Houston's Boutique Art Gallery

Reception: Saturday, March 15th, 1 – 3 pm

koelsch gallery is pleased to make its fifth return to the annual international-exhibition, Outsider Art Fair, New York. For over 30 years, we have remained as one of Houston’s only institutions exclusively dedicated to showcasing outsider, folk, self-taught, and visionary art. From aspiring to established, we display a variety of artist across a multitude of mediums. By evoking inspiration, connection, and understanding, our works remain rooted in a shared sensibility and authenticity. Our mission is to blur the lines between the unconventional and mainstream by expanding the definition of art and what it means to be a creator. Join us to see works from Lance Letscher, Sally S. Bennett, Catherine Colangelo, W. Tucker, Jeff Wheeler, Claire Cusack, Gail Siptak, Kelly Moran, Carlos Hernandez, and Richard Kurtz.

Through the uncharted terrain of the dreamscape, Lance Letscher bears witness to visions of the afterlife. In his latest exhibition Heaven, he presents a diverse display of visionary collages; reflecting a personal interpretation and testimony of his encounter with the hereafter. Sacral architecture, angelic guardians, winged creatures, and the visual summoning of light draw parallels among the spiritual doctrines that speak of life after death. Abrahamic faiths, Eastern philosophies, and nature worship are unified through Letscher’s universal imagery while illuminated figures and religious iconography echo the allegorical frescoes and biblical mosaics of the Italian Renaissance. But in Letscher’s world, paper takes the place of tesserae. Instead of artisan-cut marble and glass tiles, he deploys dissected fragments of found and discarded ephemera into superimposed arrangements. As one cannot navigate his work linearly, we are guided in a circuitous manner; along the maneuvering blade of Letscher’s unseen hand. Heaven is on display until March 8th, 2025.

koelsch gallery is pleased to present Kelly Moran in her latest exhibition, Under the Protection of the Skirt / Ranchland Diaries. Join us for the opening reception on Saturday, January 11th, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. As an avid collector of vintage paper and objects, Kelly Moran is passionate about transforming once-forgotten entities into compelling visual narratives. Through her use of found and discarded materials, she successfully captures the social landscape of the 19th and 20th centuries. But Moran strikes farther than a simple visitation of the past – she rewrites it. Vintage imagery is recontextualized into a series of dynamic narratives, where the interiors of social convention are redecorated with personal whim, expression, and humor. Through her prolific production of mixed-media assemblages, she takes us to a world without taboo or reservation; where curiosity and exploration are encouraged. For Moran, there are no rules. By juxtaposing vintage iconography with contemporary themes, she draws parallels between the old and the new; inviting us to an open-ended reflection of where we are now and where we were then.

On view: January 3 – February 1, 2025
1020 Peden St. Houston, Tx 77006

koelsch gallery is pleased to present Catherine Colangelo in her latest exhibition Floaters. In her upcoming debut, Colangelo continues to explore the intricate relationship between mother and child. As her daughter grew older, Colangelo became interested in the long tradition of using art to protect and heal a loved one from afar. Across time and civilization, she unifies various cultures through their historical practices of talismans and paper-cutting. By cutting her once-completed pieces, she grants a sense of breath to her powerful compositions. An incorporation of negative space ignites an illusion of movement, as ripples and vibrations pulsate among the patterns.
Through an intuitive process, Colangelo summons all-seeing eyes, geometric figures, and eight-point stars to fortify the protective powers of her talismanic paintings. With her use of spiritual imagery and ancient motifs, she draws a junction at the universal desire to protect a loved one. Floaters is on display until December 21st, 2024.