LOCAL Houston | The City Guide August 2017 | Page 50

GOING PUBLIC
ARTIST SHANE ALLBRITTON IS ON THE RISE
By Tim Moloney | Photography by Carl Fehres
Photography of Artwork by Woven Waves - Polyvision, Synthesis - Gallucci Design, DOG+CATenary - Pablo Gimenez-Zapiola,
Never Forget - City of Cornelius, Radiance - Scott Weaver Photography, Time In Motion - Pablo Gimenz-Zapiola, Sectio Aurea - Polyvision
THE GEORGE R. BROWN CONVENTION CENTER HAS REALLY STEPPED UP ITS PUBLIC ART
GAME. NO LONGER JUST A WAREHOUSE FOR OTC AND TRADE SHOWS AND INDUSTRY
MEETINGS, THE CONVENTION CENTER IS EXPERIENCING NEW LIFE AND YEAR-ROUND
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH RESTAURANTS, EVENT PROGRAMMING AND A
STRONG FOCUS ON PUBLIC ART INSTALLATIONS (CHECK OUT CULTURAL PROGRAMS
MANAGER CHRISTINE JELSON WEST ON PAGE 66). ALONG WITH DISCOVERY GREEN
AND AVENIDA HOUSTON, IT’S BECOME THE CULTURAL HUB OF THE EAST SIDE OF
DOWNTOWN.
One person playing a part in it: artist SHANE ALLBRITTON,
shot here in front of her Earth & Skyline, which portrays
images of Houston environments from various altitudes
that are conflated into an abstract composition combining
imagery of multiple days, weather conditions, seasons
and times of day. From a distance, the overall mural
reflects a lively, vibrant impression of Houston’s various
elevations from bayou images near the bottom, merging
upwards into images of city life and nature, and further
upwards into the Houston skyline.
Houston-based Allbritton has a degree in fine arts and
20 years of extensive work designing interpretive spaces
and interactives for numerous museums and visitors
centers – around the country and around the world,
in addition to her own personal art. A partner in the
firm of RE:site with fellow artist Norman Lee, Allbritton
bridges the disciplines of visual communication, art and
experience design. Her collaborative work with Lee spans
a range of projects from comprehensive environmental
graphics to art installations, including large-scale murals,
donor recognition systems, wayfinding, media design,
suspended art, sculpture and painting.
You think you’re busy? In a