This article is part of a series of pieces celebrating Glasstire’s 25th anniversary. To see other stories from this series, go here. To see pieces from the month of March, around the theme Texas Topographies: Examining Place & Practice, go here.

As we celebrate Glasstire’s 25th anniversary, we are commemorating the artists and art professionals who have shaped their regional art scenes, as well as Texas art more broadly. To do this, throughout 2026 we’re commissioning photographers from across the state to document more than 80 important Texas artists, arts workers, collectors, gallerists, and many others. We will be sharing these images throughout the year, coinciding with some of our thematic months. See all of the commissioned photographs here.

Our second round of photographs connects to our Texas Topographies: Examining Place & Practice theme, featuring some of the longstanding artists and cultural workers who have come to define their regions.

A photograph of curator Kimberly Davenport.Kimberly Davenport. Photo: Emily Peacock

Kimberly Davenport was the founding director of the Rice University Art Gallery in Houston, and served as Director and Chief Curator from 1994 until its closure in 2017. For more than two decades, the gallery’s exhibition programming focused on commissioning site-specific installations.

A black and white photograph of artist Joseph Havel sitting at a table with an array of loose ink paintings of flowers on a grid of paper behind him.Joseph Havel. Photo: Emily Peacock

Artist Joseph Havel was the longtime director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Glassell School of Art. Through his more than 30-year tenure at the Glassell School, he influenced generations of artists. His postmodernist sculptural works have been exhibited internationally, nationally, and across Texas.

A photograph of artist Jack Massing sitting at a work table in his studio with a blurred hand in the foreground.Jack Massing. Photo: Emily Peacock

Best known as one half of The Art Guys, a 36-year long collaborative conceptual project undertaken with Michael Galbreth, Jack Massing currently serves as the Executive Director of the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art in Houston. He has also recently been exhibiting his own work, and has been featured in shows at Bale Creek Allen Gallery, Sculpture Month Houston’s Site Gallery, the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at the Florida Southwestern State College in Fort Myers, and beyond.

A photograph of artists Sedrick and Letitia Huckaby in the community art space they founded, Kinfolk House.Sedrick and Letitia Huckaby at Kinfolk House. Photo: Diane Durant

The Fort Worth-based artist couple Sedrick and Letitia Huckaby are each well-renowned for their individual practices. In 2018, Sedrick was named Texas State Artist – 2D Visual Artist, and in 2022, Letitia was named Art League Houston’s Texas Artist of the Year. In addition to their longtime careers, both have served as art educators in the North Texas region. Also in 2022, the pair opened Kinfolk House, a collaborative art space featuring local, regional, and national artists.

A photograph of artist and cultural worker Vicki Meek sitting in a chair, with a stack of books near her and artworks hung on the wall behind her.Vicki Meek. Photo: Diane Durant

Vicki Meek is an artist and curator who served for nearly 20 years as the Manager of the South Dallas Cultural Center. She has received numerous awards, including the 2023 Moss/Chumley Artist Award and the 2021 Art League Houston Texas Artist of the Year award. In 2022, she was selected as the inaugural Nasher Sculpture Center Fellow in Urban Historical Reclamation and Recognition.

A group photograph of artists Dennis Blagg, Nancy Lamb, Cindy Holt, Daniel Blagg, and Jim Malone at Artspace111. Dennis Blagg, Nancy Lamb, Cindi Holt, Daniel Blagg, and Jim Malone at Artspace111. Photo: Diane Durant

In 1980, brothers Daniel and Dennis Blagg established Studio111 at the edge of downtown Fort Worth. Additional artists, including Cindi Holt, Jim Malone, and Nancy Lamb would join them in the studio space, before the building was purchased in 2007 by Margery Gossett and her brother William, who renovated the space and opened Artspace111. The gallery, which has become a staple in the city, represents the Blaggs, Lamb, and Malone, and the upstairs of the building is still used as studio space.

A photograph of curator and writer Leslie Moody Castro with an open book at a wooden table.Leslie Moody Castro. Photo: Bria Woods

Independent curator and longtime Glasstire contributor Leslie Moody Castro lives in Mexico City and works on curatorial projects around the world, but spends much of her time in Austin, where she co-founded Co-Lab Projects with Sean Michael Gaulager. She also serves on the board of Contemporary Art Month in San Antonio and has deep ties to both the Central and South Texas regions.

A photograph of artist Jenelle Esparza in her studio.Jenelle Esparza. Photo: Bria Woods

San Antonio-based artist and arts worker Jenelle Esparza has helped shape her city’s art scene through her work as the Head of Education at the McNay Art Museum and her role as co-founder of Presa House Gallery with her partner Rigoberto Luna. Over the last decade, the gallery has exhibited emerging and established artists, often showcasing San Antonio-based and South Texas-based artists. Beyond that, Esparza has received recognition for her art, including being selected for U.S. Latinx Artist Forum’s 2024 Latinx Artist Fellowship program and having her work acquired by The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in Riverside, California.

A photograph of artist Andy Benavides in his studio.Andy Benavides. Photo: Bria Woods

Andy Benavides has been an active artist and community advocate for more than 30 years. He opened Benavides Picture Framing in 1992 and six years later moved the business into San Antonio’s Lone Star neighborhood. The 1906 Art Complex on South Flores street, housed in the building he purchased with Alberto Mijangos, is an incubator and anchor for the arts community.

A black and white photograph of gallerist Charles Adams sitting at a table in front of a large bookshelf.Charles Adams. Photo: Robin Germany

Lubbock native Charles Adams left Texas to attend New York University in the early 1970s. After graduation, he ran a gallery in the West Village, but ultimately returned to Lubbock in 1980. His namesake gallery opened in 1983 and was overseen by Adams until he sold it in 2024. In addition to his long-running gallery, Adams founded the Charles Adams Studio Project (CASP), a nonprofit providing studio spaces, equipment, and learning opportunities to artists. Located on the property adjacent to the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, CASP is a major part of the Lubbock arts district.

A black and white photograph of artists Jon Revett and Matthew Williams.Jon Revett and Matthew Williams. Photo: Robin Germany

Canyon-based artist Jon Revett and Amarillo-based artist Matthew Williams are longtime residents of Texas’ Panhandle. They met when they both joined the Dynamite Museum, an art collective that installed thousands of hand-painted street signs in and around Amarillo in the 1990s. The duo are also artists themselves — Revett makes paintings, murals, and also writes; and Williams has done extended, yearslong performance works, among other things. Revett is currently a Professor of Painting and Drawing and the Department Head at West Texas A&M University. Williams runs the Amarillo gallery Invisible Genie, which features shows by underrepresented artists.

A photograph of artist Gaspar Enriquez in his studio.Gaspar Enriquez. Photo: Sarah M. Vasquez

El Paso-based Gaspar Enriquez is not only a significant artist but also taught art for over 30 years at a local high school, where he inspired generations of artists. Enriquez’s work is held in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Tucson Museum of Art, and others. In 2023, he was named Texas State Artist – 2D Visual Artist and the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at the University of Texas at El Paso established the Gaspar Enriquez Cultural Center in San Elizario, Texas.

A photograph of Buck Johnson and Camp Bosworth standing in their art gallery and store. Buck Johnston and Camp Bosworth at Wrong Marfa. Photo: Sarah M. Vasquez

Buck Johnston and Camp Bosworth opened their Wrong gallery and store in Marfa in 2010. The shop sells artworks, from prints to wooden sculptures and textile pieces, as well as books and carefully curated gifts. The back wall of the space is used to mount exhibitions featuring an array of artists from Texas and beyond. Johnston and Bosworth also run Do Right Hall, an events and gallery space less than a mile away from their main store. Wrong and Do Right are staples of the art town serving locals and people passing through.

A photograph of artist Cande Aguilar squatting and posing in front of a large painting of a car.Cande Aguilar. Photo: Marcus Narro

Self-taught artist Cande Aguilar has been an important fixture of the South Texas art scene for decades. He’s based in Brownsville and his work is often exhibited in the Rio Grande Valley area and beyond. He is a community-minded artist who’s built strong relationships with creatives in Harlingen, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas.

A photograph of artist Joe Peña in his studio/office with artworks behind him.Joe Peña. Photo: Marcus Narro

Joe Peña is a Professor of Art at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. He began his career at the university as Gallery Director and adjunct professor in 2006, and over the past two decades was promoted to Associate Professor and now Professor of Art. His work has been exhibited across Texas and is in various collections, including The Cheech, the Art Museum of South Texas, The Chaney Foundation in Houston, and La Universidad de Oaxaca.