Rice University Art Galley is recognized for dynamic site-specific installation art. From 2011 - 2014 we were commissioned by Rice Gallery to document artists as they created installations which transformed the exhibition space. Each of the eight artists we've followed have had a unique approach to the gallery, making for a fascinating series of films. Learn more at www.RiceGallery.org.
In his exhibition, Crossing the Farther Shore, acclaimed Vietnamese American artist Dinh Q. Lê presents thousands of photographs of Southern Vietnam taken before and during the Vietnam War. Lê considers these images as an important document of Southern Vietnam that has escaped the Northern Vietnamese Communist government’s systematic effort to erase the pre-1975 existence of the South. The photographs also serve as a counter narrative to the images the world saw of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The hand-stitched structures allude to the mosquito nets under which people sleep in Vietnam, creating what Lê calls a “sleeping, dreaming memory of Vietnam.” Original score by Mark Walley. On view at Rice Gallery April 10 - August 28, 2014.
This short documentary follows the process of Baltimore-based street artist Gaia as he creates his installation MARSHLAND at Rice University Art Gallery. Inspired by research and an extensive series of interviews, Gaia produced a floor-to-ceiling mural on three gallery walls which he calls “an impossible portrait of this massive metropolis.” The mural surrounds a sculptural colonnade painted to mimic Rice University’s formal architecture. Hanging from each archway is a “chorus of voices”, oil paintings of Gaia’s interview subjects. Through his installation Gaia reveals the dichotomy between the cloistered Rice University campus and the greater Houston area. Original score by Mark Walley. On view September 26, 2013 - December 8, 2013
Soo Sunny Park’s installation Unwoven Light animates Rice Gallery’s expansive space, transforming it into a shimmering world of light, shadow, and brilliant color. Suspended from the walls and ceiling, thirty-seven individually sculpted units are arranged as a graceful, twisting flow of abstract form. On view April 11 - August 30, 2013. Original score by Mark Walley.
In her exhibition at Rice University Art Gallery, Swedish artist Gunilla Klingberg explores her interests in everyday consumerism and forms of Eastern spirituality. To do this, she covers the entire architectural space with ornate, circular patterns constructed from everyday logos and brands the resemble a sacred mandala. As with a mandala, Klingbergs 'Wheel of Everyday Life' begins at a central point and expands outward as if it could continue to infinity.
Rice University Art Gallery's current exhibition features the work of celebrated artist Joel Shapiro. On view February 2 - March 18 2012.
In his installation, reverse of volume RG, Yasuaki Onishi uses the simplest materials — plastic sheeting and black hot glue — to create a monumental, mountainous form that appears to float inside of Rice University Art Gallery. On view April 13 - July 27, 2012.
"Salon of Beauty" features the beautiful handmade work of Los Angeles based Artist Ana Serrano. The film unveils the process required to bring Ana's previously small scale sculptures to nearly life size inside of Rice Gallery. The completed exhibition is a colorful landscape inspired by South L.A. neighborhoods where small and often overlooked details are playfully mixed together.
Northwest Corner, Southeast Light is an installation by artist Mary Temple on view at Rice Gallery February 3rd - May 25th, 2011.
