I was recently invited by Jimmy Manheim to attend the opening of Luminarte Gallery’s latest show “The International Biennale Artist’s Exhibition.” luminarte is a newer member of the galleries to be found just beneath the Trinity River levee. In fact it is on Levee Street, just at the end of Oak Lawn.
The front of the building is an unimposing warehouse, but the interior is a great space to show. The lighting is good, and the interior space is flexible. On one end of the gallery is a raised platform that is perfect for live presentations.
The International Biennale is a large group of diverse artists, so it is hard to decide what the theme should be, other than the sense of diversity and cooperation. This sense of diversity is refreshing in itself considering the competitive nature of the current art market.
I can’t say any particular member of the group itself stood out. 
What really got my attention was this imposing wall of twigs and ceramic sculpture:
Last Song of Summer by Magi Calhoun
I think it is because I have been thinking about my own work with found wood.
I keep wondering if galleries will be interested in displaying ceramic with wood with a minimum of human interference. On this wall it works very well. The ambiguities of sculpted and natural are, to me, quite magical.
by Lee Ables
Visitors at the International Biennale
I thought there was quite a lot of interest in the existing gallery art, as well as the show itself, which is a very good sign.
I thought these paintings by Lee Ables were interesting.
by Lee Ables
