Richard Fluhr

Any Houstonian will recognize at least some of the landmarks in this painting by Richard E. Fluhr.   Although not originally from Houston, Richard has called Houston home for over twenty years and was able to produce this painting recalling architecture and public sculpture that made an impression on him.

Indeed, Richard creates much of his art in this way, painting not only things that he has seen and experienced personally, but also things that have strongly influenced or impressed him through other media, such as the news or the theater. Many of the paintings and drawings of his own that he keeps in his home are those that have a more personal story behind them or are more viscerally moving to him.  For example, he keeps an etching that he did of Maria Callas after hearing her sing while still in high school.

Indeed, Richard creates much of his art in this way, painting not only things that he has seen and experienced personally, but also things that have strongly influenced or impressed him through other media, such as the news or the theater. Many of the paintings and drawings of his own that he keeps in his home are those that have a more personal story behind them or are more viscerally moving to him. For example, he keeps an etching that he did of Maria Callas after hearing her sing while still in high school. He also keeps an amusing painting he made of a friend's house in Mexico. This particular painting looks a little odd to the uninformed viewer; it's simply a view of a pair of stone columns supporting a roof, but the cornices of the columns are not at the tops of the columns near the roof, as they should be. Rather, they fall in the middle of the columns, and festive drinks from a party have been placed upon them. Richard knows the key to the mystery: he says that the misplaced cornices were a mistake in the construction of the house while his friend was away and unable to supervise the builders!

Richard has lots of stories and anecdotes like this from his travels.  In fact, his home is filled with relics and artifacts from trips that he has collected over the years, and each one has a story behind it.  For example, his kitchen floor features a mosaic that he created himself, and in addition to bits of glass and pottery that his friends donated to him, the tiling includes tiny marble tiles from the ruins of Pompeii, which he acquired there in 1999. He tries to travel at least three times a year, both within and outside of the United States.  This is primarily because he enjoys learning about and experiencing different cultures and history.  A few weeks after 9/11 he traveled to New York City to work on a moving series dealing with that tragic event.  He discovered that the NYPD had an area set aside for artists to work and was able to join the group, close-up to the still smoldering site. The picture on the left (Brotherhood, 2001) is one of his works from that time.

Despite his fondness for traveling, Richard has many ties to Houston that enable him to call the city home.  While in college at the University of Texas in Austin, he came down to Houston with some college friends.  After that, he never really made it back to Austin.  He liked Houston and decided to stay, finishing up college at the University of Houston while waiting tables at the River Oaks Country Club to earn money.  One of the patrons of the club was generous enough to sell him his first property. After seizing that opportunity he was able to start buying, selling, and developing property in Houston to support himself and his art. His property investments allowed him to  spend two years at the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he received his Master of Fine Art Degree in 1982.  He returned to Houston to teach at The Art Institute of Houston and had summers to travel.

Richard Fluhr has worn many hats in the art business in Texas: he has bought art, sold art, owned a gallery in Houston, and shown his work in other Texas galleries.  He is a long-time board member of the Bayou City Art Festivals that take place every year in Houston, and in 2002 he was named the Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts Artist of the Year. However, Richard still maintains a greater presence in the Texas art community beyond Houston. Some of his work has found permanent homes in museums, including the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, the Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi, and the British Museum in London. If you want to find out more, email him at REFstudio@prodigy.net or visit his website: pages.prodigy.net/refstudio.