Museum Announcements
- Chazen Museum of Art
- Cincinnati Art Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
- Joslyn Art Museum
- Kresge Art Museum
- Toledo Museum of Art
Chazen Museum of Art
The Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin, is pleased to announce that J. H. Findorff and Son, Inc., has been awarded the contract to build the Chazen Museum of Art expansion. Findorff, a Madison-based company since 1890, counts among its projects the Overture Center for the Arts, as well as major campus buildings, including the Fluno Center, Grainger Hall, and the current Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Findorff‘s experience with UW-Madison construction projects, reputation for fine craftsmanship, and dedication to the community are qualities that complement the vision for the new museum.
The expanded Chazen will be centrally located at the intersection of the East Campus Mall and University Avenue. It is designed to be an open and inviting public space, with a dynamic outdoor plaza, glass-walled main lobby, and a third-floor gallery plan that unites both buildings with a dramatic bridge. The museum, built on the idea that art should be accessible, will be a centerpiece of the UW-Madison and a greatly enriched cultural resource for the city of Madison and the State of Wisconsin.
The $43 million expansion is made possible by a $25 million lead gift from Simona and Jerry Chazen, as well as generous gifts from many private donors. The world-class design by Machado and Silvetti Associates and Continuum Architects + Planners adds approximately 81,000 square feet to the museum, nearly doubling gallery space for the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. New object study rooms, storage for artwork, a 160-seat auditorium for lectures and films, and a larger Museum Shop are also planned. The museum is expected to open in the fall of 2011.
Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is pleased to announce that Don Lambert of Maineville, Ohio has been selected as the winner of the inaugural 4th Floor Award. The four finalists were Ana England of Felicity, Ohio; Kate Kern of Cincinnati, Ohio; Latitia Quesenberry of Louisville, Kentucky and Matthew Weddington of Lexington, Kentucky. “The members of the 4th Floor were impressed by the range of work submitted for consideration,” said Jéssica Flores García, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art. “Don Lambert‘s work was set apart by its sculptural power, visual clarity and its innovative use of art to explore political, societal and global issues, which speaks to the spirit of this award.“
Past works by Lambert include Fracture Utopia (2004), an installation of cardboard constructions using Buckminster Fuller‘s Dymaxien map as both representation and shelter. Current works in progress are Flatland and Domestique. Using a large black and white spinning disc, Flatland creates the illusion of all the colors of the rainbow, while Domestique is a series of works that uses household chores to make art in everyday situations. The 4th Floor Award exhibition will be Lambert‘s first at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
The 4th Floor Award was established by the Art Museum‘s contemporary art interest group, 4th Floor, to encourage local and regional artists. By encouraging discovery and dialogue between artists, collectors and contemporary art enthusiasts on a local level, the Award is meant to create new connections and appreciation in the local art scene. Nearly 70 artists responded to the open call for entries in December and January. Members of the Art Museum‘s 4th Floor group were the sole voting members and narrowed the field to seven semi-finalists selections by reviewing submitted materials. The 4th Floor Award winner received $1,000 and a solo exhibition of their work will be held in the Art Museum‘s Vance-Waddell Gallery from September 5 through November 29, 2009. One piece from the exhibition will become part of the Art Museum‘s permanent collection. The four finalists received $500 each. “It is imperative that we support and recognize the numerous artists who live in the region,” said Aaron Betsky, Director of the Art Museum. “Through this award and other 4th Floor projects, we hope to draw attention to the wealth of creativity present in Cincinnati, and foster a sense of community between collectors, fans and artists.”
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art unveiled twenty one new galleries in its newly constructed East Wing, designed by architect Rafael Viñoly(left), at a Member‘s Solstice Party June 20, 2009. The galleries feature the museum‘s Impressionist, modern, contemporary, and photography collections.
The East Wing galleries opened to the general public June 27. Completion of the entire Museum expansion is slated for 2012.
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is pleased to announce the receipt of a Curatorial Fellowship Grant to Chief Curator Anthony Huberman from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The grant will support the research towards an upcoming exhibition titled For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn’t there on view at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis from September 11, 2009 to January 3, 2010. “We are truly honored that our Chief Curator‘s work is being recognized and supported by such an important national institution,” said Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis Director Paul Ha. “The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Curatorial Fellowship Grant is such a prestigious award and we are excited for the exhibition it will help Huberman produce.”
For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn‘t there is a major group exhibition being organized by Chief Curator Anthony Huberman. It will celebrate speculation, curiosity, and learning, each a fundamental experience in the appreciation of art.
“Today, explanations are everywhere. Whether pertaining to a new technology, a political decision, or an artwork, explanations relentlessly follow more explanations,” said Huberman. “The works on view in this exhibition will propose that art is not a code that needs cracking. The featured artists prefer questions to answer and chose to stay speculative-stay fascinated, stay curious, and sometimes even stay confused-and insist on the importance of things they don‘t understand.”
For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn‘t there will allow the museum to offer the opportunity for the public to learn about and further understand contemporary art, which is a goal at the forefront of the Contemporary‘s mission. Visitors will be explicitly invited to appreciate the value of their own curiosities and their own speculative experience with art, transforming what might be a frustrating feeling of exclusion into a liberating one.
This grant will directly support the broad scope of research and travel necessary to make this show possible. Huberman is traveling to places including Belgium, London, Berlin, Paris, Los Angeles, and New York in order to meet artists in person to discuss ideas and plan for new works. His extensive research includes not only visits with artists, but meetings with curators, writers, and philosophers in active and ongoing discussions about some of the exhibition’s core concepts. The exhibition demands that Huberman reaches outside of the world of art, as he conducts research with colleagues at Princeton University and the Institute of Advanced Study to look into the archives of mathematician Kurt Gödel, as well as with colleagues at rare book libraries for materials about 16th and 17th century cabinets of curiosities. The exhibition‘s publication documents the breadth of the research and includes speculative texts and contributions selected in close collaboration with London-based writer, editor, and designer Will Holder.
Additionally, the Contemporary was a recent receipt of a grant from The Warhol Foundation, a $100,000 award providing two years of operating support for the Contemporary‘s new curatorial program in both the Main Galleries and The Front Room. July marks the beginning of the second year of this award.
Paul Ha, Director of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, has announced that the Gateway Foundation will generously sponsor the Great Rivers Biennial Awards Program in 2010. The innovative program awards three area artists with $20,000 each and an exhibition at the Contemporary. The Great Rivers Biennial is a collaboration between the Contemporary Art Museum and the Gateway Foundation designed to strengthen the local art scene in Saint Louis. Now preparing for its fourth exhibition in eight years, this innovative program identifies talented Saint Louis-based artists, provides them with the financial support to realize a large-scale exhibition, and offers a platform to present their work to a broad local and national audience.
The Contemporary Art Museum and the Gateway Foundation are committed to energizing the spirit of the art scene in Saint Louis and believe the Great Rivers Biennial Awards Program does just that by providing Saint Louis-based artists with a tremendous platform to the national art world. As many as three artists will be selected by a panel of nationally recognized jurors to receive a grant of $20,000 each and the opportunity to exhibit at the Contemporary. With the exhibition space provided by the Contemporary, the Great Rivers program hopes to raise the visibility of the artists‘ work by providing them with professional support from visiting critics, curators, and dealers, as well as connecting the artists to the Saint Louis public.
“We are so grateful to be able to continue to partner with the Gateway Foundation and present the Great Rivers Biennial program for a fourth time,” remarks Director Paul Ha. “We hope that the award amount and the commitment of prominent national jurors for the 2010 exhibition will continue to establish a solid platform for Saint Louis-based artists to gain exposure in the national arts scene.”
The distinguished jurors for the Great Rivers Biennial 2010 are Douglas Fogle, Chief Curator and Deputy Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles; Melissa Franklin, Director of the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, Philadelphia; and Laura Steward, Phillips Director of SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico. Jurors will review all submissions that meet the eligibility requirements and will select up to three emerging artists meeting the Biennial‘s criteria. The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis will present a group exhibition of the work by the selected award winners in May 2010.
The financial and professional assistance make the fellowship extremely rewarding for local artists. This will be the fourth round of awards since the inaugural Great Rivers Biennial in 2004. The past winners include Juan William Chávez, Jill Downen, Corey Escoto, Adam Frelin, Kim Humphries, Moses, Michelle Oosterbaan, Matthew Strauss, and Jason Wallace Triefenbach.
Joslyn Art Museum
In December, 2008, Joslyn Art Museum announced that it is the recipient of a $50,000 Museum and Community Connections grant from MetLife Foundation. Sixteen American art museums were awarded grants totaling $1,000,000 for exhibitions, artist residencies, and other programs that extend their reach into diverse communities and make art a part of people‘s lives.
Joslyn Art Museum‘s grant will support its Culturas Unidas (Cultures United) program, created to engage and invigorate the community, particularly non-traditional and emerging constituencies such as the Latino population. “Joslyn endeavors to bring diverse peoples together through the presentation and interpretation of the visual arts,” said Anne El-Omami, deputy director for museum collections and programs. “This unique vision offers the opportunity for exploration and learning and for all members of the community to see their cultural histories reflected through art. We are incredibly grateful for the support of MetLife Foundation and proud to represent its Museum and Community Connections program in Nebraska.”
Joslyn launched Culturas Unidas in October, 2008, with the opening of the exhibition Diego Rivera: Masterworks from the Museo de Arte del Estado de Veracruz. The exhibition was part of an exciting artistic and cultural exchange between Joslyn and Mexican museums and cultural organizations, a partnership that grew out of the Sister City relationship between Omaha, Nebraska, and Xalapa, Mexico. Four other exhibitions through November 2010 will showcase Latino arts, culture, and heritage through gold artifacts from the Precolumbian cemetery of Sitio Conte, Panama (River of Gold, opening June 6, 2009); traditional and contemporary Mexican folk art (Masterpieces of Mexican Folk Art from the Pat and Judd Wagner Collection, opening June 6, 2009); retablos, devotional paintings on wood panels, from 18th and 19th century Northern New Mexico (A Century of Retablos, opening July 5, 2009); and spectacular Olmec art and objects from the Xalapa Museum of Anthropology (a division of the University of Veracruz), the most important museum collection of this early material in Mexico (Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico, opening September 4, 2010).
In addition to these exhibition offerings, many of the Museum‘s programs and events through year end 2010 will focus on educating the public about Latino contributions to the arts and humanities. Upcoming offerings, funded in part by MetLife Foundation‘s Museum and Community Connections grant, will include an artist-in-residence collaboration with El Museo Latino. Visiting artists identified by El Museo Latino will participate in regular patron, public, and family programs at Joslyn including talks and workshops. Joslyn will offer art classes for children and adults on various types of Latino art including painting, drawing, pottery, and beadwork. The 25th annual Jazz on the Green concert series in summer 2009 will embrace the rhythms and traditions of Latin Jazz. Museum podcasts will bring together Latino music and works in the Museum‘s collections and exhibitions to create an audio/visual celebration of the Latino world. The Museum‘s educational and interpretive materials, such as exhibition signage, artwork labels, gallery guides, family guides, audio guides, learning activities, and aspects of its website, will be presented in both Spanish and English. Latino Story Adventures, an offshoot of Joslyn‘s highly successful Story Adventures program, will feature Latino/a artists, authors, and storytellers in collaboration with the Omaha Public Libraries and the University of Nebraska at Omaha‘s Department of Early Childhood Education.
“It is so important that Nebraska‘s largest and fastest growing minority population see itself reflected in the art and programs at Joslyn Art Museum and feel welcome here and in Nebraska‘s arts community,” said Joslyn director J. Brooks Joyner. “It is equally important that all of our more than 200,000 annual visitors have the opportunity to learn about the rich Latino contributions to art and the humanities and that those are highlighted and advanced through Joslyn‘s exhibitions and educational offerings. We are excited to partner with MetLife Foundation in this important endeavor.”
Other recipients of a MetLife Foundation 2008 Museum and Community Connections grant are: Art Institute of Chicago; Columbus Museum of Art; Dallas Museum of Art; Des Moines Art Center; Detroit Institute of Arts; Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & Western Art (Indianapolis); Freeport Art Museum (Freeport, IL); Hunter Museum of American Art (Chattanooga); Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (Louisville); Milwaukee Art Museum; National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago); North Dakota Museum of Art (Grand Forks); Oklahoma City Museum of Art; Walker Art Center (Minneapolis); and Wiregrass Museum of Art (Dotham, AL). Grants range from $20,000 to $100,000.
Joslyn Art Museum announced in February that its most recent publication, Volume 1 of three volumes of The North American Journals of Prince Maximilian of Wied, The North American Journals of Prince Maximilian of Wied. Volume I: May 1832-April 1833, (Stephen S. Witte, editor, University of Oklahoma Press, June 2008) has been named the “Outstanding Nonfiction Book” of 2008 by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum®. First presented in 1961, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum® Western Heritage Awards™ were established to honor and encourage the legacy of those whose works in literature, music, film, and television reflect the significant stories of the American West. “We are thrilled to have Volume 1 of Joslyn‘s Maximilian Journals publication recognized with a Western Heritage Award. It is in fine company, among the cream of the crop of books on the American West to be so honored,” said Joslyn Art Museum director J. Brooks Joyner. “It has been an intense labor of love, making the historic Maximilian Journals fully accessible to the modern reader, and Volume 1 certainly indicates what great things we have to look forward to with the publication of the subsequent two volumes.”
The publication is the first complete translation and printing of Prince Maximilian‘s journal of his travels through North America in 1832-34. The publication includes Prince Maximilian“s own illustrations, as well as the famous works by Karl Bodmer, whose task was to record the journey in sketches and watercolors. Both the journal and Karl Bodmer“s works are housed in Joslyn Art Museum.
Sarah Burt, Richard and Mary Holland Curator of American Western Art at Joslyn‘s Durham Center for Western Studies, describes Maximilian‘s expedition as the most important data-gathering expedition in the West after that of Lewis and Clark. “In some ways,” said Burt, “Maximilian‘s journey is even more significant than that of his predecessors, for it combined his own keen eye and scientific training with the remarkable illustrative skills of Karl Bodmer, a gifted artist. Now research specialists, and anyone interested in 19th century America as its frontiers spread westward, will have full access to Maximilian‘s observations in addition to the beautiful images created by Karl Bodmer. It is wonderful to receive recognition from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum for the important publication of this historical journal”. Volumes 2 and 3 are scheduled for publication in 2010 and 2012, respectively.
On Saturday, June 6, 2009, Joslyn Art Museum opened its new Peter Kiewit Foundation Sculpture Garden to the public, featuring four garden galleries on 1.2 acres. The Sculpture Garden is surrounded by a low, defining wall of Lake Superior Green granite with a honed surface that is smooth and reflective. Among the artists represented in the garden are Leonard Baskin; John Henry; Allan Houser, the most important individual in the development of contemporary Native sculpture and a significant figure in American art since the 1930s; sculptor and painter Betty Woodman; and internationally acclaimed artist Jun Kaneko, based in Omaha since 1986. Texas-based sculptor Jesus Morales created a site specific sculpture, The Omaha Riverscape (2008) for the garden. This landscape sculpture consists of 50 tons of Academy Black granite; it presents a topographical “map” of a section of the Missouri River and one of its tributaries, the Platte River. The reflecting pool in its center fills and drains to simulate the rise and fall of the river throughout the seasons.
Kresge Art Museum
2009 marks the 50th anniversary of Kresge Art Museum in East Lansing, Michigan. The Kresge Art Museum opened 2009 with an ambitious exhibition showcasing more than 130 works of art, chosen from the 1,200+ acquired over the last decade. Several new acquisitions were unveiled, including Alexander Wyant‘s Hudson River School painting, Autumn on Lake Placid (left), and Aaron Harry Gorson‘s painting, Bridge across a River(below), to celebrate the museum‘s 50th anniversary.
Gorson‘s Bridge across a River, was unveiled Sunday, February 1, 2009, at Kresge Art Museum during the Gallery Talk by Museum Director Susan J. Bandes. The Friends of Kresge Art Museum purchased and presented the piece in honor of the museum‘s 50th anniversary.
In June, the Kresge Art Museum announced a third major new acquisition for the year, a marinescape by Jan van Goyen, one of the greatest 17th century Dutch landscape painters. An Estuary with Row and Sail Boats, from the late 1640s (below), was called a “connoisseur‘s gem” by writer Souren Melikian in the International Herald Tribune. Van Goyen‘s painting takes it place among the growing Dutch 17th century collection of the Kresge Art Museum. Director Susan J. Bandes saw the painting at TEFAF, the international art fair in Maastricht, the Netherlands in March and said, “I had been looking for a painting by van Goyen for several years and this is amongst the most beautiful and exciting examples I have seen on the market. It is in wonderful condition and you can still see the swift impressionistic strokes of paint that quickly capture the fleeting weather conditions. Most of the composition is sky, which prefigures paintings done centuries later.”
Kresge Art Museum Director Susan J. Bandes was additionally honored by being selected by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to attend a national forum, June 16 and 17, 2009, in Buffalo, New York entitled “Stewardship of America‘s Legacy: Answering the Call to Action.” She was one of more than 70 representatives of small and medium-sized museums and libraries nationwide invited to participate based on their leadership in the profession and in their communities.
IMLS‘s Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, is a multi-year, multi-faceted national program. The Buffalo event is the final of a series of four national forums held in 2008 and 2009. The meetings have been designed to raise awareness among leaders of small and mid-sized museums, libraries, and archives about the importance of collections care and to give them practical information, tools, and resources to inspire action nationwide.
“Stewardship of America‘s Legacy: Answering the Call to Action” explores how committed individuals, ranging from small town librarians to directors of national conservation training programs, can work together to improve collections care and to inspire and inform others, be it nationally or within their own communities. Speakers addressed ways to make the case for funding, address cutting-edge collections care topics, and described how to use networks to tap into expertise and to engage the public in sustaining our Nation’s collections.
“I am honored to be selected to be part of this national forum”, said Dr. Bandes. “I am eager to learn about funding opportunities for collection care and the latest conservation approaches, to network with other museum directors and conservation professionals, and to bring this knowledge to MSU to deepen our commitment to the stewardship of the collection.” IMLS hosted this forum in cooperation with Heritage Preservation, the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, and the Art Conservation Department of Buffalo State College, State University of New York.
Toledo Museum of Art
The Toledo Museum of Art announced in December, 2008, that it was named one of the Toledo Public Schools Silver Slate Winners for 2008. The Silver Slate Award recognizes people and organizations in the Toledo Ohio community that have made outstanding leadership and service contributions to Toledo Public Schools. The Toledo Museum of Art is being recognized for the multi-visit Docent program with the Ella P. Stewart Academy for Girls. TMA developed and implemented a year-long thematic educational project with the staff of the Ella P. Stewart Academy. The thematic topic for 2008-2009 focuses on the concept of neighborhoods and the people who have lived in and around the Ella P. Stewart Academy. At each grade level, the academic content standards are entwined with experiential hands-on student learning both in the classroom and on field trips to The Toledo Museum of Art.