Biography, Notes
........................................................................................................................................
Raised in an art environment in Austin, Texas, Page Piland graduated from the University of Texas with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. While at UT, Piland served as an art editor of student publications and worked for The
Harry Ransom Center where he developed a love for old books; today he often incorporates them in his paintings.
His recent painting/assemblage work honors humble subjects: discarded, distressed or abandoned home building
materials, wooden planks, railroad tie splinters, Bastrop burned tree trunks, and old books. He incorporates pieces
of his original inspiration as well as a “trompe l’oeil” replica in/on his uniquely-sized canvases. He presents
precious woods with their own portraits: Purpleheart, Rosewood, Osage, Long Leaf Pine, Bois D’ Arc. Currently,
there is a forest of large scale (130x48 inches) paintings/assemblages inhabiting his studio in Houston Texas.
Page Piland’s work has appeared in numerous exhibitions sponsored by, among others, The Texas Fine Art Association,
The Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Stephen F. Austin University, Texas Contemporary Art Fair, Houston Fine Art Fair,
Houston Arts Alliance, Assistance League of Houston, Blaffer Museum at the University of Houston, Lawndale
Art Center, and many gallery venues. Piland was a finalist for The Hunting Art Prize several times since 2008.
His 2016 public art commission, Houston’s Tall Forest, is installed at the George R. Brown Convention Center
in downtown Houston.
Downloadable PDF
........................................................................................................................................
Page Piland: Artist Statement About The Recent Work.
“I always hoped to get to that place where I cannot really understand or explain what I
am doing... or why. I may be close.”
Paintings and assemblages are the current focus for me. Recent work refers to and features actual humble items:
discarded, distressed and abandoned pieces of wood, home construction detritus, violin parts, railroad tie splinters,
old fence planks, tar paper, and a burned tree from the Bastrop, Texas infamous forest fire.
My painting starts with the subject item carefully affixed to, inset, or mortised flush into the canvas.
An oil portrait of the item is then painted next to, or near, the piece. In some works, the articulations in the wood
or tar paper or construction parts suggest meanings which are expressed as an “interpretation” of the subject
via the “portrait” beside the item.
The resulting assemblage/painting is often simply a new “thing” that stands alone. However,
conversations do arise between the 2-D and 3-D elements touching on the question of which will outlast
the other, the actual subject or the portrait. Sometimes the portrait of the prop “reveals all.”
At other times the work becomes an interpretation of the subject’s last step, misstep or next step.
So my goal is to see, honor and respect the simple, yet beautiful or devastating, items
which we come into contact with everyday. Many viewers have an “Aha” experience as they recognize
the real and the not real. Watching them take that leap into unknown territory is a great treat for me.
........................................................................................................................................
Selected Exhibitions.
2023 Exhibitions.
Art On The Avenue: 2023.
Houston, Texas.
Houston Grand Opera Ball & Auction.
The Paganini Violin. Houston, Texas.
A Visual Language.
Curator: Cheri Randolph. Houston, Texas
Visual Arts Alliance Juried Exhibition.
Houston, Texas
2022 Exhibitions.
Art On The Avenue: 2022.
Curator: Danielle Burns Wilson, Houston, Texas.
Figurative & Abstract.
Curator: Gabriela Monterrsoro. Houston, Texas.
At the End of The Tunnel.
Curator: Cheri Randolph. Houston, Texas
2021 Exhibitions.
Escape Into Nature Exhibition.
Curator: Kelly Hill Wilson. Houston, Texas.
Art On The Avenue: 2021.
Curator: Steve Matijecio. UH Blaffler Gallery Director. Houston, Texas.
Again, many cancellations due to the health crisis
Art On The Avenue: 2020.
Curator: Molly Glentzler. Houston, Texas.
2020 Exhibitions.
Discovering Repeating Patterns.
Curator: Cheri Randpiph. Houston, Texas.
Art On The Avenue: 2020.
Curator: Molly Glentzler. Houston, Texas.
2020 Many Cancellations due to The International Health Crisis:
Orange Show Annual Ball And Auction
Children's Assessment Center Annual Auction And Sale
Houston Grand Opera Annual Ball And Auction
The Lawndale Big Show
Gallery Solo Exhibitions
2019 Curated Exhibitions.
2019 INTERNATIONAL BIENNIAL: Flight of The Monarch.
Curator: Yvonamor Palix. Houston, Texas.
LANDSCAPES: Observed & Interpreted.
Curator: Ananda De Mello. Houston, Texas.
LA BIENAL: HOUSTON.
Curator: Eduardo Portillo. Houston.
2019 Auctions, Fairs
2019 Orange Show Annual Ball And Auction
Children's Assessment Center Annual Auction And Sale
Houston Grand Opera Annual Ball And Auction
The Lawndale Lending Library Auction And Sale
2018 Stratiforms. Galveston Art Center
Curator, Dennis Nance, Galveston Art Center,
Galveston, TX.
2018 Lawndale Big Show in Houston.
Juror, Evelyn C. Haskins, Curator,
Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden.
Houston, Texas.
2018 Curated Exhibitions.
CALIENTE: Evolving Expressions.
Curator: Arthur Turner. Houston, Texas.
REAL/SURREAL.
Curator: Carolyn Garcia. Houston, Texas.
NEIGHBORS.
Curator: Dennis Nance. Houston, Texas.
TOUCHSTONES. Lee College. Baytown, Texas.
Curator: Cheri Randolph. Houston, Texas.
2018 ART INSIDE OUT.
Invitational Exhibition
Meek Glass Studio & Gallery.
Houston, Texas.
2017 Lawndale Big Show in Houston.
Juror, Toby Kamps, Director - Blaffer Art Museum,
University of Houston.
Houston, Texas.
2017 Four Seasoned Exhibition.
Page Piland, Ron Gordon, A. Goldreich, A. Rodewald
Winter Street Studios Gallery. Houston, Texas.
2017 In The Eye of The Beholder.
Curated Exhibition. The Silos Gallery. Houston, Texas.
Recent Awards.
2017 Round Top WinterFest Art Fair.
2017 Sawyer Yards Revealed.
2017 Emerging Consciousness Curated Exhibition.
2016 Arts On The Avenue. Annual Benefit Auction/Exhibition.
2016 Hunting Texas Art Prize. Finalist. Jurors: Catherine Behrend, Former Deputy of
the New York City Public Art Program, Adjunct Assistant Professor at New York University's
School of Professional Studies diploma program. Alex Gregory, Curator of Art at the Amarillo Museum of Art.
Alexander Rich, Assistant Professor of Art History at Florida Southern College and Director of the Melvin
and Burks Art Galleries. Houston, Texas.
2016 Assistance League Celebrates Texas Art Exhibition.
Juror: Brady Roberts, Chief curator Milwaukee Art Museum
Houston, Texas.
2016 Site Specific Assemblage Installation. George R Brown Convention Center
For Houston First & Houston Arts Alliance. Houston, Texas.
2016 Lawndale Big Show in Houston.
Jurors, Apsara DiQuinzio, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art and
Phyllis C. Wattis MATRIX Curator BAMPFA
Houston, Texas.
2015 Texas Contemporary Art Fair.
George R. Brown Convention Center. Houston
2015 Houston Fine Art Fair.
NRG Center. Houston
2015 Hunting Texas Art Prize. Finalist. Jurors: Adam Justice, Curator of Art at the Polk Museum of
Art in Lakeland, Florida. Amy Moorefield, Deputy Director of Exhibitions at the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia
Julien Robson, Curator of the Shands Collection, Louisville, Kentucky
Houston, Texas.
2015 Going With The Grain Exhibition.
HCC Central Gallery, Houston, Texas.
2015 Arts Brookfield Invitational Exhibition.
One Allen Center Gallery. Houston, Texas.
2015 Reflections Of Nature Exhibition. French Consulates Home.
Yvonamor Palix Gallery. Houston, Texas.
2015 Spring Street Studios Annual Spring Show.
Houston, Texas
2015 Invitational Exhibition. British Residence/Houston.
Yvonamor Palix Gallery. Houston, Texas.
2015 "Skin In The Game Exhibition". Spring Street Studios, Houston. Angel Quesada, Curator.
2014 Lawndale Big Show in Houston.
60" x 48". Mixed media. Roof Remnants. An Interpretation.
Juror, Erin Elder, Visual Arts Director, Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe
2014, 2015 Yvonamor Palix Gallery Shows.
Houston, Texas.
2014 Assistance League Celebrates Texas Art Exhibition in Houston, Texas.
60" x48". Oil on canvas with wooden plank. Purpleheart Portrait.
2013 Lawndale Big Show in Houston.
Juror, Duncan MacKenzie, Artist/Critic/Writer and Co-Founder of Bad at Sports
48" x 60". Oil on canvas. A Calling Out In The First Ward.
2013 Assistance League Celebrates Texas Art Exhibition in Houston, Texas.
66" x 68". Oil on canvas - Catching, Memorizing and Releasing My Deep Eddies.
2013 God of Carnage. A Play. Group Exhibition with Stark Naked Theatre Production.
Curated by Dianne Webb. Houston, Texas
2012 Spring Street Studios Annual Fall Show.
Houston, Texas
2012 Live Oak Art Center Exhibition.
Live Oak Art Center, Columbus, Texas
66' x 68". Oil painting on canvas. Catching, Memorizing and Releasing My Deep Eddies.
20011 Lawndale Big Show in Houston.
Juror, Larissa Harris, Curator at Queens Museum of Art
38" x 48". Silkscreen inks, gold-silver leaf, tar paper. Jessie's Plans.
2010 Assistance League Celebrates Texas Art Exhibition in Houston, Texas.
48" x 60". Oil and fire on russian birch - Choosing Sides of The Mansion In Texas.
(Texas Governor's Mansion Fire in 2008. Colorado River Steps Series)
2009 Lawndale Big Show in Houston.
Juror Laura Fried, Assistant Curator for the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
60" x 44". Oil and metallic wax painting on wood panel. Repairing Howard's Pride and Joy.
2009 Hunting Texas Art Prize. Finalist.Jurors: Kate Green, independent curator and former
curator of Artpace in San Antonio. Chiyo Ishikawa, deputy director of art, Seattle
Art Museum in Seattle, Washington. Suzanne Folds McCullagh, curator-prints and drawings,
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.
66" x 66". Oil painting on canvas - Last Rally at Wooldridge Park.
2009 Assistance League Celebrates Texas Art Exhibition in Houston, Texas.
Juror Shelley R. Langdale, Philadelphia Museum of Art
60' x 110" Oil painting on canvas. Anna's Skiff. (Colorado River Steps Series)
2009 Texas National Exhibition.
Juror Mel Chin
30" x 40". Oil painting on canvas. Leaving Bellaire.
2008 The Hunting Art Prize, Houston, Texas; Finalist.
Rene Paul Barilleaux, chief curator of the Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum in San Antonio.
Peter Briggs, PhD, Helen DeVitt Jones curator of art, Museum of Texas Tech University in Lubbock.
Christian Gerstheimer, curator for the El Paso Museum of Art.
Amy Lewis Hofland, director of the Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas.
Victoria Lightman, co founder and principal director of the “Looking At Art” education program
Michelle Locke, associate curator of the South Texas Institute for the Arts in Corpus Christi
........................................................................................................................................
Selected Art Fairs
2017
Austin Fine Art Fair, Yvonamor Palix Gallery, Palmer Center, Austin, Texas
2016
Austin Fine Art Fair, Yvonamor Palix Gallery, Palmer Center, Austin, Texas
2015
Texas Contemporary Art Fair, Yvonamor Palix Gallery, George R. Brown Convention Center,
Houston, Texas
Houston Fine Art Fair, Yvonamor Palix Gallery, NRG Center, Houston, Texas
2014
Texas Contemporary Art Fair, Yvonamor Palix Gallery, George R. Brown Convention Center,
Houston, Texas
Selected Installations and Commissions
2016
Houston's Own Tall Forest, George R. Brown Convention Center, Permanent installation commissioned by Houston First
2012-2013
A Visual History of Oil Exploration in South East Europe, Bucharest, Romania
2008
Site Specific Commissions, Benches Designs for Baseball Field, Library Book Drop Bin Bellaire, Texas
1980-1992
Numerous individual and commercial painting commissions
........................................................................................................................................
Bibliography
• "2022 Art On The Avenue." Danielle Burns Wilson, Curator. "Page Pilands work..." Houston Chronicle December. 2022.
• Bernhard, Sabrina. "Page Piland." Art Houston. Fall, Winter 2020. Pg. 38-43.
Quartery Printed Publication. https://www.issuu.com/johnbernhard/docs/arthouston_issue__11
• Nance, Dennis. "Piland's trompe l'oeil paintings reveal..." Galveston Arts Center. April 21- May 27, 2018.
https://www.galvestonartscenter.org/exhibitions/germany-piland-makepeace-dunlap-lutyens-polk/#stratiforms
• Tommaney, Susie. "Reclaimed Wood Inspires Eight Artists at HCC Central Art Gallery."
Houston Press Aug. 2015
• "Advocate Through Art.” Catalog. 16 Nov. 2016. http://www.cachouston.org/media/files/
files/a0124f0c/CAC_Auction_Catalog.pdf
• Soloway, Mara. "Houston Prepares to Host Super Bowl LI." Houston Lifestyles & Homes. 27 Nov. 2016. Pg. 40
• Dennison, Ray Renfrow, Daniel Soloway. "State of The Arts." Houston Modern Luxury. 27 Nov. 2016.
Pg. 40 http://modernluxury.com/houston/features/6-top-art-influencers
• McBath, Ava. "Downtown Houston’s New Restaurant Row Hopes To Be Arts and Culture Destination, too."
Culture Map 08 Aug. 2016.http://www.houston.culturemap.com/news/arts/08-08-16-downtown-
houstons-new-restaurant-row-hopes-to-be-arts-and-culture-destination-too/
• Glentzer, Molly. "Artists give George R. Brown Convention Center Local Personality."
Houston Chronicle 27 July. 2016.
• Author Unknown. Sally Reynolds- Curator. "Known And Underknown." ArtsHound 18 May. 2016.
http://www.artshound.com/event/known-and-underknown-everyone-knows-someone-but-not-everyone-
knows-everyone/
• Porter, Pat. "18th Southwestern Print and Drawing Exhibition. Dallas Museum of Fine Art.
" Portal to Texas History” 23 Nov. 1969. Pg. 01 https://www.texashistory.unt.edu/
ark:/67531/metapth225232/m1/1/
........................................................................................................................................
Professional Development
Affiliations
Spring Street Studios: Past Advisory Committee Member
University of Houston Blaffer Museum-Gallery: Past-Board Member
San Jacinto College: Past-President- Arts Advisory Council
Art Directors Club of Houston: Past-President
........................................................................................................................................
Education
University of Texas at Austin, Bachelor of Fine Arts