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August 25, 2006 > Arts & Entertainment > Colors of the Season: Fall Museum Preview

Colors of the Season: Fall Museum Preview

By Caitlin Topham and Bryce Gray | Thresher staff

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

1001 Bissonnet St.

www.mfah.org

With its constantly rotating exhibits, lectures and films, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston always has something to see. Located a block from Rice on Main Street, the main exhibition halls — the Caroline Wiess Law and Audrey Jones Beck Buildings — house the museum’s permanent collection along with traveling shows and temporary installations. Pay especially close attention to the photography, Latin American art and contemporary art. The Asian galleries will be reinstalled later this year. Admission to the museum is free for Rice students, and film tickets are discounted. The MFAH also has a restaurant, Cafe Express, located in the lower level of the Beck Building.

This fall at the MFAH

“Best in Show: The Dog in Art from the Renaissance to Today”

Oct. 1, 2006 - Jan. 1, 2007

This exhibit features an abundance of work by artists ranging from Titian to Warhol. While centering a show on such a simple theme may seem juvenile or inappropriate for a fine arts museum, do not be fooled: Sophisticated artistic and cultural commentary often reveals itself more clearly when an exhibit’s subject matter is constrained.

“The Modern West: American Landscapes, 1890-1950”

Oct. 29 - Jan. 28, 2007

Work by Ansel Adams, Georgia O’Keefe and Jackson Pollock explores the influence of the Western landscape in this show.

Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston

5216 Montrose Blvd.

www.camh.org

Located across the street from the MFAH, the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston features travelling shows and installations. While the CAMH houses a minimal permanent collection, it is famous for house-curated installations. The museum continually runs a “Perspectives” installation series that offers viewers a unique look at a wide variety of subjects, artists and periods.

Group and theme shows are common outside the “Perspectives” exhibits, but do not discount the museum’s displays on specific artists. Also, the museum shop offers an eclectic assortment of jewelry, literature, posters and catalogues, and its proximity to campus makes it a great last-minute gift destination. Admission is free.

This fall at the CAMH

“Perspectives 153: Demetrius Oliver”

Sept. 15 - Nov. 26

Oliver, a Houston-based artist, opens his first solo show at a museum this fall. It will feature the artist’s trademark, slightly cynical cultural commentary. Lump, for example, shows a black man’s mouth dripping saliva as he bites on a piece of coal. In addition to his two-dimensional work, Oliver will present pieces in both sculpture and performance.

“Pipilotti Rist”

Oct. 14, 2006 - Jan. 14, 2007

This exhibit includes two new video installations and a feature film by the Swiss video artist Pipilotti Rist. Rist’s work the impact of societal influences on women’s self-esteem.

The Menil Collection

1515 Sul Ross Blvd.

www.menil.org

The Menil Collection is the private collection of John and Dominique de Menil. The Menils pooled their oil wealth in order to assemble one of the world’s largest — and most important — private collections of art. Tucked away from the street in Houston’s Montrose district, the large main gallery displays only a fraction of the Menils’ collection at any time.

The museum’s collections of 20th-century French surrealism, African art and modern pieces are especially impressive. The Menil offers free access to works by Matisse, Rothko, Picasso, Warhol and other tremendously influential artists. Located next door are the Rothko Chapel and the Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum.

This fall at the Menil

“Chance Encounters: The formation of the de Menil’s African collection”

Now - Sept. 10

This exhibit offers more history than art, which makes it appealing and distinctive among current Museum District exhibits. The title might sound like the beginnings of a dry high school field trip, but an attentive presentation reveals fascinating contexts for the intensely primal pieces “Chance Encounters” explores.

“The Imagery of Chess: Revisited”

Sept. 8, 2006 - Jan. 7, 2007

“The Imagery of Chess” recreates a 1945 exhibition of work by American and expatriate artists centered around what the Menil’s public relations department calls “this ancient game of combat and courtly love.” Robert Calder, Max Ernst, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp are among the 32 artists selected by curator Larry List for this Dada-influenced show.

The Rice Gallery

Sewall Hall

www.ricegallery.org

Students often overlook the Rice Gallery, despite its convenient, on-campus location on the south side of the academic quadrangle. The two-room gallery opens only during the academic year, although it has regularly hosted a two-dimensional summer exhibit in its front window. Lisa Hoke’s “Light My Fire” is this summer’s w/indow show and will be displayed through Thursday.

“Rip Curl Canyon”

Sept. 21 - Oct. 29

A landscape created by architects Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues uses computer generated curves and precision-cut cardboard to create a space designed to make viewers reconsider their everyday interior environments.

The opening reception, including a speech and question and answer session with the artists, will take place Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. 21.

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