Current:Home > NewsMeet the eye-opening curator behind hundreds of modern art exhibitions -AssetBase
Meet the eye-opening curator behind hundreds of modern art exhibitions
View
Date:2025-04-25 01:17:44
I wish I'd known Walter Hopps. I was in Washington when he was director of the Corcoran Museum from 1967 to 1972. He clearly was a fascinating visionary, who garnered many adjectives in life and death. When he died in 2005, the Washington Post obituary said that he was "sort of a gonzo museum director —elusive, unpredictable, outlandish in his range, jagged in his vision, heedless of rules." I tend to like people like that. When they're not making me crazy.
Alas, I never met him.
Rebecca Rabinow, director of Houston's Menil Collection, which Walter Hopps helped to found in 1980, says he was a force in art — ahead of the trends. "He had an amazing eye." Younger artists intrigued Hopps. She says that he had "an amazing ability to look at what artists were creating."
Since late March, the Menil Collection has been showing works by 70 artists Hopps spotted, acquired, encouraged or enabled as a curator. I see a palm tree in that Joe Goode piece above. And growing up in palm-land Los Angeles may have been part of Hopps' attraction to the work.
Sculptor John Chamberlain is in this exhibition. He's in lots of major museums. I first saw a Chamberlain at the Dia Beacon galleries in upstate New York. It looked as if he'd shredded an automobile and welded the shreds together. I shook my head over it for years. Had the same reaction to my first Jackson Pollack. And Andy Warhol's soup cans. What in the world!? How is that art?
Then, someone said all Warhol's soup cans were his still lifes for the 20th century. Which helped me think Chamberlain was taking on American traffic and traffic jams, and our obsession with cars. And maybe destruction. It took a long time to puzzle that out. Truth to tell, I often have such takes-awhile reactions.
Walter Hopps had a much quicker eye, made faster connections and brought challenging works into museums. Today, we'd call him an influencer. Menil director Rebecca Rabinow says others caught on — quickly or over time — because Hopps got it.
"He was an influential curator through the 20th century," she says. He's still influencing today's artists.
Keep scrolling to see more of the works currently on view at The Menil Collection:
veryGood! (45288)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Powerball jackpot at $850 million for Sept. 27 drawing. See Wednesday's winning numbers.
- Retail theft, other shrink factors drained $112B from stores last year
- 'Never be the same': Maui fire victims seek answers, accountability at Washington hearing
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- House Republicans make their case for President Biden impeachment inquiry at first hearing
- Food prices are rising as countries limit exports. Blame climate change, El Nino and Russia’s war
- 3 killed in shootings and an explosion as deadly violence continues in Sweden
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- Roger Waters of Pink Floyd mocked musician's relative who died in Holocaust, report claims
Ranking
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Late-night talk show hosts announce return to air following deal to end Hollywood writers' strike
- Menendez will address Senate colleagues about his bribery charges as calls for his resignation grow
- Russia accuses US of promoting ties between Israel and Arabs before Israeli-Palestinian peace deal
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- 2 lawsuits blame utility for eastern Washington fire that killed man and burned hundreds of homes
- Storm Elias crashes into a Greek city, filling homes with mud and knocking out power
- Slightly fewer number of Americans apply for jobless benefits as layoffs remain rare
Recommendation
Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
Why Mick Jagger Might Leave His $500 Million Music Catalog to Charity Instead of His Kids
Judge rejects an 11th-hour bid to free FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried during his trial
Suspect Jason Billingsley arrested in murder of Baltimore tech CEO Pava LaPere
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Murder suspect mistakenly released captured after 2-week manhunt
Sean Payton's brash words come back to haunt Broncos coach in disastrous 0-3 start
Hundreds attend funeral for high school band director who died in bus crash