Rothko Chapel

March 24, 2025 5:11 PM

Meditation And Modern Art Meet In Rothko Chapel

Restoring the Rothko Chapel Skylight to Achieve the Artist's Vision

posted by Lemkin (17 comments total)

Neat.

I love Rothko, though not so much the all black/browns,

Still, nice.
posted by Windopaene at 5:35 PM on March 24 [1 favorite]

I was lucky enough to get to Paris last year to see the Rothko retrospective at the Foundation Louis Vuitton. The paintings were supposedly displayed as the artist would have wished, with subdued lighting in the room and soft lighting on the works themselves. It was wonderful and I was continually amazed that even though there was a crowd, I had no difficulty spending time "alone" with any piece I found interesting.
I'm not sure when i'll get to Houston, but the Chapel is definitely on my list of places to visit.
posted by OHenryPacey at 5:50 PM on March 24 [6 favorites]

This place was and is very important to me. I grew up a couple miles away in the 80s and used to ride my bike over as a moody teenager to find solace in a place of quiet and calm. I love the art and loved the contemplative space. I just visited back in January, right after they reopened after the hurricane damage. The new skylight looks great!

I'm a little puzzled by the larger site development at the Rothko Chapel. They've expanded enormously. When I was going in the 80s it was just the chapel itself, the Barnett Newman sculpture and reflecting pool, and maybe a small house turned into an office. Now they have a large "welcome house" in a separate building to the side with a bookstore and visitor facility. And plans to expand to more spaces. It's all tastefully done and makes sense as part of the sprawling Menil complex, a real gift to the city of Houston and the public. Just surprised me because there's something very humble in the Rothko Chapel itself.

Related to our tech world here on Metafilter, I was pleased to learn that Metafilter's own Matt Mullenweg of Wordpress / Automattic fame has been a major donor to the Rothko Chapel. He grew up in Houston and has a long history of arts donations so it makes a lot of sense to me. I hesitated bringing this up given the recent WordPress / WP Engine drama (please no derail here) but I'm glad to see a tech jillionaire donating to the arts in a significant way and at a relatively young age.

While I'm here, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts has also become a world-class art destination with its expansion to three major buildings. Their permanent collection is fantastic and very interestingly curated. Totally different institution than the Rothko Chapel but only a mile or two away.
posted by Nelson at 5:51 PM on March 24 [9 favorites]

This is wonderful news. Thanks for posting this. I have always wanted to go there, but of course, as a Canadian, I will not risk it now, especially in light of border security checking people's social media accounts and phones.
One day.
And, there was also a piece of music commissioned for its opening, Rohko Chapel, by American composer Morton Feldman, who knew Rothko.
This is the final part of the 5 part piece, and I have always found amazingly congruent to Rothko's paintings.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 5:51 PM on March 24 [9 favorites]

I love the Rothko Chapel. It's amazing and like the entirety of the Menil complex, a real blessing for my hometown.

I'm going home for my 40th high school reunion in April. Maybe it's time to visit the Rothko along with the Tamara de Lempicka exhibit at the MFAH.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 6:09 PM on March 24 [3 favorites]

Here's a link directly to the chapel. They were closed for a while last year due to hurricane damage, but opened again after repairs were done in December. I haven't been back since they re-opened, I guess it's time for a revisit.
posted by Runes at 6:56 PM on March 24 [2 favorites]

I got to courier our painting to and from that show, OHenryPacey - absolutely amazing seeing so many Rothkos under one roof. And yeah, the dim light made them look like they were glowing.
(Also all of us were profoundly jealous of a museum with All The Money.)
posted by PussKillian at 7:07 PM on March 24 [6 favorites]

The Rothko Chapel is one of my favorite buildings on the planet. I love that it resembles—emotionally, at least—the Pantheon at Rome. Do try to go see it. Go early, so you can have it to yourself. Sit. Let it awaken to you. Let your eyes and emotions awaken to it.
posted by Cobalt at 8:00 PM on March 24 [4 favorites]

I really like the Cy Twombly rooms in the Menil museum complex as well. They go well with the chapel.
posted by smelendez at 8:27 PM on March 24 [2 favorites]

Neither here or there, but my partner is an architect and this is her all-time favorite building. I’m looking forward to visiting myself at some point.
posted by UltraMorgnus at 8:30 PM on March 24 [2 favorites]

Wondering now: I thought I understood that Morton Feldmanʻs meditative music composition Rothko Chapel was specifically composed to be played inside the chapel, yet it is not mentioned in this article. Actually, the article states that the room is silent. I live some 5000 miles away from Texas and, much as iʻd wish to, cannot visit. But the paintings and the music seem so copacetic. Can someone out there illuminate me about this?
posted by Droll Lord at 9:34 PM on March 24 [1 favorite]

I've never heard music playing there. Maybe they have special concert events but there's no soundtrack.
posted by Nelson at 9:45 PM on March 24 [1 favorite]

Going to sit in the Rothko room at the Tate, it was interesting to see the way people's demeanour changed for the calmer as they entered the room. It seems not to be on display at the moment, which is a shame as it was sometimes my main reason to go to the Gallery.

I can see that it wouldn't work as a restaurant, though (what the paintings were originally intended for).
posted by Grangousier at 1:41 AM on March 25 [1 favorite]

I had to go to Houston for a wedding maybe 20 years ago. The best part of the trip (aside from seeing some of my extended family members) was visiting this chapel. It's a wonderful place. You cannot really understand Rothko pieces until you experience them. The size, the lighting, the difference between viewer and art. I always find it astonishing.

The internet is even worse than art books at displaying how Rothko's art really feels.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:44 AM on March 25 [4 favorites]

I don't think I've been to the Rothko Chapel but I've seen several Rothkos in person. A photo in a book, calendar, or computer screen does not begin to convey the painting.
posted by neuron at 9:19 AM on March 25 [2 favorites]

The new lighting and skylight at the chapel display Rothko's painting expertise better. I mean, the paintings are still monochromatic dark purple rectangles. But my memory from the 80s was complete gloom. Just purple fields unless you looked closely and could see some brushstrokes. Now the paintings feel much more dynamic. They're still monochrome of course but the layers of texture and depth come through.

Photos really don't convey it but this image gives you some idea, particularly how the center image has a texture comparable to an overcast sky. That effect is important in Rothko's art but used to be a lot harder to see in the dim Rothko chapel. It's better conveyed now, still subtle but complex. (Again, photos don't really do it justice.)
posted by Nelson at 10:01 AM on March 25 [1 favorite]

I highly recommend going if you find yourself in Houston. It's a sort of secular sacred space. Nice place to sit and reflect in silence for however long. And it's free, as is the Menil museum next door. And it's in the Montrose area, which has some nice places (Agora Cafe for coffee and Empire Cafe for food. Don't go to Cafe Brasil, the owner is a jerk.)
posted by AlSweigart at 7:11 PM on March 25