Inside the MFAH
“Inside the MFAH” provides perspectives, conversations, and opinions from insiders at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Please Touch the Art! A “Houston Penetrable” Primer April 23, 2014
This summer, the Museum’s Cullinan Hall is teeming with 24,000 hand-painted PVC strands, each two stories high, filling 2,600 square feet of gallery space. And you are invited to walk right into them. Not sure what to expect when you enter the Museum and see Soto: The Houston Penetrable, a monumental installation eight years in the making? Here’s a quick rundown. What is the Houston …
A Conservation Challenge: The Ceramic Robotics of Clayton Bailey February 19, 2014
California artist Clayton Bailey (born 1939) has devoted his career to comedy, science, and pseudoscience through the medium of ceramics. His 1977 work Monster (“Burping Bowl”), on view in Beyond Craft: Decorative Arts from the Leatrice S. and Melvin B. Eagle Collection, is a cross between a pond-dwelling sci-fi monster and the childhood nightmare of someone living in the toilet bowl. A head …
Diving into “Watson and the Shark” November 14, 2013
One of the centerpieces of American Adversaries: West and Copley in a Transatlantic World is Watson and the Shark, the sensational painting that earned artist John Singleton Copley (1738–1815) election to the Royal Academy of Art in London.Just a few insights into this monumental work:Watson led quite a life, including a stint as the “peg-legged mayor of London.”This painting depicts a …
Telling Tales out of School October 4, 2013
Artist and Glassell Junior School instructor Seth Mittag created this reel of stop-motion videos made by his classes over the years. I sat down with Seth to get some background on these sometimes-dark, often-funny videos and his students, who range in age from 8 to 18. “The main goals I have are to teach the kids how to make animation; to have a lot of fun; and for about an hour and 15 …
An Incident in Bell Park August 29, 2013
On his way to work, MFAH photographer Will Michels noticed that a bronze sculpture depicting Christopher Columbus had been tagged in several places with silver paint. The sculpture, which stands in Bell Park in the Museum District, was paid for by Houston’s Italian-American community. Columbus points to the Italian Cultural and Community Center on Milford Street. The graffiti appeared in …
Assembling “The Light Inside” August 9, 2013
I interviewed the Museum’s own Russ Lane, who served as lead preparator for James Turrell: The Light Inside. We talked about the unique requirements of this special exhibition and Russ’s father’s interest in flying, a shared experience that has created an even deeper appreciation of Turrell’s work. SS: Hello, Russ! Can you introduce yourself?RL: My name is Russ Lane, and I am a preparator (or …
Around Houston: Turrell in a Day July 3, 2013
While James Turrell: The Light Insideis one of three concurrent exhibitions of Turrell’s work on view this summer across the country, the exhibition in Houston seems almost like a homecoming for an artist who has carved out several meditative spaces in this otherwise hectic city. It’s easy to make an entire day of enjoying Turrell’s work here in town, whether you’re a visitor or a …
hang@MFAH: A Place for Teens June 27, 2013
The challenge: create a cool program for teens. The result? hang@MFAH: Houston Art New Generation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston!
Line, Redrawn April 9, 2013
“I am proceeding very slowly, I do not want to spoil the initial freshness of my work. . . . If I could, I would leave it as is, even if it means to start all over and to take it to a further stage on a different canvas.” —Pablo Picasso In several of the paintings in Picasso Black and White, Picasso characteristically leaves visible traces of earlier sketches on his canvas. The visible …
More than a Replica: The “Guernica” Tapestry Comes to Houston February 18, 2013
Visit the MFAH beginning February 24 to see a tapestry version of Pablo Picasso’s renowned Guernica painting. The tapestry is part of the exhibition Picasso Black and White, which features a selection of Picasso’s foremost monochrome paintings, drawings, and sculptures. In addition to the tapestry, the show includes three studies that Picasso completed for Guernica. Picasso painted Guernica …
