Insomnia Gallery celebrates local women artists with ‘She’s Real Gone’

By Katelyn Landry     3/19/19 9:16pm

Insomnia Gallery took International Women’s Day beyond hashtags and Snapchat filters by presenting a special art exhibition highlighting the work of local women artists. “She’s Real Gone: 3rd Annual Women’s Art Showcase” served as a celebration of creative women and their artistic work and experiences. 

The one-day showcase for “She’s Real Gone” was held March 8 and included over 90 original pieces from 13 Houston-based women artists. Insomnia Gallery hosted the exhibition in its large, one-room gallery space behind Deep End Records, a pop-up record store. Located in a discrete alleyway, Insomnia provided an edgy, underground ambience.

The pieces in the exhibit focused on women and feminine experiences from a variety of perspectives. Several pieces featured women in positions of mystical and religious significance and seemed to carry a common thread throughout the exhibit. Works by the artist Honeybones featured women with supernatural extremities like horns and scales. Pieces by artist Lex Simone featured women with religious attire as well as occult symbolism. Artworks with these themes may have referred to relationships between femininity and religiosity, or perhaps used spirituality as a medium to communicate the power of women.

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The intersectionality of womanhood with sexual orientation and race was another prominent theme throughout the exhibit. Artist Madeline Carr presented drawings that accentuated the contours of the human body, specifically curves of stomach and breasts that are sometimes misogynistically considered imperfections. Her oil painting “Presumed portrait of Emma and her wife” depicted a lesbian couple and encouraged viewers to contemplate personal biases and stereotypes attributed to gay women. Drawings by Nerissa Gomez featured women proudly sporting shirts with slogans such as “Morena” and “Latina Power,” signaling the artist’s pride and appreciation for the power and strength of Latina identities. 

A $5 entry fee went to Menstrual Flux, a community organization that provides support to people who get periods, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or age. According to their Facebook page, the organization is dedicated to ending period stigma by providing menstrual products to low income communities and homeless individuals as well as spreading awareness and education throughout the Houston area. By facilitating monetary contributions to Menstrual Flux, Insomnia Gallery actualizes the significance of “She’s Real Gone” as an opportunity to stand in solidarity with all people who identify as women. 

This art showcase offered the Houston community an opportunity to celebrate the artistic accomplishments of local women and served as the perfect destination for observing International Women’s Day. “She’s Real Gone” was a one-day showcase and is no longer on public view. However, there are more community events coming to Insomnia this month. On March 19, the gallery will be hosting rock bands Daikaiju, Funeral Horse, Moths and Total Nightmare at 8 p.m. On March 22 at 7 p.m., Insomnia will be hosting their annual “Spring Cleaning Art Show” where local artists gather to sell their art and the gallery clears out last year’s art inventory by selling at reduced prices. 

The gallery will be hosting a screening of The Zentenos: A Musical Legacy, a documentary film about the Zenteno family and their musical contributions to the city of Houston March 24 at 3 p.m. The final event hosted by Insomnia Gallery this March will be their monthly Punk Rock Garage Sale held March 31 from 1 - 5 p.m. At this event, 20 vendors sell a wide range of music and film paraphernalia as well as clothing, toys, zines and more.  

Complete list of “She’s Real Gone” featured artists and their Instagram handles:

BEANPOLICE                                 @beanpolice

Birdtrash                                        @birdtrash

Bittertooth                                     @bittertooth.htx

Honeybones                                  @honeybonesstudios

Jaz Henry                                       @jaz.henry.art

Kara Timmons                              @karatimmons 

Lex Simone                                    @lex_simone  

Madeline Carr                                @mothdrawn

Nerissa Gomez                             @neri_gomez_art

Nirvana Trey                                   @anavrinyert

Nitness                                            @nitness

Rebecca Cook                                @rebecca.exe

Sugar Britches                               @sugar_britches_art 

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