COUTUME: Preston Douglas Boyer’s experimental collaboration with interior designers
Fine artists and hospitality designers come together in an exhibition combining painting, performance, fashion and design

Holy Matrimony, 2024, Vintage wedding dress on custom aluminum stretcher, 50 x 38 inches

Houston, TX – Multidisciplinary artist Preston Douglas Boyer presents COUTUME, an exhibition of an experimental collaboration between fine artists and interior designers, including Marissa Reynolds and James Myers. COUTUME will be on view at LaRucheHTX, RUBY Projects’ residency for experimental art forms and conceptual installations, from November 8th – December 20th, 2024, with an opening event on Friday, November 8th from 5-9 PM.

COUTUME means custom in French, referencing Preston’s and LaRucheHTX’s mutual French heritage, as well as haute couture. The exhibition focuses on the idea of customizing the gallery space, turning the curation process into a collaborative performance exploring the interplay of fine art and design. Preston and Houston-based interior designer James Myers curate one half of the gallery, inviting interior design firm Reynolds Design International (RDI) to take over the over half and provide an exclusive peek into their collections. Preston’s response to RDI’s design choices and installation will take on the form of a performance in which he reacts to their decisions with his artwork. The final state of the exhibition will consist of the remnants of this performance.

COUTUME explores design through a broad lens, referencing fashion as well as interior design. Preston  has a background in couture, evident in the fabric pieces draped throughout the space in an intentionally disruptive manner, and, in works like Holy Matrimony, presenting fashion design as an artistic collaboration. As a compliment to several artworks in COUTUME, Preston  will be offering a service transforming people’s used  wedding dresses into custom fabric “paintings.”

The curation of the exhibition, inspired by the European idea of the Kunsthalle, is intentionally experimental in both form and function. Through activating and changing the space with various pop-up gatherings throughout the course of the exhibition, COUTUME will function as a performance piece, a collaboration between fine art and design that allows us to play with the customs of both. 

Exhibition Info

Opening reception: November 8, 2024 from 5-9 PM
On view: November 8 – December 20, 2024
Open every Saturday and by appointment

LaRucheHTX Artist Residency and Exhibitions
1705 Ewing Street
Houston, Texas 77004

About Preston Douglas Boyer

Preston Douglas Boyer (b.1995) is a multidisciplinary artist who works between painting, fashion, and performance, whose work considers how these forms are physical manifestations of the spiritual journey. His paintings are both remnants of performances and starting points for installations, addressing how surfaces can allude to both beauty and darkness through examining contemporary cultural conviction.

Website: https://www.prestondouglasboyer.com/
Instagram: @prestondouglasboyer 

About RUBY Projects / Megan Ebel

Megan Olivia Ebel is a curator, art advisor, and project manager with over 15 years of experience in fine art. She is the founder of RUBY Projects, an initiative designed to foster collaboration among galleries, institutions, patrons, and artists, with a focus on elevating Houston’s art scene nationally and internationally. Her ethos emphasizes accessibility, creative collaboration, and the power of community, with a dedication to bringing fresh perspectives and dynamic voices into the arts.

About LaRucheHTX

LaRucheHTX is RUBY Project’s spin on the historic La Ruche residency, located in Paris, which played a vital role in fostering creativity and collaboration among diverse artists, including Amedeo Modigliani, Marc Chagall, and Fernand Léger. Meaning “The Hive” in French, La Ruche was established in the early 20th century as a gathering place for artists seeking a supportive community and affordable living and working spaces.

LaRucheHTX brings this model to Houston, contributing to the cultural vibrancy of the city by providing a space for artists to live, work, and connect with one another. LaRucheHTX focuses on conceptual installation projects and exhibitions that incorporate experimental and new media art forms. 

About Reynolds Design International / Marissa Reynolds 

Reynolds Design International is an interior design and purchasing studio based in Houston. The RDI portfolio consists of a diverse range of projects for luxury clients internationally, all with a bold, creative, and elegant aesthetic.

Marissa Reynolds leads Reynolds Design International as principal designer, a multi-talented interior design firm specializing in hospitality. Marissa has over 17 years of experience in the interior design industry. Prior to establishing RDI, she was leading International design alongside Monet Dehmer for over a decade with Landry’s Inc, a multi-billion dollar company owning over 700 restaurants, hotels, aquariums, and casinos. Prior to her experience at Landry’s Inc, she was assistant designer to Lauren Rottet with Rottet Studio. She is involved in every aspect of the design process from programming, space plans, design concept and implementation, production documents, coordinating consultants, FF&E packages, and providing primary oversight during the construction phase. RDI’s list of impressive clientele showcases the strive to provide the best quality interior design service creating a trusting business relationship with its clients for many years to come.