Art Lies, Volume 23, Summer 1999 Page: 6
60 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Mickey and Jeanne Klein
with a Warhol portrait of
their children.God just take his pick? We've got so much."
One of Mancuso's sculptural pieces, they say after
some thought, is a must. For the last piece, they decide on
a granite sculpture-Lapstrake-by Jesus Bautista
Moroles. To her, the art-historical analyst, the stacked
planes of the work represent an aspect of shipbuilding. To
him, the unbridled enthusiast, the artist is representing
shifting geological plates.
"We'll let God decide who's right," they both agree.
Mickey and Jeanne Klein
"We didn't have any art in the house where I grew up
in Kansas City, Missouri," recalls Houston oilman
Mickey Klein.
"What whetted my appetite was that one Saturday
a month, my mother would make me a sack lunch,
and I would go to the art museum and wander from
room to room. I loved
the Medieval room.
I'd fantasize that I was
a knight in armor--I
k .. could hear it all
clanking. I'd stay there
for hours.
"I also loved the
collection of Thomas
Hart Benton's works.
Not knowing what I
was seeing, I was fasci-
nated. That's where
your appetite is whetted
and opinions formed,
when you immerse
yourself in art."
Jeanne Klein
agrees. The couple met in San Antonio, where she had
begun to develop her artistic interests. "A friend of mine
called. She was so excited. 'I've got someone you have to
meet,' she exclaimed, 'someone who likes art as much as
you do."'
The friend was right. "On our first date we stayed up
half the night and talked about nothing but art."
From then on, it's been non-stop. But their taste and
focus have changed over the years, leading them to
acquire works by artists of international stature.
"Our collecting got focused through exposure and
the acquisition of more knowledge," Jeanne Klein
explains. "For a while, it was haphazard, what we liked
at the time. Then we bought an Agnes Martin painting
and lived with it a long time. Having her subtle, under-
stated beauty as part of our everyday life changed our
aesthetic focus."
As did "fabulous art trips with Dominique de Menil,
especially a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, for a show of
the Menil's Magritte works at the Hermitage," she
continues.
Their growing collection also changed both their
lifestyle and the shape of their home, a warm but mini-
malist environment in which inside and outside mingle
freely through large glass walls.6 ARTLIES SUMMER 1999
"We bought this house 25 years ago. About ten years
ago, we decided that we had to renovate," begins Jeanne
Klein. "It was a typical re-do story. A bit here and there.
Of course, it eventually turned into a complete renova-
tion. We got rid of all texture on the walls to make them
more suitable for paintings. We chose the paint color for
the beams and uprights to match the tree trunks outside.
It's all very relaxed.
"The Agnes Martin painting was a real turning point
for us, although we didn't realize it at the time.
Everything changed, including our relationship to the
house. It became a simpler, less complicated house,
reflecting the art we'd begun to collect."
Mickey Klein stirs. "This God question," he muses.
"I have to ask a question of myself: would I want to select
the most significant works, or maybe those that have
stood the test of time? Actually, I think I'd choose what I
enjoy the most."
And that would be?
"The Agnes Martin painting," they both agree.
He would select the Brice Marden series of nine
drawings, The Cypriot Experience, that hangs in the
informal dining area. "Marden has a home in Cyprus,"
Jeanne Klein explains, "and these pieces reflect his experi-
ence of the country."
Plus, for him, "The Warhol of my two children."
"It's my turn now," Jeanne Klein insists. "But I get a
total of four, because I want to include our Eva Hesse
drawing that's quite small.
"Also the Ellsworth Kelly sculpture," an outdoor
installation that dominates with its simplicity the garden
entrance to the house.
"And James Turrell's first projector piece, Afrum
Proto from 1966," which occupies a special addition to
the house.
Neither mentions the Gerhard Richter-a photo-
graphic image of a painting that the artist based on a
nude photograph of his wife descending a staircase.
Slightly larger than life size, its luminous yet muted colors
dominate one side of the loft-like living area with a figu-
rative version of the calm that the Agnes Martin imposes
on the opposite wall. Its radiance is a blend ofTinkerbell's
firefly light with the naked glow of a liberated fairy
godmother.
Is this the most recent addition to the collection?
"I'd have to think about what I'm still paying on,"
Mickey Klein sighs. Then cautions: "Don't put that in the
article." And finally relents: "Oh, go ahead if you like-
it's never-ending, you know." i
- Keith Marshall is a contributing writer for
The Times-Picayune, President (consulting)
of Dixie Art Supplies, Inc., New Orleans,
and a Critical Studies Fellow at the Glassell
School of Art, Houston.
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Lightman, Victoria H. Art Lies, Volume 23, Summer 1999, periodical, 1999; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth228053/m1/8/?q=%22Bryant%2C+John%22: accessed June 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .