The Blanton Museum announced this week that its monumental Ellsworth Kelly exhibit, a free-standing building titled “Austin”, will close after black streaks of mold were discovered outside. The resulting conservation work means the artwork – the building itself – will be closed for almost two months, starting September 7, with a tentative reopening scheduled for November 2. The museum says dates are subject to change.
According to the Blanton, this type of mold growth is typical of limestone buildings on campus. Katie Bruton, Blanton’s public relations and media manager, says the mold was found in the spring of 2020, but the museum waited until construction on the new Blanton grounds was complete to address the conservation issue.
Bruton says the materials for safely removing the mold have been tested, but not the mold. The cost of the “Austin” repair comes from the artwork’s original donation agreement, which provided for ongoing conservation and preservation of the piece.
The mold removal process will be “more than pressure washing,” Bruton says. The mold will be removed from the exterior of the building, which will then be sealed to prevent or at least slow down a recurrence.
“Austin” inspires multiple visits, as it changes from day to day.
Ellsworth Kelly Foundation“Austin” opened in 2018, nearly three years after the artist’s death. The 2,715 square foot stone building sits adjacent to the museum’s main entrance. Inside the structure are multicolored glass windows, a large vertical wooden totem and 14 black and white marble panels. The experience changes with the position of the sun throughout the day, making “Austin” a popular site to visit multiple times.
Kelly had worked on the design for 30 years before donating it to the Blanton in January 2015. The project began on Halloween of that year, and although Kelly was unable to make the trip, for the next several months, he helped shepherd the project to completion via phone calls. Just eight days before his death on December 17, 2015, the museum had all the artist’s approvals to complete the project.
The artwork, the only building Kelly designed, has given enormous credibility to the museum, the university that houses it, and the city of Austin, which is not known for its permanent collections like Houston. , San Antonio and the Dallas-Fort. Value area. It has also become a sacred space of introspection and joy, much like the Rothko Chapel in Houston.
18 February 2018, USA, Austin: Visitors walk past the work titled ‘Austin’ by American artist Ellsworth Kelly, who died in 2015. Kelly designed the chapel-like building in the 1980s and commissioned the design at the Blanton Museum of Art shortly before his death. The museum has now completed the large 250 square meter stone building, which will be a permanent feature next to the Blanton Museum of Art. (ATTENTION EDITORS: FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY IN CURRENT REPORTING; MANDATORY CREDIT) Photo: Christina Horsten/dpa – ATTENTION: Editorial use only in connection with the latest coverage and only if credit is given below above is referenced in its entirety (Photo by Christina Horsten/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Photo by Christina Horsten/picture alliance via Getty ImagesWith the start of the fall semester, the Blanton wanted incoming students and other visitors to the Blanton — many, Bruton says, who come specifically for “Austin” — to know that the Kelly Building is off-limits starting Sept. 7.
And August is already the busiest month in terms of visitors to the Blanton, so expect hordes of museum visitors to try to discover Kelly’s masterpiece before the two-month closure begins. A separate Kelly exhibit, “Postcards,” opens inside the museum proper on August 27.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the mold had been tested. The materials for safely removing the mold have been tested, but the mold has not.
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