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Artist Ron Mueck (born 1958 in Melbourne, Australia) draws upon memories, reveries, and everyday experience as he portrays his subjects with extraordinary compassion. Evolution of a SculptorAfter working as a model-maker in film and television in the United States and London, Mueck shifted his focus to the fine arts in the mid-1990s; among his first sculptures was a figure of the young …

It’s always special when members of the Museum’s subcommittees share their areas of expertise with our audiences. On February 11, Karen Fang, a film scholar and member of our film committee, stops by to present a brief overview of her latest book, Arresting Cinema: Surveillance in Hong Kong Film, followed by a screening of the classic Hong Kong comedy Chicken and Duck Talk. She spoke with me about …

The annual exhibition Eye on Houston: High School Documentary Photographygives the Museum a chance to share both the work of talented young photographers and glimpses of our city’s vibrant diversity. Using photography as their tool, teens capture moments from their daily life around Houston. The students also write brief descriptions of each photograph to lend insight into their experiences, …

The inaugural art installation in the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is straight from the Museum’s own collection! The MFAH teamed up with Buffalo Bayou Partnership to present Rain: Magdalena Fernández at the Houston Cistern, on view through June 25. Rain features 2iPM009, an abstract video-projection piece created by Venezuelan artist Magdalena Fernández in 2009. She adapted the installation to be …

We hope you had a great year. We did, thanks to you. Press play, and enjoy!

Few people know that late in life, when his paintings and pastels were already famous, Edgar Degas briefly took up photography. Some 20 of his surviving photographs are featured in the exhibition Degas: A New Vision. Malcolm Daniel, the Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography, spoke with me about Degas’s photography. What was the psychological connection between events in Degas’s life …

Happy birthday to legendary actor Kirk Douglas, who turns 100 on December 9! To celebrate his centennial, we’re screening Lonely Are the Brave, a 1962 Western he cites as one of his personal favorites. Here’s a nice bit of trivia: This movie had its world premiere at a theater in Houston! With a screenplay adapted by legendary writer Dalton Trumbo—a friend Douglas had just collaborated with …

We all love pumpkin pie and stuffing, but Degas: A New Vision has us in a French mood—and what’s more French than a good meal and wine? The MFAH has partnered with local eateries to enhance your experience of the exhibition; Jacques Fox, chef/owner of Artisans Restaurant in Midtown, created a “Tribute to Edgar Degas” menu, and Jaime Salazar, chef at Brasserie 19 in River Oaks, chose to serve up …

Edgar Degas was the first artist to specialize in depictions of the ballet, and he returned to the subject of dancers throughout his career. He portrayed the reality of backstage in vibrant pastel studies, complex paintings, bronze sculptures, and sketches of split-second moments of a dancer’s motion. The many ballerinas on view in Degas: A New Visiongot some like company recently, as Houston …