Artist finds her space at ‘The Docks’

Nineteen years ago Sylvia Angeli set up her studio in a warehouse space called The Docks. Located near downtown where I-10 East crosses North Main, it was built as cotton warehouses by the Southern Pacific Railroad in the early 1920s.

Angeli says she originally rented the studio with a group of six other artists and designated it Studio 7. “We liked it,” she says, “because of the lighting, the open space, and we were a small group of artists together.” Although the original group of artists eventually left she continues to share her studio with other artists.

Today The Docks not only houses her studio space but that of a number of other visual artists, and a performing arts group, Diverse Works.

Since she located to the area, downtown has become a focus of activities that include sports, light rail, the performing arts, new parks and various entertainment venues. Perhaps as important has been its role in providing an opportunity for artists to create their works in the heart of the city.

Artists’ studios have taken root in the many old warehouse spaces just north and east of downtown forming what has become known as the Artists’ Warehouse District. These warehouses, many renovated, are preferred by artists because of the large work and storage space.

Sylvia Angeli’s art has been shown in galleries around Texas, California, Michigan and Hawaii. Her oversized still life paintings of fruit have been her focus for the past eighteen years. “I started painting landscapes, but for many years I studied the body and I always wanted to do both. So I did the figure and I did the portraits, and a little bit of everything as artists grow. You try a little bit of different mediums to try and find your way. I had a friend who handed me a pear when she came into the studio one day, and that was the beginning of my pear paintings.”

Her large paintings of fruit have been described as “provocative and earthy” with “luscious colors and lightings.” One gallery says, “In her paintings, Sylvia Angeli creates mood and mystery through the exploration of scale, color and texture. Angeli’s bold brushstrokes and colorful palettes catch the eye. Her compositions include sensual, oversized still lifes, most often featuring pears in various states of repose.” Many of her paintings are held in private collections.

Angeli is a native Houstonian. She studied at Sam Houston State, Rice University and the Glassell School of Art. She also attended the Les Illusiones School in Les Cerqueux, France, and the International Arts Program in Lake Como, Italy.

As for her warehouse studio, she feels she is very fortunate to have found such a convenient and spacious location. “I moved down to the studio which is called The Docks and the group wanted one of us to sign the lease. I was the only single woman and I decided to go for it and signed the lease. So that began Studio 7. The building has fantastic bays and is built high off the ground so it doesn’t flood. Not a lot of people know about The Docks.”

The public will have the opportunity to visit the artists studios in the Warehouse District during their annual Art Crawl which will take place in the fall. To find out more visit artcrawlhouston.com.