Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
“Ernesto Neto: SunForceOceanLife” is on display at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, from March 8 until Sept. 7, 2026.
The latest installation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston doesn’t have a “Do Not Touch” sign — in fact, you’re supposed to climb inside of it.
“Ernesto Neto: SunForceOceanLife” is back on view Sunday after originally being commissioned for MFAH in 2019.
The 35-foot structure is made out of vibrant orange, yellow and green paracord that was hand-woven by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto. It features walkable pathways filled with hollow plastic balls like you would find in a children’s ball pit. The whole thing is suspended from the ceiling and weighs 6,000 pounds.
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Mari Carmen Ramírez, the Wortham Curator of Latin American Art and Founding Director of the International Center for the Arts of the Americas at MFAH, said in a news release that Neto created the site-specific piece as a tribute to the life-giving forces of the sun and the ocean.
“Inspired by crochet, which he learned from his grandmother, the piece transforms this traditional Brazilian craft into a massive, enveloping structure that engages the body and the mind,” Ramírez said.
Before climbing inside, museum-goers are required to sign a waiver, leave their shoes in a locker and put on museum-issued socks.
Walking through the structure is an exercise in balance, as some sections of the pathway are more tightly packed than others, and the whole structure moves as other people walk through it. The highest point of the pathway is lifted 12 feet off the ground.
The installation opens on Sunday, March 8 and will be in Cullinan Hall of the Caroline Wiess Law Building through Monday, Sept. 7.
