Museum Of Fine Arts Houston At 1001 Bissonnet St.

[H-Town Man]

Finally made it to the museum last week. The glass tubes have grown on me, mainly because I know there's a function behind them, and because I have accepted that this is the facade, it's not going to change. The inside of the building is a true marvel. I am not a person who loves post-structuralist architecture, preferring symmetry and a visible logic to the building form, but with this building there is nonetheless a sense of majesty and aspiration that translates to any architectural language. It is the type of building that you find yourself pulling out your phone compulsively and taking pictures as you discover new angles, new little surprises in the juxtaposition of forms, new interesting spots and corners that you wonder if anyone else has discovered. I love the central well, the staircase, and of course the roof. The pod-like nature of the galleries, where you can't travel very far before being pushed back out into the common area, is both a strength and a weakness. It allows many separate themes and collections to be juxtaposed without needing to connect them, but it lacks the adventurous labyrinth feel of the Beck building's second floor.

The central well or atrium gives Houston a monumental interior space that will be the most memorable space of any of its museums and one of the defining spaces in the city. I could only wish that there was a little more light from the top, as at the Guggenheim in New York; the space has a slight dismal feel, especially since the bright windowed spaces on the first floor outcompete the light of the central space, leaving the sense of a weak center. In contrast, the main atrium of the Beck building is lit just right, and one emerges from the darker entrance/ticketing area with a triumphant feeling. Of course, walking into the Beck atrium now after seeing the Kinder building, the space feels small and a little dingy by comparison. It is no longer MFAH's living room; more like the guesthouse or mother-in-law wing.

An unexpected surprise is the benefit to the streetscape along Binz, and the Carolyn Wiess Law building across. Now that there is a defined streetscape, the Law building looks better than I have ever seen it. It feels intimate in a way that it never did before, when it felt like you were walking up to a big box store from the parking lot. The interior of the Law building is another matter. The old entrance area now that the doors are closed off looks like a vacant space in a mall. The giant interior space just feels pointless altogether. I don't think I've ever seen an exhibit there that made me feel like it deserved so much of the building's volume. Especially now that the building is devoted to collections of artifacts from world cultures, more anthropology than art, those collections are being robbed of space, particularly the Islamic collection which feels like it is pushed into closets on either side of the entrance space. I know Mies did this building, but at some point I think a remodeling of the interior has to be considered.

Lastly, it is nice that the American art collection has a larger space on the first floor of the Beck building, but you wonder if every single placard for a Western painting needs to remind us that the land was taken from the native Americans and their culture was appropriated. The placards for the Islamic collection for instance do not tell us that Persian (Sassanid) and preexisting polytheist Arabic cultures were appropriated, or that land was taken from Christians and Jews. The Romans also I think were rather ruthless appropriators of Greek culture, and so on. But it's 2020, and this too shall pass. It did seem like a couple of the familiar Remingtons were missing, paintings that helped put MFAH on the map. There are not too many artists for which MFAH can say that they have some of their very best work, instead of say the 90th best Rembrandt or the 200th best Monet, so it might be well to keep these together.

All in all, this has become an extraordinary museum campus, the kind that you can spend days at. It is time to get the word out; just absurd that 95% of their visitors are still from the Houston area. I think with the quality of what they have, it is only a matter of time.

Edited December 29, 2020 by H-Town Man

[Houston19514]

FWIW, One imagines that if the Law Building doors are currently closed, it might be because of the COVID-induced reduced operating capacity.

[H-Town Man]

28 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

FWIW, One imagines that if the Law Building doors are currently closed, it might be because of the COVID-induced reduced operating capacity.

Maybe but they have taken away the admissions desk in that area and hung art around the space. I think it's more likely because there is no more parking lot across the street so it would be a seldom used entrance and there is no need to duplicate admissions staff. Also allows for more exhibit space.

 

[H-Town Man]

dp

Edited December 29, 2020 by H-Town Man

[Houston19514]

21 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

Maybe but they have taken away the admissions desk in that area and hung art around the space. I think it's more likely because there is no more parking lot across the street so it would be a seldom used entrance and there is no need to duplicate admissions staff. Also allows for more exhibit space.

 

 

I think the Law Building admissions desk was relocated to the side quite some time ago.  And there's this from the MFAH website regarding admissions adjustments due to COVID:

 "On the main campus, a single designated visitor entrance, at the Audrey Jones Beck Building (5601 Main Street)."

[H-Town Man]

2 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

I think the Law Building admissions desk was relocated to the side quite some time ago.  And there's this from the MFAH website regarding admissions adjustments due to COVID:

 "On the main campus, a single designated visitor entrance, at the Audrey Jones Beck Building (5601 Main Street)."

I didn't see any admissions desk in that area (do you mean to the side of the former entrance area or the side of the building on Main Street?). And there is another visitor's entrance currently open in the Kinder building, so that notice cannot be up to date. You can research further but I'm not sure what's at stake here. If they do bring it back as an entrance, great.

Edited December 30, 2020 by H-Town Man

[DarklyMoron]

The Law entrance is only closed to limit the staff needed for screening, etc. It will be reopened whenever we return to normal. 
@H-Town ManI think your point about the interior having a slightly dismal feel is interesting. The new Menil drawing center mitigates that transition from the bright outdoors to the necessary dimness for works on paper rather well. Harder in a space like Kinder with the mix of mediums. And I agree that Law and really the entire campus looks and feels so much more cohesive and smart. Just that little bit of landscaping in the median does a lot to connect the two buildings. I get your point about the pods. I used to love going to the Met in NY and getting utterly lost in some wing. That said, I think most would argue for clear way finding. And I’d suggest that for a newbie visitor, this expanded campus gives you many opportunities to get lost. Imagine directing someone from the Glassell entrance to the European paintings.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughtful observations.

[H-Town Man]

4 hours ago, DarklyMoron said:

The Law entrance is only closed to limit the staff needed for screening, etc. It will be reopened whenever we return to normal. 
@H-Town ManI think your point about the interior having a slightly dismal feel is interesting. The new Menil drawing center mitigates that transition from the bright outdoors to the necessary dimness for works on paper rather well. Harder in a space like Kinder with the mix of mediums. And I agree that Law and really the entire campus looks and feels so much more cohesive and smart. Just that little bit of landscaping in the median does a lot to connect the two buildings. I get your point about the pods. I used to love going to the Met in NY and getting utterly lost in some wing. That said, I think most would argue for clear way finding. And I’d suggest that for a newbie visitor, this expanded campus gives you many opportunities to get lost. Imagine directing someone from the Glassell entrance to the European paintings.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughtful observations.

Then Houston 19514 was right. I do wish they'd lose the entrance space there and let the Islamic collection flow across. The vast central exhibit space is still I think the major issue hamstringing the building but it will be seen as blasphemy to alter Mies' design.

You are right, the whole campus affords many opportunities to get lost.

[Houston19514]

From the Houston Business Journal:

Michelin-starred chefs to open new restaurants at MFAH's Kinder Building

Café Leonelli and Le Jardinier will open in the MFAH's new Nancy and Rich Kinder Building. Both will be led by Michelin-starred chefs: Jonathan Benno will lead Café Leonelli, and Alain Verzeroli will lead Le Jardinier.  

Café Leonelli will be a more relaxed, buffet-style Italian restaurant serving focaccia, pasta, polenta, entrees and more. It will use seasonal Houston ingredients, and its baked goods will be made using traditional Italian methods. Salvatore Martone, also a Michelin star recipient, is Bastion’s executive pastry chef.

Le Jarrdinier will use French culinary techniques and seasonal ingredients. The restaurant will include outdoor seating and a gluten-free bakery as well as additional baked goods from Martone. 

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Houston19514

[hindesky]

Crane on Main St. was hosting up these huge glass windows.

[hindesky]

Saw about a dozen crates of new glass tubes that were being hoisted up.

[DarklyMoron]

An extremely positive review of both the building and the installations in the National Review (with a few brief right wing asides). 
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/02/hallelujah-houston-mfa/

[Twinsanity02]

Nice to read something about Houston besides floods and freezes. Houston has become quite beautiful which would have sprouted hoots of derision 30 years ago. Our museum of art is a gem. 

[Naviguessor]

2 hours ago, DarklyMoron said:

An extremely positive review of both the building and the installations in the National Review (with a few brief right wing asides). 
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/02/hallelujah-houston-mfa/

His tangents made me laugh out loud.   

[MidCenturyMoldy]

3 hours ago, DarklyMoron said:

An extremely positive review of both the building and the installations in the National Review (with a few brief right wing asides). 
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/02/hallelujah-houston-mfa/

The article seems to be behind a translucent-semi-circular-glass-tubes-covered paywall. 

Edited March 1, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[DarklyMoron]

8 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

The article seems to be behind a translucent-semi-circular-glass-tubes-covered paywall. 

Ah yeah. They give you a few free articles a month. I inadvertently used up my going to the same article 3 times. D’oh!

[Montrose1100]

23 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

The article seems to be behind a translucent-semi-circular-glass-tubes-covered paywall. 

6 pop ups I had to close before I got to that stage. 

[tangledwoods]

Just noticed a project at UCLA that looks suspiciously familiar.  So who had the curvey façade idea first?  Steven Hall or Johnston Marklee?

UCLA ARTS UNVEILS NEW MARGO LEAVIN GRADUATE ART STUDIOS | UCLA Arts

Johnston Marklee

 

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by tangledwoods

[H-Town Man]

18 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

Just noticed a project at UCLA that looks suspiciously familiar.  So who had the curvey façade idea first?  Steven Hall or Johnston Marklee?

UCLA ARTS UNVEILS NEW MARGO LEAVIN GRADUATE ART STUDIOS | UCLA Arts

Johnston Marklee

 

 

Are those glass or concrete? If concrete then it reminds me of a grain silo.

 

[hindesky]

Cafe Leonelli, the long-awaited Houston debut of Michelin Star chef Jonathan Benno, will open April 16 at the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

The cafe will focus on traditional Italian cuisine, producing house-made focaccia, sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes, and meat and seafood fare. Also look for Italian pastries from executive pastry chef Salvatore Martone and an outpost of Miami-based ice cream shop Frohzen.

Cafe Leonelli will have indoor and outdoor seating.

:From Houstonia 

[X.R.]

1 hour ago, hindesky said:

Cafe Leonelli, the long-awaited Houston debut of Michelin Star chef Jonathan Benno, will open April 16 at the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

The cafe will focus on traditional Italian cuisine, producing house-made focaccia, sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes, and meat and seafood fare. Also look for Italian pastries from executive pastry chef Salvatore Martone and an outpost of Miami-based ice cream shop Frohzen.

Cafe Leonelli will have indoor and outdoor seating.

:From Houstonia 

Is this going in that amazing looking space with all the chairs that faces binz/bissonnet? A michelin star chef? Food in Houston is seriously going places, what an amazing get by the Museum. 

[DarklyMoron]

7 hours ago, X.R. said:

Is this going in that amazing looking space with all the chairs that faces binz/bissonnet? A michelin star chef? Food in Houston is seriously going places, what an amazing get by the Museum. 

Yes, the cafe is in the space along Bissonnet. The restaurant is in the space facing the sculpture garden. The restaurant should be pretty spectacular. Can’t wait.

[hindesky]

[Houston19514]

Texas Architect magazine

[Highrise Tower]

Friend and I went here this weekend. We saw the Figurative Art in Houston: 2000–2021.

[ChannelTwoNews]

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/05/01/museum-fine-arts-houston-new-islamic-art-galleries

"The addition of six new galleries has almost doubled the square footage designated for Islamic art at MFAH. The institution now houses what its director and chair Gary Tinterow describes as “perhaps the most extensive collection of Iranian art in private hands”."

[bobruss]

It looks like the MFAH, is preparing a site, in front of the Kinder Bldg., near the entrance to the sculpture garden on Bissonnet. I've heard it's a Simone Leigh sculpture. Her work was featured in the Venice Biennale. This will be an important acquisition for the museum and it will look nice there. I'd also like to see something sited along  Main.

[Purdueenginerd]

On 10/30/2023 at 8:58 PM, bobruss said:

I've heard it's a Simone Leigh sculpture.

This is correct. 

[hbg.50]

1 hour ago, Purdueenginerd said:

This is correct. 

HOUSTON–August 9, 2023—Simone Leigh’s towering, 24-foot-high Satellite (2022), an edition for Houston of the artist’s signature work from the 59th Venice Biennale, will be installed in front of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building for modern and contemporary art in October.

Satellite was the centerpiece of the artist’s project for the American Pavilion in Venice, epitomizing her exploration of the Black female figure through bronze and aligning closely to her vessels, which symbolize and honor Black women. The piece will be sited adjacent to Cristina Iglesias’s water sculpture Inner Landscape (2020), at the entrance to the Kinder Building.

[bobruss]

Speaking of sculpture, Andrew Durham Gallery, where I am director, located at 1821 West Alabama, currently has a beautiful sculpture exhibition featuring work by six artist with ties to Texas. The exhibition will remain through December 2nd. 

Please Come by.

Wed. - Sat. 11:00 - 6:00

You can get a preview on Glasstire's  five minute video tours.