A sense of optimism—a rare feeling these days—hung in the air at the inaugural edition of Untitled Art, Houston. Taking place from September 19 through September 21 and organized by Jeffrey Lawson, Michael Slenske, and Clara Andrade, the fair featured 88 galleries from across the globe, representing 30 countries total. Despite the fair’s strong international presence—in keeping with Houston’s immense diversity—the energy of the fair reflected the city’s small-town sensibility. This was further emphasized by the fair’s layout, conceptualized by Texas-based firm Michael Hsu Office of Architecture. Described by Director Michael Slenske as a “town square” or “village,” the fair’s circular design echoed the Nautilus-inspired pavilion created for Untitled Art’s inaugural edition in 2012.

“Houston’s top museums are in expansion mode and currently offering some of the most dynamic programming in the nation, as are the city’s emerging and established galleries and project spaces,” said Slenske. A number of beloved and vital Houston institutions appeared at the fair, including Project Row Houses, the Rothko Chapel, the Lawndale Arts Center, Asia Society Texas, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, the Orange Show Center for Visionary Arts, and Art League Houston, reflecting the city’s long-standing commitment to supporting and elevating work by Texan artists. (A percentage of ticket sales will be donated to the Rothko Chapel).

Project Row Houses co-founder Rick Lowe presented work by a group of exciting emerging artists through his Studio. One of the fair’s strongest booths, Prologue showcased work by recent graduates from the University of Houston’s MFA program, all former students of Lowe’s: Crystal Coulter, Ian Williams, Kaima Marie Akarue, Roslyn Dupre, and Sajeela Siddiq. Houston-based artist Kaima Marie Akurae uses collage to great effect, creating dynamic urban landscapes that pay homage to memories of the people and city she loves.

Painter Crystal Coulter plays with notions of identity-as-performance in her slightly-surreal and meticulously rendered self-portraits. The artist explores the experience of cognitive dissonance—a splitting of the self—in A Breath of Fresh Air (2023). Coulter dons four distinct personas, each of them embodying a particular aspect of her interiority.

Another regional standout was Inman Gallery, which featured work by Francesca Fuchs and Jamal Cyrus. Fuchs, who currently has a show at the Menil Collection, also interrogates the self in her work, re-visiting her personal history through objects. Fuchs returns to a group of sculptures she created as a young artist in a series of eight paintings presented for the first time. In painting these “classical” female forms, Fuchs questions her use of these figurative tropes, re-evaluating notions of beauty and desirability with tenderness.

Jamal Cyrus created five fiber works and three sculptures for the fair. Cyrus, who has been working with denim since 2018, drew inspiration from free jazz and the quilts of Gee’s Bend. He bleaches, stretches, and layers the material, evoking its complex history and relationship to African American history and culture. Now ubiquitous, denim was originally worn by the enslaved and later working class, and was once described derogatorily as “negro cloth.” Cyrus proudly reclaims the material, manipulating it to create evocative works that blur painting, sculpture, and abstraction. His playful and minute sculptures also pay homage to African American cultural production; Artemisia Vulgaris (2025) is a replica of the peacock chair in Blair Strapp’s iconic 1967 portrait of Black Panther Party leader Huey P. Newton. The sculptures double as percussion instruments, a reference to the use of rattles and shakers in indigenous ritual practices.

‍BOND Contemporary, the new sister gallery to ART IS BOND, had a strong debut with a presentation of works by photographer Ming Smith. Started by Janice Bond (who previously served as Deputy Director of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston), the new outpost focuses exclusively on mid and late-career artists. It is always a pleasure to witness Smith’s photographs in person. Her sumptuous black-and-white images, rich with depth and feeling, evoke Roy DeCarava.

Works by another master of photography appeared at the fair. Texas-based gallery PDNB (an acronym for Photographs Do Not Bend) presented works by Earlie Hudnall, Jr. A photographer’s photographer who chronicles Black Southern life with poetry and sensitivity, Hudnall, Jr. has influenced contemporary greats such as Rahim Fortune and Tyler Mitchell. The prices seemed too low for such a significant artist.

There were plenty of excellent first time exhibitors, including Jessica Silverman (who had an entry in the Special Projects section, a bronze sculpture by beloved Bay Area artist Clare Rojas), El Apartamento, Rajiv Menon, and TERN. Conceptual artist Reynier Leyva Novo, represented by El Apartamento, created a site-specific work for the fair, titled Sacred Dust Global Active Dust Collection Center. Featuring 20 framed panels of dust on adhesive paper, Sacred Dust is part of Novo’s larger Federal Dust Collection project, in which the artist collects detritus from federal buildings, national monuments, and other institutions across the United States. Novo visited 20 different locations in Houston to create the work, many of them churches. The panels are strangely beautiful, their ephemeral nature drawing the viewer in while raising compelling questions about the residue power structures leave behind.

Glitter is the currency in Atlantica, the gloriously speculative world created by interdisciplinary artist April Bey. Hailing from the Bahamas, Bey’s futurist visions started when she was a child. Growing up mixed-race prompted others to ask about her origins. Why did she look so different from everyone else? When Bey asked her father the same question, he told her they were aliens from outer space. His answer would prompt a decades-long obsession with science-fiction and the concept of not-so-distant utopia.

The crown jewel of TERN’s presentation of Bey’s work was I See All The Way Back To Where I’m Supposed to See, 2…, a monumental tapestry that incorporates beads, clothespins, and velour. Bey’s work glimmers with delight, her figures resplendent and unbothered.

A number of works spoke to America’s current political climate. A section of the fair, an entry in the Special Projects category, featured timely work by emerging courtroom painter Isabelle Brourman and El Franco Lee Jr., son of Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee. A true chronicler of our times, Brourman is working in the footsteps of court sketch artist Bill Hennessy, covering notorious events such as the Depp vs. Heard, Luigi Mangione, and Trump trials. El Franco Lee, Jr.’s work offers a more localized perspective on politics, featuring paintings of his late father and artifacts from his political career.

‍Phung Huynh of Luis de Jesus also references familial roots in a series of graphite drawings. Huynh depicts her family’s emigration and assimilation to the United States on pink donut boxes, a reference to the many donut shops owned by Cambodian immigrants in Southern California.

Despite anxieties around the state of the art market, the inaugural event showcased a number of excellent exhibitors and artists both regionally and internationally, confirming Houston’s status as a compelling destination for art.