERE for more information. Click HERE to reserve your seat.

OCTOBER 19 thru NOVEMBER 30, 2019 - Laura Rathe Fine Art Colquitt gallery

– Exciting new exhibit at Laura Rathe Fine Art - A Multi Media Duo Exhibition, featuring new works by Nicola Parente and Michael Schultheis.

Location:   2707 Colquitt St., Houston TX 77098   713-527-7700  

In Nicola Parente’s recent body of work entitled Musings of the Human Condition, Parente explores the relationships between painting and living. According to Parente, “Daydreaming into the layers of human subconscious is much like my reductive abstract painting process. First the layers of paint are applied, only to be subsequently stripped of that which is not necessary. The process itself is like a dream, letting go into the world of creation, resulting in musings depicted in paint. Reducing layers of paint combined with mark making achieves beauty, just as growth and discernment results in living authentically. Each is a process of development. Vitality, energy, and nature are connected to my daydreaming. Inspired by a different aspect of the human condition, each painting captures a unique daydream as a moment in time.”

APRIL 22, 2017 | Spring Street Studios (1824 Spring St, Houston)

– Artist Nicola Parente partners with Houston Mayor, Sylvester Turner, in creating a birdhouse benefiting Houston Arboretum & Nature Center

Silent Auction of birdhouses created by pairing of local celebrities and celebrated Artist at Sawyer Yards. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was paired with artist Nicola Parente. Other Houston celebrity / artist pairs include: Rod Ryan / Taft McWhorter, Sculptor David Adickes / Justin Garcia, Former Mayor Annise Parker / Michael Golden, Artist Sharon Kopriva / Chris Silkwood, Bill Baldwin / Patrick Palmer, and KPRC2’s Frank Billingsley / April Murphy.