Art-spectacular! Selections from this week's CAM calendar

Now in its 28th year, Contemporary Art Month presents over 100 exhibitions, performances, and art happenings in March, getting a few extra days in the mix with the CAM Kick-off Party at Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum this Thursday, February 28. For a complete listing of CAM events, look at the insert in this week's issue. We'll be giving CAM-intensive coverage next week in our annual Arts Issue, but here are a few shows happening this opening week we don't want you to miss.

McNay Print Fair

Once considered inferior to paintings on canvas or panel, works on paper are receiving ever-increasing respect in the art world. But go figure, though pricey galleries have paid attention to the shift, there's only one major annual art show in Texas that celebrates paper. Good news, it's the McNay Print Fair, an annual exhibition and sale, now in its 17th year this weekend. Hosting dealers from around the U.S., the fair presents prints, drawings, watercolors, and photographs to exhibit and sell. Not a big collector yet? There's something to take home from the thousands of pieces for sale for every budget and taste, ranging from rare old master prints, to contemporary graphics. Not buying? Just stop by for eye candy. It won't be back till next year.

Entrance Before Exit

Entrance Before Exit brings works by Michael Henderson, Robin Germany, and Beth Thomas to look at the many portals that open on myriad realms, and focus on the pause in the middle of passing named after an architectural detail: the threshold. Working in painting, drawing, video, photography, and ceramics, the artists expand on the literal notion of entrance to explore the emotional aspects of passing into a different life — or the ramifications of not taking that entrance, peering into an opening, but pausing, and turning back before entering. Showing dream doors and utilizing personal symbolism, these works attempt to complete the passage.

In Minds, with Rhymes, on Lines

Living in a foreign country, unsure of the language, can lead to depression — an experience that local artist Jung-hee Mun believes is mirrored in the isolation of communicating through social media. Born in South Korea, Mun is known for her finely crafted figurative paintings that engage the imagination. Her latest installation at Fl!ght Gallery will explore Mun's immigrant experience in the U.S.

Mun places 2" x 2" self-portraits, the familiar square of an Instagram image, strung in nine hand-stitched rows that trail to the floor. Sewn snippets of hair cover the faces, which seem to hide from the viewer's sight. Nearby, swathes of yellow paper written with red ink refer