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Beyond Houston

Aaron Storck: Spring Theme / Sweep It Clean

February 3, 2024 - April 27, 2024
Crossroads Hotel

About

SPRING CLEAN

PURE, YOU SHOWER

WASH

YOU SWEEP

 

I SAW THE DIRT

TOGETHER WE SAW

THE SPOTS—

 

I’LL CLEAN IT WITH YOU 

WE’LL WIPE 

MY HAND 

YOURS

DOES THE CLEANING 

MY HEART

 

OUR GLADNESS—

I’M GLAD I COULD HELP 

NOW YOU CAN 

GO AND HELP 

TOO

TO CLEAN

 

LET’S MAKE THIS 

YEAR SOMETHING 

SPECIAL— 

2024

The title of this show is Spring Theme / Sweep It Clean.

The wizard celebrates the Spring for its symbolic qualities of change, challenge and risk.

The wizard has his broom, the tool of magical flight, as well as his dustpan. He can perform cleaning and maintenance both literally and figuratively. A possible implication being that the artist Aaron Storck has tended to his tidying, and is now able to create paintings and other artworks that embody the exuberance and animal spirits of the Spring Theme.

He wants you to clean: to rise to the occasion, to be disciplined, and to judge between what’s trash and what’s valuable in your life.

He may help, but he ultimately wants you to deal with your crap. “I’m going to even metaphorically clean up your mess that you made, that you neglected to clean up” he admonishes in a 2023 video.

In a frightening new world, in which we are confronted by global warming and AI (among other challenges) one must do more than merely sweep and sort belongings. But the wizard seems to suggest that if you take to the broom and do your duty as he has, a mystical path awaits, a chance for adaptation through creativity and opportunity.

When the spring finally comes for you, you’ll want to be squared away.

Organizers

Aaron Storck: Spring Theme / Sweep It Clean is curated by Hesse McGraw.

Crossroads Hotel gallery and art program is organized by El Dorado and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston with Tiffany Meesha Thompson.