Courtesy Nau-haus Gallery - D.M.A.: Paul Kittelson's latest body of work, "Modern Conveniences",  on view at Nau-haus Gallery September 6 through the 28th, presents us with works in such a prescribed context that the artist's intent might go unnoticed by gallery patrons not familiar with the artist's usual trompe-l'oeil bag of three dimensional tricks. Previous gallery installations overflowed with visual puns and general Tom-foolery, encouraging us to accept the idea that art could be anywhere, or anything. Whether it was on the ceiling, around a mirrored fireplace mantel, a caldron spilling over with latex spaghetti, or a rug on the floor, the artist was calling our attention to any corner of the room but where one would usually look for the art, like hanging on walls or sitting on a pedestal.  Not this time.

Much of the time the viewer at this exhibition is standing apart from the action "on the outside looking in". Kittelson's framed broken windows are metaphorical. This time the installation is inside the box. Kittelson's voluntary confinement to the interior dimensions and structured format of the framed picture is so dead-pan, and so matter-of-fact, the works hardly seem unique or like social commentary until we take a second look at these curious vignettes of American culture at work and play. We get a  "slice of life" view of ourselves and our playthings just outside the Kittelson window complete with metallic laminate barbecue pit and swimming pool made of crinkled blue acrylic film, and rows of office cubicles painstakingly tiled together in a wood veneer mosaic receding back into the forever of the picture plane, as if some are domed for eternity to accepting the monotony of repeated tasks .

Unveiled in layers throughout "Modern Conveniences", Kittelson works through his tour-de force variations on a theme in his latest offering. As always, Kittelson still playfully disregards the usual materials common to the artists studio, making igneous use of items pulled from the shelves at the hardware store as he sets the proverbial stage for us with the most common props of our routines and daily rituals.

  Kittelson has balanced his studio and gallery work with numerous public works locally and nationally. Ridding high through the center of the Houston skyline on the Allen Parkway overpass, just about everyone in Houston driving a car has noticed Paul Kittelson's public art in recent years.  Kittleson who is responsible for the 30-foot-tall stainless steel torches marking the edges of Buffalo Bayou as interstate 45 crosses the waterway, was also the same artist responsible for the life size (one would guess) Stegosaurus made from discarded couch cushions and balling wire that crouched beneath the Highway 59 overpass crossing at Montrose Boulevard in the mid 1980's, and his "Mindless Competition" - monumental headless musclemen that stood outside Houston's Contemporary Arts Museum during the first Texas Triennial exhibition later in the decade. The city plan calls for more bridge renovation in the downtown area, and includes more of Kittelson's works in the future as all bridges crossing Buffalo Bayou will sport identical illuminated torches by the artist. Another view of the Buffalo Bayou torches is from the park below the overpass where a tangle of metal roots are dangling from the torches above.

There are also numerous works by the artist at the pedestrian level as well. One example are the "Heritage Lanterns" marking the entrance to an active urban park in Houston's Downtown area with five steel “turrets” internally lit with ever-changing LEDs. The artwork references both the elegant Victorian mansions formerly populating this part of downtown while at the same time evoking parlor games; a fitting referent for a park located across from Toyota Center, home of the Houston Comets and Rockets. The installation was funded by the Houston Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department and managed by the Cultural Arts Council of Houston and Harris County and selected for the Public Art Network 2005 Year In Review Collection, and Art In America's 2005 In Review: Public Art. A reception for the artist and his most recent work "Modern Conveniences" opens at Dan Allison's Nau-haus art space, 223 E. 11th Street on Saturday evening September 6, from 6 to 9 PM. Naü-haus Art Space open Saturday and Sunday Noon-5 pm, or by appointment . For more information call 281-615-4148, e mail  dan@nau-haus.com , and visit the gallery on the web at www.nau-haus.com.

From  "Art is All Around Us" Houston PBS: 2006  Kittelson :"Well, I think art is important in every parts of our lives. It's not only in galleries and museums and in our homes but as well as out in the environment. It's been a part of every culture, and every city throughout time. It only makes sense to have art in the modern environment that's out there. It  works in so many different ways. It brings identity to certain places, you know, like  DeBuffet’s sculpture downtown or Henry More's piece in Allen Parkway, it's a way of marking and giving identity to certain places. It can be something that brings color and just design interest to areas too, with colorful murals and things like that. It can also be a real source of pride in neighborhoods where they have a work of public art that is part of their own neighborhood or community. So it can function in so many different ways, but it's really about who we are as a culture and as a people, and reflecting that through the art work that we have around us ...... Houston's about the things that are in our community here, so it’s very important."

Summary  "Art is All Around Us" Houston PBS: 2006 Since 1983, Professor Kittelson has shown his work regionally and nationally in numerous one-person and group exhibitions. His work was selected for "The First Texas Triennial" at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, and for the 1996 exhibition "A Feast for the Eyes" at the Austin Museum of Art. Kittelson participates in both traditional exhibits and public projects. Using a variety of materials ranging from concrete and steel to discarded items like foam rubber and carpet, Kittelson has created large-scale works of whimsical nature. Kittelson's expressive use of materials and witty sense of subject matter have carried over into his gallery exhibitions: "Double Delicious" at Hiram Butler Gallery in 1996 and "Too Good To Be True" 1998, and "Bending Venus" in 2004 at Barbara Davis Gallery.
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Selected Bibliography:

Hodges, Lauren, “Measuring Up, Scaling Down”, Encore, Vol 21, Pub 21, Nov 21, 07,pp24-25, cover.
French, Christopher, “Paul Kittelson”, review in Art News, Summer 2007, Volume 106, #7, p.207.
Davenport, Bill, “Household items give tinkerer a voice”, Hou Chronicle, Thur, Mar 15, 07, Sect Star, p 4.
Meyer, Michael, “Houston Hideaway”, Continental Magazine, Dec 2007, Vol 11, Issue 12, p 107.
Whitney, Kathleen, “Paul Kittelson: Curious Objects”, Sculpture Magazine, November, 2003, Vol. 22 No.9., p.18, 19.
Johnson, Patricia,  “Artists offer personal perspectives by tapping into memories.” Houston Chronicle, June 14, 2003, section d. p. 9.
Lauster, Daryl. “Paul Kittelson’s The Next Supper”. Artlies. Fall 2002. P. 88.
Harrison, David. “Nothing to Eat But Food”, Glass Tire, Texas Visual At Online. Fall 2002.
Greene, Alison de Lima. “TEXAS: 150 Works from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston”, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2000
Bilger, Burkhard. “Genetic Countdown”, The Sciences, March-April 2000, p.9, illus.
Johnson, Patricia.  “Shows offer a mix of reality, experimentation, physicality.”  Houston Chronicle.  May 11, 2000, section d, p. 1.
Anspon, Catherine D. “Paul Kittelson: New Sculpture.” Houston CitySearch. December, 1999.