January 18 through February 24 of this year, I had a painting in the Assistance League of Houston Celebrates Texas Art, mounted in the first floor of the Williams Tower Gallery.  I found the first floor of an office tower to be an unusual space for an art gallery and wanted to know more about it.  So I emailed the curator, Sally Sprout, and asked her some questions about the gallery:  how it came to be that there is a gallery in that location; who is responsible for the gallery programming; other organizations the gallery works with; how long she has been curator there and a bit about what that job involves.  I also asked her about the current show, The Art of Found Objects, which is a most interesting show, full of strong work.  Her answers follow. 

The Williams Tower Gallery has been in operation since 1983, and was established by the CEO of Transco Energy Company, Jack Bowen.  The building was originally called the Transco Tower and was developed in 1982 by Transco Energy Co.  Philip Johnson was the architect and Gerald Hines was the developer. Bowen conceived of the gallery because of his love for art.  He was a watercolorist himself, and partnered the idea with Hines.  In the 1980’s there were a number of corporate galleries in the country however many were not able to continue in subsequent decades due to the financial climate.

I am responsible for the Gallery programming.  I curate many of the exhibitions but also am happy to review outside proposals.  The Gallery has ongoing relationships with FotoFest International, a prestigious biennial photography city-wide event, the Assistance League of Houston, PrintHouston, Sculpture Month Houston and others.  Williams Tower Gallery continues its original mandate to provide a platform for as many artists as possible, almost always mounting large group exhibitions.

The current show, The Art of Found Objects, is the second iteration of a show which originated at Lone Star College, Kingwood Gallery, in the Houston area.  Our version increased the number of artists from 14 to 22, as our space is considerably larger.  The idea was inspired by the book, The Art of Found Objects: Interviews with Texas Artists, by Robert Craig Bunch. The show contains work by many well-known artists, as well as some discoveries, and concentrates on Houston area artists.

I have served as curator for Williams Tower Gallery since 1983, with a hiatus of a few months following the change of ownership of the Tower from Transco Energy Company to The Williams Companies in 1993-4.  Williams Tower Gallery is one of a few surviving corporate exhibition spaces remaining in the country.

The profession of art curator encompasses a number of tasks and includes more or less depending on the context.  As an independent consulting curator for Williams Tower Gallery I am involved with all aspects of exhibition conception and production.  My most satisfying work is that of conceiving ideas, interacting with artists and designing the actual layout of the exhibitions.

I want to take a minute to thank Sally for taking the time to answer my questions and provide images of the current show.  I very much enjoyed participating in the Assistance League's show there as well as learning more about the Gallery and Sally's role there. 

For readers interested in The Art of Found Objects, here are two links to the book: 

http://www.tamupress.com/product/Art-of-Found-Objects,8552.aspx

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Found-Objects-Interviews-Artists-ebook/dp/B01LWQ7QEB