Within Me
A solo exhibition of works by Landess Walker
On view August 7 - September 20, 2026
The Lanecia A. Rouse Gallery is pleased to announce Within Me, an exhibition of works by Houston-based artist Landess Walker, curated by Cydney Pickens.
Informed by the artist's first experience with pregnancy, Walker articulates motherhood through painting, utilizing bold, bright color and fluid forms to draw connections between nature and birth. The exhibition will feature an Exhibition Walkthrough on August 22 with the artist and curator. Read more about this exhibition in the curatorial statement:
Within Me captures the beauty, change, and spiritual exploration of womanhood that encompasses artist Landess Walker’s pregnancy with her firstborn. In her debut solo exhibition, Walker’s work manifests motherhood through expansive, colorful paintings on canvas. Each brushstroke is intentional – expressive – and representative of the many thoughts, preparations, and sentiments she experiences each day of her pregnancy. She embodies the essence of Mother Nature, whose powerful presence gives and recycles life into her inhabitants. Deep green is an important motif in this body of work, as this is a color that represents health in nature. Each leaf on a tree, or blade of grass in a field, is like the cell of a growing organism: small, plentiful, and crucial in establishing the form and function of a larger whole. Walker celebrates the little things through her work in more ways than one. The infinitesimal changes that the body experiences through pregnancy add up to shape her journey as a mother before and after the baby’s birth. In this exhibition, Walker illustrates the words of other mothers in her life who are part of the community that supports and inspires her. She celebrates the unseen and often under-appreciated experiences of women by creating large, detailed works that take up space both physically and emotionally. Within Me is not only a collection of work, but a love letter to her unborn child and the women who make life possible for those around them.
— Cydney Pickens, Curator
About the artist.
Landess Walker
Originally from a small town in West Texas, Landess Walker moved to Houston in search of artistic inspiration. In her hometown, there were not many black artists to provide community or representation. All of this changed when she arrived at the University of Houston to study fine art. During her collegiate tenure, she began to express herself in ways she never thought possible. Bright colors and bold patterns quickly became her way to express her culture and explore her life's meaning. By prioritizing the natural skin tones of African American people and detailing their unique facial characteristics, she was able to elevate shared African American experiences through her work. Her practice centers the beauty and power of African American culture that she sees reflected in her own life, hoping to connect with audiences that can recognize and appreciate the world as she sees it.
About the curator.
Cydney Pickens
Cydney Pickens(she/her) is a curator, art appraiser, and avid supporter of the arts currently based in Houston, Texas. While attending the University of Houston, she successfully completed a dissertation investigating the relationship between traditional and modern performance art in Africa and Europe as vehicles for metaphysical understanding. This research continues to inform her craft-centered and community-engaged curatorial practice celebrating the interconnectivity of society through creative expression in raw and synthetic materials such as wood, glass, fiber, and metal. Through her personal art collection, relationships with artists, collectors, and institutions, she displays her devotion to sharing the influence of heritage and cultural identity on contemporary art.
