The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, from above.
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Photo by Peter Molick
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, devoted to the Museum′s international collections of modern and contemporary art, opened November 21, 2020. Designed by Steven Holl Architects as the third MFAH gallery building, it is the final component in the eight-year project to expand and enhance Museum’s Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus. The Kinder Building stands in complementary contrast to the existing gallery buildings—the Caroline Wiess Law Building and Audrey Jones Beck Building—and in dialogue with the adjacent Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden.
Making Modern at the MFAH
See a series of short films that capture the making of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building. Making Modern introduces you to the community of artists, artisans, and architects who have all been part of the project. #GetModernMFAH
Behind the Scenes
With the opening of the Kinder Building, the Museum’s growing collections of modern and contemporary art have the showcase they deserve. Go behind the scenes to see the art on view, and how this years-long master plan came together. #GetModernMFAH
Architecture Highlights

The atrium of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (detail). Photo by Peter Molick
- The Kinder Building comprises two floors and more than 100,000 square feet of exhibition space circling a three-level atrium space, with the distinctive roof allowing natural light to flood the central spaces.
- Gathered under a “luminous canopy” roof, the concave curves reference the billowing clouds that fill the “big sky” of Texas.
- Vertical, translucent-glass tubes clad the facades.
- The galleries increases overall MFAH exhibition space by nearly 75 percent.
- New destinations include the 215-seat Lynn Wyatt Theater, a restaurant, and a café.
- Seven gardens and six reflecting pools are inset along the building’s perimeter.
Art Highlights

Josef Albers, Homage to the Square, 1956–62, oil on Masonite, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Anni Albers and the Josef Albers Foundation, Inc. © The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- The Kinder Building is dedicated to presenting works from the Museum’s international collections of modern and contemporary art.
- The building opens with the first comprehensive installation of these works, drawn from the collections of Latin American and Latino art; photography; prints and drawings; decorative arts, craft, and design; and modern and contemporary art.
- A flexible black-box gallery at the street-level entry is devoted to immersive installations, with inaugural presentations of the work of Gyula Kosice and James Turrell.
- A windowed street-level gallery features work by artists including Jean Tinguely and Pablo Picasso, and an installation of suspended lights by Spencer Finch hangs in the café space.
- The second-floor galleries are organized by curatorial department, with each gallery highlighting collection strengths.
- The third-floor galleries feature Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston—five thematic installations that present art from the 1960s onward.
► Inaugural Thematic Installations
► Preview of Collection Highlights

Carlos Cruz-Diez, Chromosaturation MFAH (installation view), 1965/2017, installed 2020, light installation, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum commission funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund. © Carlos Cruz-Diez / Bridgeman Images 2022
Ólafur Elíasson, Sometimes an underground movement is an illuminated bridge, 2020, light installation, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum commission funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund. © Ólafur Elíasson
Trenton Doyle Hancock, Color Flash for Chat and Chew, Paris Texas in Seventy-Two (installation view), 2020, wool and silk on a cotton foundation, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum commission funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund. © 2020 Trenton Doyle Hancock
Cristina Iglesias, Inner Landscape (the lithosphere, the roots, the water) (installation view), 2020, bronze, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum commission funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund. © 2020 Cristina Iglesias
Site-Specific Commissioned Artworks
Major, site-specific commissioned artworks serve as portals that connect the Kinder Building with the other components of the Sarofim Campus. Located at strategic points, the works are designed to mark moments of transition on the campus and to activate public spaces. These works of art have been commissioned from a roster of renowned, international artists.
- El Anatsui
- Byung Hoon Choi
- Carlos Cruz-Diez
- Ólafur Elíasson
- Trenton Doyle Hancock
- Cristina Iglesias
- Jason Salavon
- Ai Weiwei
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building opening is sponsored in part by a major grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.