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66 Art NOTES By Catherine D. Anspon One North Texas adventure wrapped the year with an unexpected discovery — a $63.5 million museum designed by an architectural firm whose founder won the 2005 Pritzker Prize. The road trip to the campus of The University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson was both illuminating and inspiring. The soaring new glass-and-concrete-clad building, which is being called the Phase I Museum at the Edith and Peter O'Donnell Jr. Athenaeum, is home to the second location of the Crow Museum of Asian Art. The just unveiled work of architecture is designed by L.A.- headquartered global firm Morphosis, founded by Pritzker Prize architect Thom Mayne. Morphosis' other museum in Dallas is the Perot Museum of Nature and Science; the new UT Dallas museum and the Perot share similarities in their dramatic forms and use of cast concrete to enliven surfaces. Both are by Morphosis partner Arne Emerson. The Crow Museum is worth the trek to Richardson. Never has its collection looked so magnificent, installed in vividly hued galleries that Morphosis d e s i g n e d i n tandem with the Crow curatorial team. Sinuous w a l l n i c h e s highlight objects arrayed by themes rather than strict geography. The displays, many freed from glass coverings, convey the richness of the trove of Asian art assembled by Margaret and Trammell Crow. Mini exhibits devoted to jade in all its shades, lacquer and luminous materials, sacred journeys of faith, and the global influence of indigo exemplify this fresh look at the Crow's considerable treasures. New contemporary curatorial hire Dr. Natalia Di Pietrantonio created this smart dialogue with the past, "Ancient Echoes, Modern Voices." The stunning sculptural building is the perfect vessel: At 57,000 square feet, it's compact yet expansive, with skylights that wash the interiors with light. The placement of the galleries on the second floor creates dramatic overhangs over the surrounding plaza, which afford a welcoming covered portico and show off two defining sculptures: The Sweepers by Wang Shugang and Liu Yonggang's Enlightened One. There's much more to our story: The new museum is just one part of a multi-year, 12- acre campus cultural district that includes an upcoming performance hall and music building for the $93 million Phase II (Fall 2026) and an additional museum, yet to be announced. This bold expansion represents the grand vision of the late Rick Brettell, a former DMA director, and founding director of the Edith O'Donnell Institute of Art History at UT Dallas. Brettell collaborated with Crow Museum director Amy Lewis Hofland to make the sizable Crow Museum bequest happen here. The Brettell Reading Room at the new museum is named in his honor and boasts 2,000 books from the transformative professor's extensive art-historical library. oda.utdallas.edu. Crow Museum of Asian Art, Phase I Museum, O'Donnell Athenaeum Morphosis' Phase I Museum, O'Donnell Athenaeum, UT Dallas, with Wang Shugang's The Sweepers MAURICIO ROJAS, COURTESY UT DALLAS