It was great to get to do my usual annual visit to the Rothko Chapel, the Menil, and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts this year.
This was my first time in since the Rothko Chapel underwent a renovation and reopened late last year. This video explains some of the changes:
No photography inside, but completely appreciated — a terrific experience to just be absorbed by the large-scale works.
At the Menil:
Photography is only allowed in the hallway and not in exhibit areas. I did get to see the Cy Twombly Gallery in another building, which was great to be able to take in how his work transitioned over the years. Also, right now, interior designers seem especially taken with…let’s say very-very-very Twombly-inspired works…so in my mind, comparing those with the genuine articles was particularly interesting. From the Menil’s site:
The works on view in the Cy Twombly Gallery, dating from 1953 to 2004, comprise a veritable retrospective of the artist’s career, including a number of large canvases, sculptural works, and suites of paintings and drawings. Among the works on display are five paintings from 1959, featuring subtle graphic notations on white grounds; the vividly colored Bay of Naples and Triumph of Galatea, both from 1961; three of the so-called “Blackboard” paintings of the late 1960s; five paintings dedicated to German Romantic poet Rainer Maria Rilke from 1985; and the untitled “Green Paintings” that Twombly showed at the 1988 Venice Biennale. An entire room is given over to the artist’s monumental Untitled (Say Goodbye, Catullus, to the Shores of Asia Minor), 1994.
At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, a fabulous visit. Some highlights:
Pablo Picasso, Portrait Bust of a Woman
Thornton Dial, Roosevelt: A Handicapped Man Got The Cities to Move
William Edmondson, Eagle, 1935
Carmela Gross, A Negra (The Black Woman)
Thomas Demand’s Cardboard Recreation, Control Room
John McQueen, Untitled #125
Jasper Johns, Cicada
Mary A. Jackson, Low Basket with Handle
Jaydan Moore, Platter #4
Settee from Hard Times Plantation, Vicksburg
El Anatsui, Aso Oke
Niki de Saint Phalle, Gorgo in New York
And here, Gyula Kosice, The Hydrospatial City:
Couple of quick things: Texas Monthly declared the MFAH’s restaurant, Le Jardinier, as the best museum restaurant in the state. It was terrific to see the museum’s new Kinder Building. Lots about it here.