Houston Art Scene
I finally visited Houston, TX, for an art pilgrimage to see work by some of modern art's most famous names - Rothko, Twombly, Turrell, Flavin, etc. I took five days in mid-November 2021, and with a quick, three-hour flight from Philly, Houston offered a great change of scenery and the opportunity to see some incredible art firsthand. Houston may seem like an unlikely place to experience fine art. However thanks to the philanthropy (and Schlumberger oil fortune) of Dominique and John de Menil, referred to as the Medici of Modern Art, the city has some of the best examples of one-artist / one-site works in the world. The extraordinary Rothko Chapel, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2021, would be tops on any list of must-see museums. As part of the sprawling Menil Collection campus, the Rothko Chapel is just part of the unique and singular legacy of the Menil's artistic vision for Houston.
Rothko Chapel exterior
Housed in a squat, unassuming tan brick building, the Rothko Chapel is an octagonal space that holds fourteen massive canvases in shades of purples and greens. In a radical redefinition of a spiritual space, Rothko arranged the works in the style of a Byzantine cathedral. Visitors are invited into the 'chapel' to be seated on plain wooden benches in front of the somber muted canvases. The cool thing that happens as your eyes adjust to the filtered light from the skylight is that what, at first, look to be monochromatic eggplant-colored canvases become more nuanced, vibrant and varied in tone and brushstroke the more you look at each work. It is such a sensory shift from Houston's bright sun and heat to the cool, silent interior that heightens this effect. The constant theme that stuck with me through all of the one-artist, one-site museums is that the voice and vocabulary of an artist were amplified by having their own self-sufficient artistic experience.
Outside in the courtyard sits Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk in a reflecting pool.
Broken Obelisk by Barnett Newman
Cy Twombly
The Cy Twombly Gallery at the Menil Campus is my favorite museum space dedicated to a single artist anywhere. I really like the Renzo Piano-designed building that has a cool, modernist edge on the outside, while inside, the minimalist spaces are bathed in diffuse light from adjustable skylights with a sailcloth scrim. The effect is that all the rooms glow with light without shadows or obtrusive light fixtures. Twombly worked extensively with the Menil Collection to create this museum, to an extraordinarily good result. Taking his cues from Greek and Roman mythology, poetry and calligraphy, Twombly's work benefited from this theme of allowing one artists' style to dominate a space without competing with other iconography or periods. Twombly's style uses bold splotches of color, traced by pencil or chalk, that vacillate between childlike scribbles and graffiti-like tags. Likewise, the calligraphic works benefit from the concentrated groupings found in these galleries.
James Turrell
James Turrell is a really interesting artist who uses light, often the natural light of dawn or dusk, to create experiential works that give form and shape to light. The Skyspace at Rice University is just awesome. It's a spaceship looking structure of a huge ceiling with a square cut out of the middle, suspended over a grassy pyramid with upper and lower benches. For 40 minutes at dusk and sunset, colored lights are projected on the ceiling to match and contrast with the changing sky. Some people came and went over the course of the event, but I think the idea is to go through the entire sunset and to gage the changes for yourself, in the same way you would listen to an entire symphony at once. What is seemly a simple idea - stare at the sky - becomes an immersive act where the light within the laser edge of the box open to the sky changes, pulses, retreats or advances depending on the hue. Check out some of the cool configurations and colors!
Dan Flavin
Another artist who I love that also plays with light is Dan Flavin. I got into Dan Flavin at Dia Beacon (see my Storm king blog post from this summer) and at the Judd Foundation in NYC. Here, Flavin has an installation at the Menil Collection that features his trademark fluorescent tubes of colored or white light to create sculptural works of art. The main gallery has a series of colored lights along each wall that run for almost 100 feet, creating a cool perspectival effect of rhythmic light that frames the space. The back room has several good examples of his 'monument for V. Tatlin' found at Moma and elsewhere.
The Menil Collection
Inside the Renzo Piano-designed Menil Collection hangs this vibrant, bright, commanding painting by Guyanese artist Frank Bowling. While some of the other abstract art I looked at were about form or color, the Bowling work "The Middle Passage" refers to the forced journey of enslaved Africans to the new world. I found this work refreshing, important and compelling precisely because Bowling was introducing a narrative, yes - even a tragic and terrible one, of lived experience that was absent in virtually all of the other work I had seen on my trip. The Menils were champions of social justice, and they used their wealth and art to combat racism in America, so this work seemed appropriate to occupy pride of place at the entrance to the Menil family collection. Just opposite hangs Mercer's Stop by acclaimed Black artist William T. Williams, whose work has a great tension from form, color and abstraction. The rest of the museum collection was a mix of ancient art, African art and a whole swath of modernist works, but I thought these two were the standouts for me.
William T. Williams, Mercer's Stop
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Just a few stops from downtown on the red Metro line lands you right at the Museum District stop. Here you can access the Museum of Fine Arts complex where I was able to catch the only US stop of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston Impressionist show as well as touring the Kinder building, dedicated to contemporary art. There were some great works here by Ursula von Rydingsvard, her cedar sculpture Gusta, and Donald Judd. But the big attraction was the interactive video wall by William Forsythe on the ground floor of the building. Just opened to the public last November, the Kinder building completes the encyclopedic collection and firmly announces Houston as a fine arts destination globally. The tunnels connecting the building to the larger complex features a light installation by James Turrell. The MFA Houston is a must-see and a good start to your art tour and I recommend seeing this first before venturing off to the more site specific museums around town.
Donald Judd, Untitled
Ursula von Rydingsvard, Gusta
Great Restaurants!
Looking at all this art sure got me hungry...and Houston did not disappoint on the food scene. Some of the standout places I visited ranged from highbrow to lowbrow and all were excellent.
My favorite spot in Houston was Aaron Bludorn's (of Cafe Bouloud in NYC) namesake restaurant that opened during covid but has a polish and style that is timeless. Super helpful and welcoming host Cole Parry directed me to the end of the long bar for a superb meal of oysters and lamb. They make a mean Vesper martini as well!
Oysters with caviar, Bludorn
Bludorn's super welcoming host, Cole Parry
Southern Yankee Crafthouse
This outpost of the brewing company's Houston headquarters serves up gastropub food in a fun and friendly environment. Ray, she said like "ray of sunshine", was a great bartender with equal parts mixology and friendliness - this place is walking distance from the Rothko Chapel / Menil Collection campus and a beer and 'adult lunchables' (yup, that's the menu item description) really hit the spot after a day in the galleries.
Southern Yankee Crafthouse, Mexican Beer
Southern Yankee Crafthouse, Adult Lunchables
Postino
I stumbled upon this great spot for some wine at the bar in the Montrose neighborhood. Great crowd, really nice wine selection and a great pit stop exploring some of Houston's suburbs.
About 10 minutes walk from downtown is THE most amazing Vietnamese place, Huynh (pronounced like "win"). Spring rolls were out of this world and I'm glad I got the medium Pho - it was excellent. I liked being able to choose the cuts of meat that went into the soup, from leanest to fattiest, and the broth was outstanding. This place was packed even in the late afternoon, so clearly the secret is out with this spot.
Huynh Vietnamese Restaurant
Nancy's Hustle
Grab a seat at the bar at Nancy's Hustle and let the rockabilly music on the stereo and the amazing atmosphere take you away. The food was just so so so good..the perfect neighborhood restaurant.
Parting Shot…
Your world reflected and inverted? A cosmos? drops of water? This is the magic that is Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.