At the McNay

Posted on October 19, 2010 1:26 pm

I attended the annual Texas Society of Architects convention in San Antonio last week, and took part in a tour of museums, which included the recently completed Stieren Center at the McNay. (BTW, I designed the identity for the McNay years ago, and I’m delighted to see that it’s still in use.) The Stieren is a minimalist glass pavilion designed by the noted French architect Jean-Paul Viguier – his first museum project in the U.S. Complementing the exhibit Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism, was an installation of paintings and photographs from the McNay’s collection of postwar and contemporary art. As the tour group rounded a corner, everyone was knocked out (“Can I take it home!?”) by an extraordinary, immense chromogenic diptych of an Italian beach scene by Massimo Vitali, a new acquisition by the Museum. I’ve seen Vitali’s work published in books and magazines, but never before in person. Ethereal, yet richly detailed. Of this world, or some other? Documentary, or surreal?