Current Exhibitions at the MFAH

Saturday I spent a good portion of the day at the Museum of Fine Art, Houston.  I feel blessed to live in a city with such world class museums.  I try to see the new shows as often as I can.  I had originally gone for the Oscar de la Renta show: The Glamour and Romance of Oscar de la  Renta and while it was a fabulous exhibition, the show that interested me more and continues to interest me was 
HOME-So Different, So Appealing.  



HOME-So Different, So Appealing covers about 70 years of work by Latin American and Latino American artists.  The show is a collaboration between the Museum of Fine Art, Houston & the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  It is not a chronological show but it is clear that the societal norms have influenced the works.   How can you be an artist and remain uninfluenced by society?  especially with a concept like Home? 

As I looked further for more information, I found a very interesting and thought-provoking interview with the artist Guillermo Kuitca and curator Mari Carmen Ramírez, the Wortham Curator of Latin American Art for the MFAH.  I didn't know that Guillermo Kuitca had designed one of the most powerful installations in the exhibit until I started listening to the interview.  In the interview he discusses how the "bed" and "Home" have been the central point in his lifelong art work.  It's certainly a theme in my life--through my quilts.  Guillermo Kuitca's interview is worth the time to listen to it.  It lasts about an hour but runs thoughtfully through his ideas so it is not boring.  A recurring theme is his use of maps & mattresses.  Fascinating to realize he has constructed and then printed on mattresses as a symbol of "where a person exists"; contrasting the public information of a map with the personal, private space of a bed. 

Two other gut-wrenching examples of Home are the installation Temporary Storage: The Belongings of Juan Manuel Montes by artist Camilo Ontiveros.  It is a sculpture of the belongings left behind by the 1st known DACA recipient deported by the Trump Administration. 

And the Installation from 1995 of Badge of Honor by Pepón Osorio, shows the video dialogue between an incarcerated father in his prison cell and his teenage son in his elaborate bedroom.

I know that just reading about a show is not as invigorating as seeing the show.  I also know that each person interprets the information within their experiences.  I'm thankful I had the opportunity to see and learn from this exhibition.  It's a powerful reminder of how interconnected we are as humans. 
Further thoughts:
http://artsandculturetx.com/home-so-different-so-appealing-at-mfah/ 
https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-art-exhibit-explores-how-for-immigrants-home-is-a-moving-target/