Delightful Convergence
Emilie Duval
COMPLETION DATE
2024
LOCATION
George Bush Intercontinental Airport, D-West Pier
2800 N Terminal Rd
Houston, TX 77032
District B
CLIENT
City of Houston
SPONSORING DEPARTMENT
Houston Airport System
PROJECT BUDGET
$90.000.00
Photo: Shau Lin Hon, Slyworks Photography 2024
Emilie Duval – Delightful Convergence
The "Delightful Convergence" series by Emilie Duval aims to forge a connection with viewers by presenting a vision of our contemporary world inspired by Houston's economic prosperity, technological advances, cultural vibrancy, and social dynamism. This series, which intertwines the urban landscape with the natural beauty of the bayou and parks, encapsulates the essence of connectivity, drawing upon the digital world and its innovative networks that have inspired Duval for years. Through her paintings, Duval seeks to convey and highlight Houston's vitality and modernity to travelers, integrating elements of nature to promote environmental awareness and showcase the city as a gateway that harmoniously blends respect for nature and beauty with modern technologies.
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HAA oversaw the artist selection, design, fabrication, and installation process for this artwork. Working diligently with sponsoring city departments, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, and the selected artists, HAA created and publicized the opportunity, coordinated the panel process, managed artist communications, and monitored on-site installation. Recommendation reports were submitted at the conclusion of Artist Selection and Design phases, and a robust closeout report was provided upon project completion detailing project summary and ongoing maintenance requirements.
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The Houston Airport System (HAS) is the City of Houston’s Department of Aviation, comprised of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, William P. Hobby Airport, and Ellington Airport/Houston Spaceport. The System served 54 million passengers in 2022 and nearly 60 million in 2019. HAS positions Houston as the international passenger and cargo gateway to the South-Central United States and as a primary gateway to Latin America. It contributed $36.4 billion to the local economy in 2019 and is responsible for creating 190,000 jobs.
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This project was funded through Houston’s Civic Art Ordinance, which requires 1.75% of the budget for eligible City-funded construction projects to be spent on integrating artwork and artists' ideas in public spaces and conserving the City of Houston’s Civic Art Collection. The Houston Arts Alliance administers the civic art program for the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.
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ARTS REPRESENTATIVES/PANELISTS
Alison de Lima Greene, Isabel Brown Wilson Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Melanie K. Brown, Division Manager for Customer Service, George Bush Intercontinental Airport
Andrew Czobor, Assistant Director, Terminal Management, Terminal D, George Bush Intercontinental Airport
Felicia Kizzie, Secretary, Heather Ridge Village Homeowners Association
Naiomy Guerrero, Graduate Center Teaching Fellow, The City College at The City University of New York
Nicole Mullen, Curator of Exhibitions at SFO Museum at the San Francisco International Airport
Nominating Committee
Christian Wurst, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions at the Sheldon Museum of Art
Marcela Guerrero, Jennifer Rubio Associate Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Mari Carmen Ramirez, Wortham Curator of Latin American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Rita Gonzalez, Terri and Michael Smooke Curator and Department Head of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Artist Bio
Emilie Duval’s work is defined by research and observation to acknowledge the functionality of society. Fueled by her studies in Law at the University of Paris Assas, and Art at the Ecole du Louvre, she focuses her interest on a wide range of geopolitical, economical, and financial matters. Her works envision decentralized algorithmic perspectives, including blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, and their effect on society. Duval is fascinated by how societies historically revolve around economics. Her works present reasoning that no one can escape the current expansion of algorithms. She does not judge this idea but hopes the works might lead people to a new observation of their own environment. Her work has been exhibited in Houston, Dallas, Marfa, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Portland, Berlin, Belgium, Paris, and London.