Faith Plays a Role, in Abstract & Ancient Art in Houston

HOUSTON BELIEF
By Menachem Wecker

With Love and Disregard: Rapture (2002) by Jules Olitski
Photo: Michael Cullen / Estate of Jules Olitski/Licensed

TEXAS - What do early-17th-century drawings and prints of Christian saints, spray-paintings from the 1960s and 1970s by a Russian-born Jewish painter and medieval Buddhist and courtly works from the Tokyo National Museum have in common? [Museum of Fine Arts, Houston] MFAH visitors, if they time their visit strategically, will have the chance to view three exhibits with religious content and themes. Visions of Saints, which features Guido Reni's 1609 drawing Head of a Young Woman Looking Upward, a recent MFAH acquisition, hangs until March 18. Viewers also can see more than 30 paintings by the renowned Color Field painter Jules Olitski in Revelation: Major Paintings by Jules Olitski. And Elegant Perfection: Masterpieces of Courtly and Religious Art from the Tokyo National Museum, which will open Feb. 19, will contain an 11th-century edition of the oldest Japanese poetry collection Man'yoshu. [link]