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Hey what's going on? I was blessed to be invited to be in a group show by

Catherine Anspon of PaperCity magazine. There was a small review and event review written about the show.

"A Time for Change" PaperCity fine arts editor Catherine D. Anspon curated this group show, which shifts in tone from works that embody states of flux to a more positive, euphoric status. Thankfully, Anspon resists commenting too much on the current presidential race, even though the exhibition's most prominent piece employs a candidate's likeness. The changing face of China is represented in Re-Tool, daniel-kayne's readymade-ish, red "8-ton long ram jack," which supports three gigantic wrenches stamped CHINA. Tracy Hicks evokes environmental fever with Forearm Study, a mixed-media piece incorporating glass, rubber frogs and thermometers. Nathaniel Donnett's Return Of Tha Gangsta Ego depicts the shadow of a child raised in a world of crime, nicely rendered in foam core, a little pair of tennis shoes and a gumball machine filled with multicolored bullets. And damn if that Shepard Fairey Barack Obama image won't go away. Here though, in an interesting twist, Anthony Thompson Shumate co-opts the image for his video animation I am BLUE 'cause I am RED over you, xoxoxo,...

Tags: a time for change, african american artist, contemporary art, deborah colton gallery, houston press, nathaniel donnett

I use to skateboard when I was younger.  Teens, 20's, stopped seriously late 20's.

A friend of mine who will rename nameless who I skated with back in the days, (Cipher) ahem.. who now has a skateboard company (Greater Than Skateboards) got me back on my board. The only thing, is that rugged and smooth hip hop dancing, skateboarding has put some work on my knees and they'll sometimes pop out of place.

That's one reason I started working out at the gym. I know too well how health can have an effect on your life. I have so many family members to pass away because of bad health its ridiculous. I really try to stay in health, physically, mentally and spiritually. Well, anyway, before the signs of a tangent start coming on, I started back skating.

I was getting my ollie pops back, and some compressions on trannys. (I was a street skater back in the day, didn't have access to ramps) We went to the skatepark and I was in the end of landing a board slide on a small rail. (One trick I can still do 90% of the time) I landed wrong and popped my knee....

Tags: blog, ideas, nathaniel donnett, random

Project Row Houses

Nathaniel Donnett: The Greatest Store that Never Sold

By Tria Wood

A ghostly sense of surreality echoes through the installation The Greatest Store that Never Sold. Except for a stack of shopping carts in one corner and a pile of books along one wall, the space is swathed in white. Thus, the elements of the installation slowly reveal themselves to the viewer, forms and faint colors emerging to hint at narrative threads. Donnett’s choice of white, which permeates the space, in itself invokes several layers of meaning. While this expanse of white might be interpreted as heavenly, it just as easily invokes images of a void. It’s also hard not to read it in terms of race as well; the whitewashing effect of one culture upon others. However, white may just as easily be a blank canvas, an opportunity to create. Donnett’s subject matter is ambitious, addressing personal stories, community, literacy, consumerism, poverty and social justice.

The installation is roughly configured in the manner of a store, with lightbox shelves displaying various objects—some already white, some constructed of stiffly laquered white cloth, and some found items that have been shrinkwrapped and painted. Items as varied as...

Tags: art installation, arts houston magazine, houston, nathaniel donnett, project row houses, texas, tria wood