The Blaffer Art Museum has released a statement regarding the cancellation of the previously scheduled Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago. According to the museum, updates to the University of Houston’s (UH) Centennial Renovation project have deterred the exhibition.
In 2023, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA) commissioned Mr. Maravilla’s sculpture Mariposa Relámpago (Lightning Butterfly) to be exhibited at its satellite location ICA Watershed, which presents a summer exhibition each year. The show featured the sculpture, a one-time U.S. school bus that had been used as a transportation bus in El Salvador before being transformed into a “vibrational healing instrument” by the artist, along with new retablo paintings, three works from the artist’s Disease Thrower series, and a site-specific wall drawing.
Guadalupe Maravilla, “Mariposa Relámpago,” 2023, bus, volcanic rock, steel, and objects collected from a ritual of retracing the artist’s original migration route, 110 x 108 x 420 inches. Commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Installation view, “Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago,” The Contemporary Austin – Laguna Gloria, 2024. Courtesy the artist and P·P·O·W, New York. Image courtesy The Contemporary Austin. Photo: Alex Boeschenstein
Following the Boston debut, Mr. Maravilla’s sculpture made a Texas tour. From November 2023 to March 2024, the bus and a site-specific drawing were hosted by Ballroom Marfa. The sculptural piece then traveled to The Contemporary Austin Laguna Gloria, where it was on view from April to November 3, 2024. According to a May e-newsletter from the Blaffer, the work was scheduled to be on view at the Blaffer Art Museum, from November 20, 2024, to April 27, 2025.
Laura Augusta, the Blaffer’s recently appointed Jane Dale Owen Director and Chief Curator, told Glasstire that toward the end of Mariposa Relámpago’s presentation in Austin, “a significant conservation issue was discovered in the project.” Ms. Augusta noted that Erika Mei Chua Holum, the Blaffer’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Associate Curator, with the support from the ICA, the artist, the Blaffer team, and other Houston collaborators, created a conservation plan. She explained that the bus was brought to Houston and is currently being stored at the university, but the opening of the exhibition was initially delayed until February so that the sculpture could undergo conservation work.
During this time, the University of Houston’s Centennial Renovation project also saw timeline updates. The $35 million multi-year renovation project, which transforms three core areas — University Plaza, Centennial Drive, and Wilhelmina’s Grove — is set to be completed in 2027. Megan Topham, Associate Dean for Operations at UH’s Kathrine G. McGovern College for the Arts, told Glasstire that in November 2024, she received details of the proposed project phases, and soon after was provided with a tentative start date of December 16, 2024.
A statement on the Blaffer’s website indicates that the museum’s public entrance will be under construction from December 16, 2024, through December 31, 2025. It goes on to note that due to construction, the museum is unable to present Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago. Ms. Augusta explained to Glasstire that the original plan was to use a crane to place the sculpture in the Blaffer’s courtyard, however, because of the construction, the use of a crane near the building would have been impossible.
In December, Andrew Davis, Dean of the Katherine G. McGovern College of the Arts, shared an announcement with faculty and staff that the Public Art of the University of Houston System (Public Art UHS), has been reorganized to function under the College of the Arts. According to Dean Davis, this reorganization was a recommendation of the Public Art Strategic Review Task Force, which reviewed the program from May through October. Though the announcement situates the review within the framework of the university’s 2027 centennial celebrations it is notable that the task force came together during the months-long controversy around the Shahzia Sikander sculpture, which was ultimately beheaded by an unknown assailant.
Shahzia Sikander, “Witness.” Photo: University of Houston staff
Glasstire reached out to Dean Davis to ask why, given the university’s robust public art program, Mr. Maravilla’s sculpture was not installed elsewhere on the campus. He responded, “The Maravilla exhibition was an exhibition of the Blaffer Art Museum, not Public Art of the University of Houston System. These are separate and independent units.”
Glasstire also contacted Mr. Maravilla about the cancellation of the show, which had been years in the making. The artist declined to comment.
Ms. Chua Holum spoke with Glasstire about the significance of Maravilla’s work to the student population. She explained, “Shortly after I arrived [at UH], two students took their own lives on campus… at the Blaffer, I have sought to build exhibitions and programs as spaces for healing, wellness, and transformation for many following experiences of trauma or grief.” She noted that when she heard about Maravilla’s Texas tour, she saw a unique opportunity to support “networks of community-building and care through the presentation of Mariposa Relámpago on campus.”
Despite the cancellation of the exhibition, Ms. Chua Holum shared that the museum is still working on programs and outreach that will support community needs related to mental health and wellness. Ms. Augusta echoed these comments and shared that in June the museum is hosting an exhibition curated by Doug Welsh, titled A Way to Mend. The show will feature approximately 20 Houston-based artists reflecting on healing. Also in the summer, the museum is presenting Saif Azzuz: Keet Hegehlpa’ (the water is rising), an exhibition about land justice and restorative practices, organized by Ms. Chua Holum.
