Houston, TX - Painter Marlene Dumas, born in 1953 in Capetown, South Africa, has lived and worked in Amsterdam since 1976. In her work, she breaks away from the modernist abstract impulse, using the human figure as her subject matter. Both the physical reality of the human body and its symbolic value are emphasized in Dumas’s works. She traces the cycle of life from birth to death to probe a complex array of human emotions—love, sexual desire, despair, and confusion. She also grapples with the “burden of the image” and the symbolic weight of classical modes of representation in Western art, such as the portrait and the nude; however, by working within and also transgressing these historical antecedents, Dumas effectively uses the human figure to explore and critique contemporary ideas of race, sexuality, and social identity. On exhibition at The Menil Collection from 26 March through 21 June, 2009.

Marlene Dumas: Measuring Your Own Grave is organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) in association with The Museum of Modern Art, New York.  The exhibition will be accompanied by a major, fully illustrated catalogue, which provides a scholarly examination of the artist’s career. The publication will feature newly commissioned texts by Exhibition Curator Connie Butler, MOCA Director of Publications Lisa Mark, art historian Richard Shiff, artist Matthew Monahan, and writings by the artist.

Located in Houston’s Museum District, the Menil campus is anchored by Renzo Piano’s first American building. This landmark structure houses one of the world’s great (and growing) art collections.  Here we display ever-changing exhibitions that range from antiquities to modern and contemporary art.  Throughout the year we also present a full calendar of public programs and events.

Visit The Menil Collection at : http://www.menil.org/index.php