At Large  March 29, 2018  Chandra Noyes

Houston Brings Home an Anish Kapoor Sculpture to Rival Chicago’s “Cloud Gate”

Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts Houston

Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Column" is lowered into its new home at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston via crane.

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston installed and unveiled their new gleaming Anish Kapoor sculpture this week. "Cloud Column," conceived in the late 1990s and executed in 2006, is a 21,000-pound stainless steel vertical oblong. Situated in front of the future Glassell School of Art, the piece will be a focal point for the Museum’s newly redeveloped campus, set to open in May.

The installation sparked mockery from the Chicago Tribune. In the coming decades, Houston is predicted to overtake Chicago as the nation's 4th largest city.

The Chicgo Tribune on Twitter

The Chicago Tribune mocked Houston's new Anish Kapoor sculpture in an op-ed.

“Cloud Gate,” or "The Bean" has become synonymous with Chicago, and is a major tourist attraction in downtown's Millenium Park, along with Jaume Plensa's "Crown Fountain", on the opposite end of Jay Prtizker Plaza. "Cloud Gate's" highly polished surface reflects the surrounding city and offers excellent photo opportunities for tourists.

Courtesy Deborah Nevins & Associates / Nevins & Benito Landscape Architecture.

View south of the Glassell School and Brown Foundation, Inc. Plaza. The plaza features a shaded seating area and a reflecting pool that can be activated with fountains.

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston plans to draw some of that booming population to their new campus with "Cloud Column," a precursor to "Cloud Gate."

To learn more about the Museum of Fine Arts Houston's new campus, visit https://www.mfah.org/about/campus-redevelopment/

About the Author

Chandra Noyes

Chandra Noyes is the former Managing Editor for Art & Object.

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