{"id":442385,"date":"2025-12-12T12:48:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/442385\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T12:48:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:48:24","slug":"marlon-halls-unearthed-beauty-from-brokenness-brings-found-object-art-to-houstons-east-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/442385\/","title":{"rendered":"Marlon Hall\u2019s \u2018Unearthed Beauty from Brokenness\u2019 Brings Found-Object Art to Houston\u2019s East End"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Marlon Hall\u2019s found objects sculpture The Gaze features a reclaimed mirror that the artist uses to \u201cembody the courage it takes to see and gaze it takes to learn about who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houstonia\u2019s The Must List tells you about something going on in Houston that you absolutely cannot miss.<\/p>\n

To Marlon Hall, a door is never just a door. It\u2019s a pathway opening up the possibility of becoming someone different along the journey to somewhere different. This love and appreciation for the symbolism of coming and going forms one of the core principles of his synthesized anthropological and artistic<\/a> practices. \u201cEvery door has a story, and every story is a doorway,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In the form of repurposed windows and doors accented by other \u201cfound\u201d objects, these portals have become the cornerstone for Hall\u2019s current sculpture show, Unearthed Beauty from Brokenness, on view at East End gallery the List until January 14.<\/p>\n

Each of the 23 featured works is constructed from materials Hall<\/a> sourced during his globe-trotting through Nairobi, Kenya; Venice, Italy; Madison, Wisconsin; Tulsa, Oklahoma; his ancestral home of Homer, Louisiana; and Houston. Three-dimensional collages of discarded objects, including wallpaper, ceramics, furniture pieces, fabric scraps, glass, and\u2014of course\u2014doors and windows raise awareness of the past while challenging viewers to contemplate their present. The lives behind each piece matter. \u201cI don’t work with any door that\u2019s younger than 50 years old,\u201d Hall says. \u201cThe found-object assemblages of the involved doors become portals through which people can experience a meditative practice of exploring a new way of seeing their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nALTER NO. 5: (SING)ING, which Hall describes as \u201crefram[ing] the forgotten as foundational\u2014lifting what was cast aside into a place of song, visibility and dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unearthed Beauty from Brokenness also encompasses altars\u2014sometimes paired with dismembered door parts in a single piece\u2014reflecting Hall\u2019s intent to craft \u201cplaces where people can come to connect to who they are.\u201d ALTAR NO. 5: (SING)ING, for example, is constructed from discarded furniture, blinds, and bottles, among other ephemera, collected from Tulsa, Madison, and Houston. Adorned in a soothing blue, the sculpture is positioned vertically, recalling both an abstracted musical instrument with visual nods toward strings and brass (no, you can\u2019t play it) and a threshold of self-discovery.<\/p>\n

The accompanying display card expresses Hall\u2019s desire to reframe how people view broken, old, outdated, and otherwise forgotten items. His anthropological sensibilities don\u2019t view them as mere junk. If doors and altars open up portals to humanity\u2019s spirit, objecthood<\/a> is what grounds us in our history, culture, and community.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though on the surface, we may have this perceived brokenness in our communities or in our individual lives, with the right perspective and with good intention, we can transform those broken places into beautiful mosaics through which the light of goodness can shine to create a new vision for our world,\u201d Hall says. \u201cSo, the brokenness is not an end, but a means to the end of beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n

He views even sites of horrific historic violence, such as the Greenwood District in Tulsa, as \u201cnot a graveyard, but a garden\u201d where hope and healing may flower. Once considered the economically prosperous \u201cBlack Wall Street,\u201d Greenwood was burned to the ground in 1921 by a racist mob armed with torches\u2014a hateful event that lasted two days. Thousands were left injured, with death toll estimates reaching as high as 300 people<\/a>. The oldest living survivor of the domestic terrorist attack, Viola Ford Fletcher<\/a>, died only last month at the age of 111.<\/p>\n

While the flames have subsided and the neighborhood has rebuilt itself, the residents still remember; memories passed down through oral and written histories help ensure no one living there forgets.<\/p>\n

Hall first learned about the massacre from Project Row Houses<\/a> founder Rick Lowe in 2018. The two men traveled back and forth between Houston and Tulsa to collect stories, create art, and speak with survivors and their descendants. Hall included images of these locals in his multimedia work with Lowe\u2019s Greenwood Art Project<\/a>. Yet he discourages viewing Tulsa solely as a place of tragedy and mourning. \u201cThe 1921 massacre also [came] with baskets to harvest,\u201d he says. \u201cHuman resiliency, that is a fireproof and impenetrable force\u2026. The human spirit cannot be burned.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Named after Hall\u2019s daughter, PHOENIX RISES reflects on how a \u201cprayer laughs, sings, and dances…when God answers it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so Tulsa arrives in Houston via Unearthed Beauty from Brokenness, in physical form as railroad<\/a> nails and other artifacts (found by Hall or gifted to him), and in a more metaphysical form as part of the artist\u2019s concepts and philosophies. Located on the second floor of the building that houses the List, the show welcomes visitors with PORtal No. 5: (SHEAD)ING. As visitors walk up the stairs, they immediately encounter this massive sculpture that combines oxidized hardware, reclaimed wood, and a railroad nail from Tulsa. It places the personal connection to doors in the political realm, urging viewers to pay attention to the world around us if we ever hope to truly become part of it. One can\u2019t read Hall\u2019s posted description of the integral role of surrender in transformation without pondering the significance of the specific reference to Tulsa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\nALTER NO. 4: (MASK)ING takes wallpaper from Hall’s ancestral home in Homer, Louisiana and pairs it with found objects from as close as Houston and as distant as Kenya.<\/p>\n

To deepen the relationship between the sculptures\u2019 themes and those who pass through the List\u2019s doors, both literally and metaphorically, Hall adds a community component to the gallery show. Unearthed Beauty centers on recognizing the gift of healing<\/a> and rebuilding. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Hall offers walkthroughs of the exhibition at 12:30pm and 5:30pm, during which he provides insight through a guided meditation. He also plans to host DIY classes on making sculptures with found objects, as well as yoga on Sunday at noon in the nearby Yoga Home, located at 1102 Delano St. Attendees can get up and get moving while enjoying what he calls a \u201cmicro-orchestra\u201d performance. All these events will be free and open to the public, and since Hall\u2019s own studio is located next door, he says there might be some spontaneous happenings as inspiration strikes him. Expect a visit to include prompts or questions about the self, as an individual and in communion with others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are more resilient than we allow ourselves to be,\u201d Hall says. \u201cWhen we have the right tools, the crap of our past can turn into what fertilizes our future, individually and as communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Know Before You Go<\/p>\n