About Rice Public Art

Established as a university-wide arts initiative by President David Leebron in 2008, Rice Public Art presents and commissions public artworks, exhibitions and programs that are accessible to all and which underscore the caliber and spirit of scholarly inquiry at Rice University. The collection, which reaches across the Rice campus, is always free and available to students, visitors and the general public. 

Public Art in McNair Hall 

We invite you to take a moment to experience the permanent art collection in McNair Hall, representing 17 artists of different ages, countries, genders and backgrounds. Three of the works are site-specific commissions, meaning the artist visited the space and designed an original work specifically for it. Most important? The new art helps communicate our philosophy that a good piece of art forces you to think, engage and have an opinion. 

Our students are here to contemplate deeply. That act of thinking, engaging and making decisions is critical to our mission as a school. 

About the Sculpture

Pae White, Triple Virgo, 2021

Ink on polished and electroplated stainless steel elements, cable. Pae White has created a site-specific installation for the rotunda of McNair Hall, home of Rice's Jones Graduate School of Business. Responding to the existing architecture, ambient light, and the relationship between the elements and the viewer, colorful disks suspended from the ceiling form a dynamic, ever-changing sphere. Echoing the international background and global outlook of the students, faculty and staff of Rice Business, the suspended sculpture invokes the broader world, ideas of the future, and the scale of thought that can inspire positive change.

According to the artist, “My hope is that the artwork will reference a globe in flux, a globe where nothing is solidified or congealed – a colorful, shifting sphere of excitement, intrigue and agility. Surprise blushes of color and unexpected pattern groupings that change depending upon one’s viewing position reference a world of rewarding mysteries and surprises; a world worth exploring.”  This commission is made possible by the Jones Graduate School of Business.

Check Out Our Podcast Episode

The Intersection of Art and Business feat. Alison Weaver and Dean Peter Rodriguez

Alison Weaver and Dean Peter Rodriguez give the inside scoop on building Rice Business' public art collection, its alignment with our teaching approach, the overarching theme, and the significance of public art.

See the Full Episode