The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston acquires work by Hew Locke

Hales is delighted to announce that Hew Locke's 2019 work, Where Lies the Land? 2, has been acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, USA. Museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment, 2025.413.1.

 

Paying close attention to the particular histories of specific boats, Locke explores the contrast between complex subject matter and sculptural elegance. Exceptionally detailed, Where Lies the Land? 2 suggests personal and collective allegories of voyages made by explorers, colonialists, migrants, refugees and pirates. Locke’s boats speak of both hope and fear, evoking paradoxical notions of displacement and home. Histories and geographies are suggested in the layering of cargo, bright colour and talismans – highlighting complex subject matter without taking away from the sculptural elegance of each ship.

 

The expansive survey exhibition, Hew Locke: Passages, which originated at Yale Center for British Art, is currently on view at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio, USA through 24 May 2026 and will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA (21 June – 13 September 2026). Where Lies the Land? 2 was acquired in advance of Houston’s iteration of the exhibition and will be on view as part of the presentation.