all together now

All you need is love: Menil to take part in an innovative global exhibit on theart of romance

Malick Sidibé, Nuit de Nöel (Happy-Club) [Christmas Eve (Happy-Club)]; Courtesyof the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, NY
Yinka Shonibare, The Swing (after Fragonard), 2001
Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Queen Amina (1 of 2), 2012
Zoulikha Bouabdellah, Chéri, 2012
Photo by Zoulikha Bouabdellah

In a unique Transatlantic collaboration, the Menil Collection is set to join St. Louis' Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos in Nigeria for a global look at the changing meanings of love in contemporary society.

Through the work of more than 20 African artists, as well as a select few from Europe and the Americas, The Progress of Love examines the manner in which technology, economics and politics continue to shape expressions of love across the continent of Africa.

Starting Dec. 2, the Menil Collection will host Global Systems of Love, a portion of the three-venue Transatlantic exhibit looking at more than 50 works.

Organized by former Menil curator Kristina Van Dyke, who now directs the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, the show will run concurrently at all three venues from October 2012 through April 2013 to explore love as a global ideal, love as an experience and love in terms of death and mourning.

“[The exhibition] is particularly concerned with the question of how technological ‘progress’ is reshaping our understanding of love, in Africa as well as in Europe and America,” Van Dyke said in a statement Thursday.

Starting Dec. 2, the Menil Collection will host Global Systems of Love, a 56-work portion of the Transatlantic exhibit looking at the ways language, mass media, cultural traditions and socioeconomics influence images and expectations of love. The Menil exhibition includes three commissioned works from artist Romuald Hazoum é, filmmaker Zina Saro-Wiwa and musician Emeka Ogboh.

"With our partner institutions we are presenting an unprecedented gathering of works that prompt us to think more clearly and seriously about the meaning of love, in all its expressions and manifestations," said Menil director Josef Helfenstein.

"The fact that the impetus for this rethinking comes primarily from artists in today’s Africa and its diaspora broadens the understanding that our emotional lives have a history, just as our public affairs do — with similarities, differences and cross-currents. I believe that The Progress of Love will open eyes and hearts and minds."

The Progress of Love will be on view at the Menil Collection from Dec. 2, 2012 to March 17, 2013, the Pulitzer Foundation from Nov. 16, 2012 to April 20, 2013 and the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos from Oct. 13, 2012 to Jan. 27, 2013. A full-illustrated catalogue will accompany the three-venue exhibition.

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A holiday reopening

Houston's Rothko Chapel sets reopening date after Hurricane Beryl closure

Courtesy of the Rothko Chapel

The Rothko Chapel reopens December 17, 2024.

One of Houston's most-loved and important cultural landmarks is set to reopen on Tuesday, December 17. Damaged during Hurricane Beryl, the Rothko Chapel will resume providing Houstonians with a space to pause and reflect this holiday season.

The Chapel will be open from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday from December 17 through 22, and from 10 am to 5 pm December 24 through January 5, 2025. Chapel hours on December 25 and January 1 will be noon to 5 pm.

The octagonal chapel features 14 black panels painted by renowned artist Mark Rothko. It attracts visitors from around the world, who come to the space to meditate and take in Rothko's art. Beryl's heavy rains and gale-force winds resulted in leakage through the Chapel’s roof. Part of the ceiling and several walls had water damage, and four of Mark Rothko’s panels were also affected following the storm.

Whitten & Proctor Fine Art Conservation, one of the country’s premier art-conservation firms, led the analysis and assessment to restore the chapel. The water-streaked walls and ceiling have been repaired and repainted. Damaged panels are now undergoing careful restoration off-site. They will be returned to the chapel once the work is complete.

"Since the storm, our focus has been on the complete repair of the building, the restoration of the damaged panels, and on the reopening of the Chapel so the public once again has access to this beloved space for contemplation and meditation,” Rothko Chapel executive director David Leslie said in a statement. “Getting to this point has been a true community effort involving an amazing team of art conservators, scientists, art handlers, volunteers, community partners, and Chapel staff, and we are very excited to reopen in time for the holidays.”

Following the damage left in Beryl’s wake, the chapel hosted a number of fall programs at off-site locations.The first program slated for 2025 is the chapel’s annual MLK Observance, "Sick of War: Discussing Health Impacts of US Militarism.” That will be hosted in the chapel on January 15, 2025.

Earlier this year, the Rothko Chapel announced an extensive expansion campaign, Opening Spaces. The $42 million project will add new buildings just north of the existing Chapel on the other side of Sul Ross St.

Photo by Elizabeth Felicella

The Rothko Chapel reopens December 17, 2024.

rothko chapel openings visual-art hurricane beryl