While live performance retreated for a while, companies adapted nimbly to digital performing.
Molly Glentzer December 24, 2020Updated: January 4, 2021, 10:08 am
As Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Houston Ballet principal Yuriko Kajiya wears a classical tutu with 12 layers of tulle and a hoop structure, designed to show off the artistry and length of her legs. Photo: Amitava Sarkar / Houston Ballet
In Houston as elsewhere, 2020 was the year the floor fell out of the dance world.
Things started positively enough. Society for the Performing Arts brought back the Mark Morris Dance Group in January, after a long absence, with the jaunty 1960s-spirited “Pepperland.” Classical ballet looked alive and well in February with Houston Ballet’s revival of Ben Stevenson’s traditional “The Sleeping Beauty.” Then, of course, stages went dark, and there’s no light in that tunnel yet.
First impressions of a gift to Houston that will keep on giving.
Molly Glentzer December 30, 2020Updated: January 4, 2021, 11:27 am
Aristide Maillol s La Riviere (The River) rests atop a gently trickling reflection pond between the new Kinder Building and the Cullen Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, which director Gary Tinterow refers to as the hinge of the campus. Photo: Molly Glentzer / Houston Chronicle
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s new Kinder Building promises to be a gift that gives for decades.
Except for light-sensitive works on paper and photographs, most of the permanent collection artworks installed throughout its galleries will be in place for a year. Taking it all in during one trip could be overwhelming. Knowing each trip back will be a treat, I am looking forward to a slower savor, planning to pace myself later.
An exhibit called The Marzio Years charts the institution s explosive growth under his stewardship
Molly Glentzer December 29, 2020Updated: December 29, 2020, 8:30 pm
Peter C. Marzio served as director of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts from 1982 until his death of cancer in 2010. In this photograph from early in his career, he stands next to Walter Ufer’s painting “Anna.” Photo: Timothy Bullard / Houston Chronicle
The late Peter Marzio used to answer humbly when people asked what drove his acquisition choices for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
“Well, you know, you can do the usual this is quality, this is provenance, this work is the right size, it addresses a gap or builds on strengths in the collection,” he might say. “But in the end, what really matters is, if a work of art makes me want to tap someone on the shoulder and say, ‘Look at that.’”
Behind the scenes at Seismique, Houston’s new interactive playground
Now you don t have to travel to Meow Wolf in New Mexico to see a large space to immerse yourself in an interactive, multimedia fairgrounds.
Molly Glentzer December 21, 2020Updated: December 23, 2020, 9:18 am
Seismique’s guides Felicia Berrios, left, 28, and Sara Ludwig, right, 36, stands surrounded by projections that change to the beat of music, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, in Houston. Photo: Marie D. De Jesús, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
Experiences such as Houston’s new Seismique, which opens Dec. 26, are the most dynamic Instagrammable locations of the 21st century.
Built into the shell of a former Bed, Bath & Beyond big box on Houston’s far west side, the 40,000-square-foot sci-fi fantasy playground is opening with 33 rooms. More are coming, say co-founders Steve Kopelman and Josh Corley. They commissioned the immersive, interactive environments from about 50 artists.