“End Game: British Contemporary Art from the Chaney Family Foundation”

London is the epicenter of the avant-garde art world, and YBAs (Young British Artists) are why. Shocking and controversial when they exploded onto the scene in the 1980s and ‘90s, YBAs are drawing epic prices at the likes of Sotheby’s. Their work forms the backbone of “End Game: British Contemporary Art from the Chaney Family Foundation” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

The exhibit includes six pieces from established radicals like Damien Hirst, including End Game, which includes two human skeletons and an assortment of medical tools enclosed in glass cases. Considered among Hirst’s best work, the piece is on public display for the first time ever in America. Hirst continues the body-parts theme with Sacred IX, a bull’s heart pierced by a dagger, floating in a formaldehyde solution.

Works from the body-obsessed sculptor Antony Gormley are also on display, including XXVII, a human figure made from endless loops of steel wire. There are also pieces from newer artists like pop-art extremists Noble & Webster.

“Endgame” is sure to perpetuate London’s stranglehold on the radical art scene, even from 5,000 miles away. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 12:15 to 7 p.m. Sundays. Through September 28. 1001 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-639-7300 or visit www.mfah.org. $7.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: June 14. Continues through Sept. 28, 2008