“There are rooms that are absolutely breathtaking. There are rooms I walk in and I feel my soul soar, and I hope that other people have those kinds of experiences. It’s a chance to explore art, but in a way, what’s always made the Menil so special is it’s a chance to explore yourself.” —Rebecca Rabinow, Director
The Menil Collection is one of the greatest small museums in the world. This past year, it closed for six months for major renovations of its extraordinary Renzo Piano-designed building. The Menil took this opportunity to not just rehang, but to entirely rethink the way it presents its permanent collection. For this video on the occasion of its reopening in September, Rabinow and curators Paul Davis and Michelle White, walk us through the transformation. Featured is a special focus on the mammoth and powerful Frank Bowling masterpiece Middle Passage (1970) which was commissioned by the Menils.