Setting
The Artists
Our location in the Arts District motivated the decision to showcase local artists whose styles complement the restaurant's warm, contemporary design.
Every element of the Stephan Pyles restaurant contributes to the dining experience in its entirety. Artwork plays an integral role in the mix, balancing the majesty that represents "Texas of the mind" with the tastes of New Millennium Southwestern Cuisine.
No visit to the restaurant is complete without taking the time to experience the works of these extraordinary artists. Click on the links below to view each piece in the collection.
Sylvia Moss engages a mix of light and richly textured prickliness, not unlike the Texas cactus. Her two works are a paradox of beauty, with "Rhapsody in Red" becoming almost exotic with embedded bits of glass dancing in the candlelight. The broken glass yields explosions of color as you move past it, reminiscent of Texas in the evening. Placed at the bar, this painting entices the viewer to come close, but not touch.
Sherry Owens, back in her new studio after a long hiatus, has created a suspended piece for the restaurant. Coaxing Crape Myrtle into a gentle Texas twister of sinewy branches, it could be something spotted in west Texas today, or in an imagined movie in the cowboy era.
Rusty Scruby, John Ater, Cheryl Kline, Allison V. Smith, and Sylvia Moss revisit an imaginary Texas landscape. All of these works are actually more mythic than narrative.
The first of Rusty Scruby's pieces hangs over the banquettes. Drawing on the contribution of many textures skillfully woven into, under, and on top of the work, it reminds the viewer that it is not necessarily aligned with reality. A second piece, in the corridor to the restroom, is a collaboration with photographer John Ater. Shot at night from Stephan's balcony, its rich color, hot orange sunsets and cooling clouds seem almost a rehearsal of the feeling for the restaurant. Rusty interpreted this piece with his technique of weaving, rendering the images reductive. For full effect, the imagery requires viewers to move in for a closer look.
In the main dining room is another Sylvia Moss painting, "Cloudburst". Once again, her surface – rough, rich, and illuminated by the sun – embraces the Texas sky. It is joined by a glass piece by Barry Entner, which picks up the light of the night sky.
In the private dining room, Cheryl Kline's evocative work seems mysterious, enigmatic and soulful, providing a smooth palette of nuanced light emitting from an almost detached cloud. Also on display, Allison V. Smith's photographs, another reminder of the quick change in Texas skies. Viewers are led on a road trip through Texas, destination unknown. Also in private dining, two small works by Dan Rizzie, who started with Stephan at Routh Street Café.
Artwork selected and coordinated by fine arts consultant Sharon Corgan Leeber of Architectural Art Company, architecturalartsinc.com. According to Sharon, being an observer of art really involves paying attention; if you do that, you will begin to see what it tells us, often different stories depending on your place in time.