The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has announced the opening date for its newest space, as well as the inaugural exhibition lineup.
Designed by Steven Holl Architects, the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building will open to the public on November 21, 2020. Dedicated to displaying works from the museum's international collection of modern and contemporary art, the building is the third gallery space on the Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus.
"In the dynamic spaces that Steven Holl Architects has designed for the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, our distinctive holdings of modern and contemporary art will soon have the showcase they deserve," said Gary Tinterow, director of the MFAH, in a statement.
At street level, a black-box gallery near the entrance will be dedicated to immersive installations, including, to start, Argentinean artist Gyula Kosice's utopian vision for space architecture; a light-filled James Turrell work; and an infinity room by Yayoi Kusama. A windowed gallery and cafe will also be located on the first floor. On the second floor, suites of galleries will be organized by curatorial department but juxtapose geographic and chronologic categories. And third-floor galleries will house thematic exhibitions, including five inaugural shows presenting art from the 1960s on.
In addition to the first exhibitions within the building, eight site-specific commissions will also be inaugurated in November, including work by El Anatsui, Byung Hoon Choi, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Ólafur Elíasson, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Cristina Iglesias, Jason Salavon, and Ai Weiwei.
"We are thrilled that we can now present recent purchases and our historic acquisitions in depth and breadth, bringing our audiences a wealth of recognized masterpieces as well as discoveries by lesser-known artists," said Tinterow.
The museum will offer free admission to all three gallery buildings during opening weekend, and to the new Kinder Building through Wednesday, November 25, 2020.
