Lawndale Art Center is a non-profit space for the exhibition of contemporary works of art in all media, based in Houston, Texas, USA, focused on exhibiting work by Houston area artists. Lawndale Art Center was founded in 1979 by artist James Surls in an abandoned 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) warehouse as part of the University of Houston, providing studio spaces for graduate students in painting and sculpture. Surls, then Professor of Art, created an exhibition area within Lawndale's 15,000 sq