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A unique addition to the Museum District proposes a new color theory about architecture — one that harkens back to the 18th century in the Neoclassical manner of Robert Adam — even as it evokes ancient Greece. Cue Museo, a just completed LEED-certified Class A medical building developed by LASIK pioneer Dr. Mike Mann of Mann Eye Institute, which occupies the top floor of the 10-story contemporary cubist structure designed by Philip Johnson/John Burgee protégé Marko Dasigenis (PJMD Architects) with Dallas-headquartered Huitt-Zollars. Mann tapped architectural colorist Carl Black (known for his acumen with historic structures, including Manhattan's 1835 Chelsea Mansion) to subvert the prosaic beige-on- beige palette of traditional medical buildings, with shades of soft apricot on the lobby walls and a first-floor entryway with colored bands of terrazzo tile in Bahia blue, verde, and Rojo Alicante, offset by pure Thasian white marble flecked with reflective crystal that's believed to have therapeutic properties. Nearby, an ornate wave pattern on the floor channels the Minoan civilization (2000 to 1500 BCE). But the grand punctuation point of the lobby is an official re-creation to scale of the most famous sculpture of the ancient world, circa 190 BCE: Nike, The Winged Victory of Samothrace. The story of how she came to be there — destined for the Louvre to swap out with the original, which Greece asked to be repatriated to Samothrace — is fascinating. Nike's path to Houston came about after Mann, Black, and Dasigenis' extended trip to Greece in October 2020. She was 3D-scanned from the Louvre original, then hand- finished at the Greek quarry FHL Kiriakidis, in Drama. Museo's final archaeologically inspired surprise is tucked into an alcove: an exact replica in marble of an ancient Greek sculpture from the archaic period, circa 6th century BCE. The figure, known as a kouros, represents Apollo, whose fitness, proportions, and beauty speak to the classical ideal in vogue more than 2,000 years ago. Stay tuned. Museo, 5115 Fannin, museohouston. com. Catherine D. Anspon A n exciting addition to the Houston area's public- art scene blossomed this spring when The Howard Hughes Corporation commissioned iconic figurative painter Alex Katz to create an epic 35,000-square-foot mural for The Woodlands Waterway Square. Unveiled at The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival last month, the 358-by- 105-foot painting covers a wall of the shopping Mecca's parking garage. Flowers makes a buoyant addition to The Woodlands' streetscape, joining a permanent public art collection known for its emphasis on sculpture, including works by Jesús Moroles, Peter Reginato, John Clement, Tom Otterness, Pentti Monkkonen, Dixie Friend Gay, Charles Pebworth, Bob Fowler, Rafael Barrios, Mark Bradford, John Runnels, Tim Glover, and Ben Woitena. The heroically scaled Flowers adds the medium of painting to The Woodlands collection, which began in the late 1970s. The internationally recognized Katz (born 1927) is in every notable museum collection in the country; this fall, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, presents a retrospective for the nonagenarian painter, who's known for his inimitable style featuring an economy of lines, compelling color, and signature subjects: portraits and landscapes. For The Woodlands, Katz took his cue from nature, portraying both formal and wild flowers, contrasting peach-colored roses with a field of daisies tossed by the wind. thewoodlands.com. Catherine D. Anspon NIKE COMES to the MUSEUM DISTRICT MASTER IN BLOOM OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. Museo's Kouros, inspired by a 6th-century BCE Greek original Alex Katz's Flowers, 2022, The Woodlands Waterway Square Nike holds court in the Museo lobby. Terrazzo in Aegean shades speaks to the ancient world. Marble sourced from the isle of Thasos was the raw material for this 21st-century Winged Victory of Samothrace. COURTESY THE HOWARD HUGHES CORPORATION, THE WOODLANDS COURTESY MUSEO, PHOTOS BY SEAN FLEMING Right: Alex Katz 20