While in Houston for the 2014 Texas Contemporary Art Fair, Artpace was graciously invited by board member and Fall 2000 International Artist-in-Residence, Dario Robleto, to attend the unveiling of his latest exhibition at the Menil Collection entitled The Boundary of Life is Quietly Crossed. The culmination of a three-year research project, Robleto’s latest exhibition seamlessly combines science and art by using sculptural works to explore two remarkable events that took place in the 1960’s – the space race and the development of the artificial heart.
Using audio recordings of the heart as source material, Robleto explores the history of recording the human heart, ultimately aiming to challenge the way science understands the emotional influence (and ramifications) that come with perpetually searching for and testing the physical and theoretical boundaries of life.
Robleto, in collaboration with University of Houston professor of engineering, Dr. Jose L. Contreras Vidal, will also be conducting an experiment exploring the neurological effects of aesthetics. Every Saturday from 3-7pm, Menil Collection visitors can volunteer to be a part of Dr. Contreras Vidal’s experiment by wearing high-tech helmets that can track brain waves (you can see from the picture below that our staff members got the chance to be a part of the experiment.) The goal of the study is to explore the connection between the human experience and biology by studying how aesthetic stimulation can be linked to emotions by determining patterns in the brain.
Robleto’s sculptural works are stunning and the artist combines his art with the quest to understand the human heart and brain. The exhibition will be on display until January 4, 2014. If you are interested in how arts and biological processes intersect, visit Dario Robleto’s work at the Menil Collection.
The exhibition is being shown in collaboration with a series of lectures including lectures given by Dario Robleto, Mimi Swartz, and Patrick Feaster. See the Menil Collection website for a full list of lecture dates.
