Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts will celebrate the golden anniversary of Houston’s Rothko Chapel with its spring exhibition, “Artists and the Rothko Chapel: 50 Years of Inspiration,” opening Jan. 22, 2021.
The Moody will pay particular homage to an exhibition famously mounted at Rice in 1975, “Marden, Novros, Rothko: Painting in the Age of Actuality,” by restaging the historic show in its entirety.
The unique group exhibition will be accompanied by original programs recognizing the enduring legacy, at Rice and throughout Houston, of philanthropists and art patrons John and Dominique de Menil — chiefly, the influence of their Rothko Chapel. A half-century after its founding in 1971, it remains one of Houston’s best known and beloved destinations.
“Dominique and John de Menil had a vision for Houston, as symbolized by the Rothko Chapel, that has resonated with generations of artists,” said Moody Center associate curator Frauke Josenhans. “After 50 years, the chapel remains a powerful source of inspiration for creators around the globe, not only from an aesthetic point of view but also from a humanistic one.”
In the first section of the spring show, original works by American artists David Novros and Brice Marden will be reunited after 46 years in an immersive recreation of the 1975 show organized at Rice by Harris Rosenstein with the support of Dominique de Menil.
The second section of the exhibition will highlight recent works by contemporary artists — across media, ages, nationalities and backgrounds — as a means of exploring the non-denominational chapel’s wide-reaching influence.
Sam Gilliam, Sheila Hicks, Shirazeh Houshiary and Byron Kim will be among the artists featured in this second section. Kim, a painter and senior critic at the Yale School of Art, will also serve as the spring 2021 Leslie and Brad Bucher Artist-in-Residence at Rice.
Indoors, the exhibition will span the Moody’s Brown Foundation, Central and Media Galleries; outside, the show continues underneath the Pitman Oculus.
An opening reception will be held Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. And an April 10 event at 7 p.m. will feature performances by composers in the DACAMERA Young Artist Program, including original pieces created as musical responses to the exhibition.
“Artists and the Rothko Chapel: 50 Years of Inspiration” will place the Chapel in its historic context by connecting the past with the present in the restaging of “Marden, Novros, Rothko: Painting in the Age of Actuality.” And by including contemporary artists for whom the chapel has been a source of inspiration, it will also offer new perspectives on how the historic gathering place has nourished other artists’ practices.
By presenting these artists together for the first time, and in celebration of the chapel’s 50th anniversary, visitors will have an opportunity to see these artists — as well the chapel — in a new light.
They’ll also be able to commemorate the occasion: The exhibition will be accompanied by a full-color catalogue to be published in the spring of 2021, including new installation images, interviews and contributions by the artists featured in the exhibition.
“Artists and the Rothko Chapel: 50 Years of Inspiration” will be on view through May 15, 2021 at the Moody Center for the Arts. The Rothko Chapel recently reopened following an ambitious restoration ahead of its 50th anniversary. Both the chapel and the Moody Center are free and open to the public.
For more information, visit moody.rice.edu.