The MAC, Served Up Four Ways

We love The McKinney Avenue Contemporary because it isn't afraid to get freaky with its exhibitions, and its newest -- a group offering featuring work by Michael Bise, Frank Rodick, Wael Shawky and Shannon Novak -- is proof of precisely that, told in four distinct tones. With Bise, a Houston artist who got his undergrad around these parts and is now represented by the Moody Gallery, we'll enter his enchanting charcoal world of wrong-eyed souls in Life and Death. Canadian photographer Rodick expresses humans at their most visceral stages: climax, disdain, bafflement. All are enhanced, cropped down, edited and collaged together, creating a visual stew of bending, twisting skin. It's a show composed of selections from Rodick's 2010 exhibition Labyrinth of Desire that was curated by Katherine Ware and displayed at Deborah Colton Gallery in Houston. In the always bizarre New Work Space you'll find Cabaret Crusades, a creeptastic collection of artfully horrific films by Wael Shawky starring 200 year-old marionettes. Finally, in the lobby you'll perk up to Tonnetz, an experimental look at auditory art and gadgetry as told through the viewfinder of Shannon Novak. Experience every last bit of it during The MAC’s (3120 McKinney Ave.) group show, open Wednesdays through Saturdays until May 11. Visit the-mac.org.
Sat., March 23, 6 p.m.; Wednesdays-Saturdays. Starts: March 23. Continues through May 11, 2013