Step inside Soto: The Houston Penetrable, a massive, indoor art installation at the Museum for Fine Arts, Houston on display this summer through Labor Day, September 1, 2014.
The Houston Penetrable is Venezuelan contemporary artist Jesús Rafael Soto’s final piece in his world-spanning Penetrables series.
Visitors approach the large yellow orb, floating in the middle of a clear room-spanning hanging exhibit. It was created with the use of 24,000 PVC tubes, which were individually painted and tied by hand, and now hang from two stories in the exhibit space.
As you walk into the sea of floating strands, touching, handling and waded through the piece itself, the art becomes alive and realizes its intended state.
MFAH commissioned the piece in 2004, a year before the artist passed away. Architect Paolo Carrozzino and producer Walter Pellevoisin—in tandem with the Museum and Atelier Soto, Paris—oversaw a team of artisans and ironworkers in France and Houston to bring Soto’s monumental design to life.
Although the piece will be removed at the end of the summer, it was commissioned as a permanent (or in this case semipermanent) exhibition. You can expect it will return in future seasons.
Soto: The Houston Penetrable at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
- Dates: Through Monday, September 1, 2014
- Times: Tuesdays to Wednesdays, 10am to 5pm; Thursdays 10am to 9pm; Fridays to Saturdays 10am to 7pm; Sundays 12:15pm to 7pm. Closed Mondays except for Monday holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day
- Location: Law Building, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, 1001 Bissonet St, Houston, TX 77005
- Admission: Included with $15 museum admission; free for ages 12 and under. Admission is free on Thursdays.
