Enchanted: Visual Histories of the Central Andes

Enchanted: Visual Histories of the Central Andes, the Menil Collection’s first display of Andean visual culture, featured more than forty objects from the permanent collection—complemented by loans from the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico—including polychrome ceramic vessels of the Nazca culture, important textiles from the Wari and Chimú civilizations, and 20th–21st-century examples of elaborately embroidered esclavinas (short capes) and monteras (hats) worn during religious festivals in Peru. The exhibition included the Menil’s large fragment of the 13th–14th-century so-called Prisoner Textile created by artists of the Chimú civilization. A generous grant from the Bank of America Art Conservation Project funded the conservation of the textile and the ongoing analysis of its relationship to nine fragments at other institutions.

The impetus for the exhibition was the accession of recently conserved gelatin silver photographic prints by Pierre Verger (1902–1996), also known as Fátúmbí. Verger gifted two portfolios of nearly two-hund red original photographs to John and Dominique de Menil in gratitude for their support of his trips through the Central Andes during the early 1940s. His images of religious festivals in the Andes, taken between 1939 and 1945, depict the costumes, dances, drama, and fusion of indigenous and Catholic traditions at these regular events.

A bilingual digital publication, in English and Spanish, was created in conjunction with the exhibition and features essays by scholars of Andean culture and history, interactive multimedia, and music recordings. The publication is available at menil.org/read.

Enchanted: Visual Histories of the Central Andes was curated by Paul R. Davis, Curator of Collections, The Menil Collection.

Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1960s was the first exhibition to focus on the experimental and prolific work of French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) created during a pivotal decade. Numerous works from European collections were displayed in the United States for the first time.

The exhibition explored a transformative ten-year period in Saint Phalle’s career, when she embarked on two significant series: the Tirs, or “shooting paintings,” and the powerful Nanas. Affirming the artist’s place in postwar art history, this show highlighted these prescient works of performance, participatory, and feminist art, as well as her transatlantic projects and collaborations.

Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1960s opened with the artist’s Tirs, created using a .22 caliber rifle. Often standing in front of an audience, Saint Phalle invited participants to shoot at white plaster surfaces that concealed imbedded bags of pigment or cans of paint, which would explode spectacularly upon the impact of the bullets. Saint Phalle explained that her intention was “to make a painting bleed.” Her paradoxical method of creating a work through destruction was intended as commentary on the ingrained violence of the culture, as well as a feminist assault on the tradition of modern painting.

The exhibition continued with Saint Phalle’s explorations of gender through figural assemblages representing female archetypes, such as brides, mothers, goddesses, and monsters. Evolving from wall-bound reliefs to colorful and freestanding sculptures, these works became increasingly monumental and liberated, depicting curvaceous female forms with outstretched arms and powerful poses. Saint Phalle began creating these sculptures in the 1960s, and they are often seen as heralding the rise of an international feminist movement.

Accompanying the exhibition was a catalogue published by the Menil and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.

Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1960s was cocurated by Michelle White, Senior Curator, The Menil Collection, and Jill Dawsey, PhD, Curator, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.

Major funding for this exhibition was provided by Cecily E. Horton; a gift in memory of Virginia P. Rorschach; Bettie Cartwright; and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support comes from Eddie Allen and Chinhui Juhn; Suzanne Deal Booth; Dragonfly Collection, Garance Primat; Clare Casademont and Michael Metz; Cindy and David Fitch; Barbara and Michael Gamson; Janie C. Lee; Susan and Francois de Menil; MaryRoss Taylor; Wawro-Gray Family Foundation; Carol and David Neuberger; Julie and John Cogan, Jr.; Robin and Andrew Schirrmeister; MCT Fund; Niki Charitable Art Foundation; UBS Financial Services; and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

Support for this exhibition at both the Menil Collection and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego was provided by Christie’s.

Research for this exhibition was supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art.