"The Infinity Machine" at the Menil

John Hill
3. February 2015
Photo: Screenshot

The chapel, designed by Francois de Menil, was built and consecrated in 1997 after the Menil Collection, acting on behalf of the Church of Cyprus, rescued some 13th-century Greek Orthodox frescoes and restored them for display. De Menil designed the chapel as a box within a box; concrete on the outside, inside the frescoes were mounted to frosted glass panels that echoed the volume of the 13th-century chapel from where they came. After being displayed for 25 years, the loan agreement ended in 2012 and the Menil returned the frescoes to Cyprus. The now-deconsecrated space will be home to Cardiff-Miller's multimedia mobile for one year, starting 31 January 2015.

Exterior and interior of the chapel (Photos: Paul Warchol)

Here is a short video from the Houston Chronicle with Toby Kamps, curator of modern and contemporary art at the Menil Collection, explaining The Infinity Machine:


And here is a 10-minute film from 2012, photographed and edited by Adam Baker, documenting the de-installation of the frescoes and the glass structure:

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