Second Nature: Contemporary Landscapes from the MFAH Collection July 10–September 27, 2011
Adam Helms, Undying Glare, 2007, taxidermy buffalo, plywood, building materials, and charcoal on paper.
Gift of the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery
Ed Ruscha, Untitled (#1) and Untitled (#2), 2007–08, oil on canvas.
Museum purchase with funds provided by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund. © Ed Ruscha / Courtesy Gagosian Gallery
Mark Tansey, Apple Tree, 2008–09, oil on canvas.
Museum purchase with funds provided by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund
Helen Altman, Colorado Blue Spruce, 2001, inkjet photograph on canvas, quilted fabric
Gift of the Barrett Collection, Dallas
Melissa Miller, Tapestry, 2007, oil on canvas
Gift of The Brown Foundation, Inc., Betty Moody, Jennifer and Scott Clearman, Diane and J. Ronald Sandberg,
Dunn and Brown Contemporary, and Deborah D. Dunkum in honor of Alison de Lima Greene
Vernon Fisher, Movements among the Dead, 1990, oil, blackboard, and chalk.
Gift of The Barrett Collection, Dallas, Texas. © Vernon Fisher
Alan Sonfist, Element Selection of the East, 1968, tree branches and gilded and bronze wire.
Gift of an anonymous donor
Second Nature examines the revived interest in landscape by contemporary artists, demonstrating the power of the land to speak to the imagination. Recent MFAH acquisitions—together with major works that are rarely on view—trace the evolving image of the landscape in art of the last 40 years, moving from the literal interactions of the 1960s and 1970s to the conceptual manipulations of the present day. Encompassing all media, this exhibition illustrates landscape imagery mediated through natural selection, imagination, and technology, offering a second look at the natural world.
Among the renowned artists showcased are Ansel Adams, Ed Ruscha, Mungo Thomson, and James Turrell. Their passionate vision of the landscape takes viewers on vividly imagined journeys around the world, from the American West to the Eastern seaboard, from Japanese riverbeds to the sky over Iceland.
This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
This exhibition receives generous funding from:
