ustxtxb_obs_2006_03_24_50_00024-00000_000.pdf

BOOKS & THE CULTURE I BY SOLL SUSSMAN Examine Everything! H ouston’s Museum of Fine Arts is the only U.S. stop for “Visions and Revelations,” a dazzling retrospective of the work of the late Argentine avant-garde artist Xul Solar showing of Xul Solar’s work in the United States and a big step forward in the muse um’s plan to be an international leader in Latin American and Latino art. The artist, whose given name was Alejandro Schulz Solari, changed it to Xul \(pronounced of the occult. Tarot, astrology, and other elements of spiritual quest such as ladders and walls figure prominently throughout his work, along with frequent references to the Western Hemisphere as a New World. wrote on one of his last paintings. The exhibition will be at the Museum of Fine Arts through April 16 and then will go to the Rufino Tamayo Museum in Mexico City from May 18 through August 20. Recently the Observer spoke to Dr. Mari Carmen Ramirez, the museum’s curator of Latin American art. The following is an excerpt of that conversation: 24 THE TEXAS OBSERVER MARCH 24, 2006