Collection 1980s–Present

211

Montien Boonma’s House of Hope

Ongoing

MoMA

Montien Boonma. House of Hope. 1996–97. Herbs, spices, natural binders, cotton string, painted wood, and steel, 13' 1 1/2" × 9' 10 1/8" × 19' 8 1/4" (400 × 300 × 600 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Dakis and Lietta Joannou. © 2023 Montien Boonma. Courtesy of the Montien Boonma Estate
  • MoMA, Floor 2, 211 The David Geffen Wing

In House of Hope (1996–97) Montien Boonma invites us into an immersive space filled with thousands of prayer bead strands hanging above a pyramid of painted wooden steps. The surrounding wall painting suggests clouds or incense smoke from Buddhist temples. The artist crafted his pigments and beads from traditional Thai medicinal herbs and spices; the aromatic materials suffuse the gallery with scent. Boonma sought to create an atmosphere of bodily sensation: “When you enter a temple, it makes you warm . . . there’s the feeling that we will be given help—like having a father and mother to protect us.”

Boonma created this installation after his wife died from cancer in 1995. Her diagnosis the year before led the artist to immerse himself in Buddhist rituals of devotion and healing. “I was asking for a lot,” he said. “I was asking for the world to stop.” Boonma’s “house” explored the possibility of hope in a time of environmental disaster, industrialization, and the rise of global epidemics—crises that persist in the present, and that the work allows us to confront in new ways today.

Organized by Michelle Kuo, The Marlene Hess Curator of Painting and Sculpture, with Abby Hermosilla, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Curatorial Affairs.

With thanks to Apisit Nuongbua.

1 work online

Contemporary art at MoMA is presented through a partnership with Richard Mille.

Support for the exhibition is provided by the Annual Exhibition Fund. Leadership contributions to the Annual Exhibition Fund, in support of the Museum’s collection and collection exhibitions, are generously provided by Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, the Sandra and Tony Tamer Exhibition Fund, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Alice and Tom Tisch, the Marella and Giovanni Agnelli Fund for Exhibitions, The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Eva and Glenn Dubin, Mimi Haas, The David Rockefeller Council, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz, Kenneth C. Griffin, The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis, and Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder. Major funding is provided by The Sundheim Family Foundation.

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